我就喜歡這樣的妳

 

 chapter 1 

The three fundamental characteristics of human development 

1. **Nature and Nurture**: This characteristic involves the debate over how much of human development is shaped by genetics (nature) versus environmental factors (nurture). Human development results from the interaction between inherited traits and life experiences.

2. **Continuity and Discontinuity**: This refers to whether development is a smooth, gradual process (continuity) or occurs in distinct stages (discontinuity). For example, cognitive development could be seen as continuous growth or as moving through defined stages, like Piaget’s stages of cognitive development.

3. **Universal and Context-Specific Development**: This characteristic looks at whether certain aspects of development are the same across all humans (universal) or whether they vary depending on the environment, culture, or individual context (context-specific). For example, while all humans experience aging, the way they age can be influenced by societal or cultural factors.

 

The basic forces in human development

Biological Forces: These refer to the genetic and health-related factors that affect development. This includes everything from physical changes like puberty and aging to health conditions and diseases that may influence how a person develops.

Psychological Forces: These involve cognitive, emotional, and perceptual processes. They encompass factors like how we think, process information, regulate emotions, and form personal identity.

Sociocultural Forces: These include the social and cultural environments in which we live. They cover the influence of society, culture, family, peers, and education. Sociocultural forces help shape our values, behaviors, and interactions with others.

Life-Cycle Forces: This refers to how the timing of events affects development. For example, experiencing a major life event (like starting a family or losing a job) at different points in life can have different impacts on a person’s development.

 

Psychodynamic theories focus on how internal drives, emotions, and unconscious processes shape human behavior and development. They emphasize that development occurs through a series of stages, each marked by different challenges and tasks.

Erikson's Psychosocial Theory
Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory is one of the most well-known psychodynamic theories. He expanded on Freud’s ideas by focusing on social and cultural influences and proposing eight stages of psychosocial development that span a person’s entire life. Each stage involves a unique conflict or crisis that must be resolved for healthy development.

The Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development:
Trust vs. Mistrust (Infancy, 0-1 year): The main challenge is developing a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliability, care, and affection. Failure leads to mistrust.

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (Early Childhood, 1-3 years): As toddlers begin to assert independence, they must learn to balance autonomy and self-control. Success leads to autonomy, while failure results in shame and doubt.

Initiative vs. Guilt (Preschool, 3-6 years): Children begin to take initiative in exploring and making decisions. Success in this stage fosters a sense of initiative, while too much guilt may hinder their efforts to assert themselves.

Industry vs. Inferiority (School Age, 6-12 years): Children start to develop a sense of competence through learning new skills. Successfully resolving this conflict leads to a feeling of industry, while failure results in feelings of inferiority.

Identity vs. Role Confusion (Adolescence, 12-18 years): The challenge is to develop a clear sense of identity. Adolescents explore different roles and ideas to form their personal identity. Failure to establish an identity leads to confusion about one’s role in life.

Intimacy vs. Isolation (Young Adulthood, 18-40 years): The key conflict is forming intimate, loving relationships with others. Success leads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness and isolation.

Generativity vs. Stagnation (Middle Adulthood, 40-65 years): In this stage, individuals strive to contribute to society and the next generation. Success results in feelings of usefulness and accomplishment, while failure leads to stagnation and a lack of purpose.

Integrity vs. Despair (Late Adulthood, 65+ years): As people reflect on their lives, the challenge is to feel a sense of fulfillment. Success leads to a sense of integrity, while regret or dissatisfaction may lead to despair.

 

Learning theories focus on how individuals acquire, modify, and reinforce behaviors through interaction with the environment

Behaviorism ( B.F. Skinner, ) is a theory that emphasizes the role of environmental stimuli in shaping behavior. It suggests that all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment, and internal mental states are not considered in this approach.

Classical Conditioning: Developed by Ivan Pavlov, this process involves learning through association. An originally neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, eventually producing a similar response. For example, a dog learns to salivate at the sound of a bell if it consistently precedes food.

Operant Conditioning: Proposed by B.F. Skinner, this involves learning through rewards and punishments. Behavior is shaped and maintained by its consequences:

Reinforcement: Increases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated (e.g., giving a child candy for completing homework).
Punishment: Decreases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated (e.g., scolding a child for misbehaving).

 

Social Learning Theory (also known as Social Cognitive Theory) :  Albert Bandura

Observational Learning: People learn by watching others (models). For example, children might learn to tie their shoes by watching their parents.

Imitation: After observing behavior, individuals may imitate or reproduce it, especially if the model is rewarded or admired.

Vicarious Reinforcement: People don’t need to experience consequences themselves to learn; they can learn from observing the rewards or punishments that others receive. For example, if a child sees a sibling being praised for good behavior, they may adopt that behavior in hopes of receiving the same reward.

Self-Efficacy: Bandura also emphasized the importance of self-efficacy, or the belief in one’s ability to succeed in specific situations. Individuals with high self-efficacy are more likely to engage in challenging tasks and persist through difficulties.

 

Jean Piaget’s Cognitive development theory explores how individuals develop their thinking and understanding of the world from infancy through adulthood.

Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to 2 years)

Key Concepts:
Object Permanence: Understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible. For example, a baby will search for a toy that is hidden under a blanket.
Goal-Directed Actions: Infants begin to perform actions with intention, such as reaching for a toy.
Developmental Milestones: Infants develop sensory and motor abilities and start to understand the world through their senses and actions.
Preoperational Stage (2 to 7 years)

Key Concepts:
Symbolic Thought: The ability to use symbols (like words and images) to represent objects and events. For example, a child might use a stick as a pretend sword.
Egocentrism: Difficulty in understanding perspectives other than their own. For example, a child might think that if they can’t see someone, then that person can’t see them.
Animism: The belief that inanimate objects have feelings and intentions. For instance, a child might think that a teddy bear is sad if it is placed on the floor.
Developmental Milestones: Children start to engage in symbolic play and learn to use language, but their thinking is still intuitive and not yet logical.
Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 11 years)

Key Concepts:
Conservation: Understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape or appearance. For example, realizing that the amount of liquid is the same when poured from a tall, thin glass to a short, wide glass.
Logical Operations: Ability to perform operations mentally rather than physically. For example, solving simple math problems and understanding the concept of reversibility.
Developmental Milestones: Children begin to think logically about concrete events and can classify objects into different categories.
Formal Operational Stage (12 years and up)

Key Concepts:
Abstract Thinking: The ability to think about hypothetical situations and abstract concepts. For example, considering possibilities and hypothetical scenarios.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to use logic to draw conclusions from premises. For example, if all humans are mortal and Socrates is a human, then Socrates is mortal.
Developmental Milestones: Adolescents develop the ability to think abstractly, logically, and systematically.

 課程用書Suggested textbooks:

1. Kail, R. V., & Cavanaugh, J. C. (2018). Human development: A life-span view (8th ed.). Wadsworth Publishing.

圖片來源 AMAZON 

 

凱爾, 羅伯特., & 卡瓦那夫, 約翰. (2011). 發展心理學：以生物、心理與社會架構探討人類的發展 (游婷雅, 譯, 第四版). 洪葉文化. (原著出版於2007年)

PHOTO CREDIT BOOKSTORE