Reflection On Biological Foundations Of Development

Journal Entry 4- Week Three (Written reflection)

Reflections on Biological Foundations of Development

Every child has been created differently through the structure of their genes, which is significant to create one or more proteins that are created under particular conditions in order to regulate other genes (Brett, Pospisil, Valcarcel, Reich & Bork, 2002). This is so important because the proteins that are produced by genes are what create life-sustaining reactions; that in conjunction with adequate nutrition and an ideal environment will culminate in the characteristics of a growing child. The definition of gene, is ‘ A unit of hereditary which is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristics of the offspring’ (Oxford Dictionaries, 2014).

There are three main structures in the brain, the first being the hindbrain, which control basic psychological processes in order for an individual to sustain survival involving breathing, balance and movement. The second is the midbrain, which connects the three structures of the brain and sends messages to the brain about priorities. Lastly is the forebrain, which is the most complex, producing complex thoughts and emotional responses and is also the driving force of motivation, which we all know university students need!

During development, there are also changes in the brain from prenatal development, to infancy and early childhood development and so on. I can relate to these different stages of development as I remember not being able to properly catch a ball or use a bat (e.g. baseball) during the early years of primary school, with almost everyone else being able too as I was a slow learner with both walking and talking, later than the average a...

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...ral systems such as schemes or cognitive structures.

➢ Schemes: behaviours and thoughts that children have formulated as they interact with their physical and social environment. As a child, I remember hearing the word ‘party’ and thinking of cordial, chips, popcorn, balloons and clowns, what did you think of when you heard the word ‘party’ as a child?

The child does this through:

➢ Adaptation, which is the tendency to adjust to their environment through assimilation and accommodation.

➢ Assimilation is the interpretation of new experiences in order to adjust to an existing ‘scheme’.

➢ Accommodation refers to the alteration of an existing scheme in order to incorporate a new experience.

Well I’ve got to go now, but I hope my letter has given you some information on Piaget’s theories of Cognitive development.

Regards, Eunice ☺

Journal Entry 7- Week four (Table)