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Environmental influences on child development
Environmental influences on child development
Environmental influences on child development
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The Evolution of the Human Brain
Although my previous two papers concerned the interplay between neurobiology and genetics, I have not quite worked the issue out to my satisfaction nor to the depth which I think the topic warrants. Therefore, I will again tackle this complex set of biological questions pertaining to the ways in which our genes shape our brains. My first paper dealt with the nature-nurture debate and its relation to the brain-behavior problem raised in class. Then, in the second paper, I moved on to a narrower issue in neurogenetics; I wrote about Fragile X Syndrome and the ways in which a specific genetic mutation can drastically change behavioral output. I would now like to enlarge the scope of this outlook on genes and the brain to encompass the topic of the evolution of the human brain. Throughout the semester, as we covered sensory input and motor output, a single neuron and complex motor symphonies, car sickness and dreaming, I have left class wondering: how are these behaviors, from the micro-actions of a neuron to the macro-actions of a human being, adaptive? How did large brains and extensive nervous systems come to be selected for? And why have humans, alone, acquired them? Some aspects of these questions seem to reside in the realm of the paleontologists, others, in the realm of the neurogeneticists. They do, however, seem to me to be central to neurobiology. For it is drilled into us that form connotes function, and, perhaps, if we come to understand how and why the human nervous system was formed, we will have a richer understanding of how and why it functions as it does.
The work and thoughts of Richard Dawkins, author of The Selfish Gene, have been useful to me in working out the issues of my previous papers, and I will again employ his theory that people are merely survival machines for the genes they carry. This is, I think, a logical argument with which to begin a discussion of the evolution of the brain, as it reduces evolutionary processes down to the bare bones of living things, that essential material: human genes and the DNA comprising them. This viewpoint excludes the complicated semi-philosophical questions pertaining to consciousness, higher thought, and the Self experienced by human beings via their neural processing; it primarily addresses the usefulness to human beings of the inordinately large organ contained within the skull.
A college Degree used to be an extraordinary accolade but now its just another thing that we need in order to be successful, at this points its nothing more than a paperweight to some. Mike Rose states, “Intelligence is closely associated with formal education—the type of schooling a person has, how much and how long—and most people seem to move comfortably from that notion to a belief that work requiring less schooling requires less intelligence” (Mike Rose 276). In other words the author of Blue-Collar Brilliance, Mike Rose, believes that blue-collar jobs require intelligence as well. I agree that those who work blue-collar jobs need to be intelligent, a point that needs emphasizing since so many people believe that those who work blue-collar jobs aren't intelligent and that why they have them. Although I also believe that
To be intelligent means to be able to apply what we learned in school and use what we learned in our everyday life to achieve a goals that is sit or one that we are accomplishing without knowing. Many people think that a person is intelligent because they went to a university, got a degree, and have a good paying job, so they must be smart and know everything however thats not always true. If we would ask a teacher or professor the chances of them knowing how to fix a car are slim. So why do we think teachers are so intelligent? We think teachers are intelligent because they know everything about their subjects, know how to teach it and know how to apply their knowledge to their everyday lives.
While the respiratory and cardiovascular systems are most reliant on one another, all body systems require a functioning circulatory cycle in order to thrive. Blood circulation and consistent transfer of oxygen to cells is required to maintain cell and tissue life. Disturbances to this process will cause cells and tissues to die (Red Cross 48). This state of balance and functioning body systems is referred to as homeostasis, defined as a “condition of equilibrium in the body’s internal environment due to constant interaction of body’s many regulatory processes” (Tortura 8). Changes or disruptions to homeostasis are regulated by the Endocrine and Nervous systems of the body. The endocrine system is made up of glands placed throughout the body
The body is changing and adjusting to the internal and external environment so they must be adjusted to stay on point. One example of preventing respiratory distress is limiting exposure to allergens that may trigger the body’s external environment. Our perception of homeostasis could be thought of as an artificial balance.
This report aims to discuss John Bowlby’s research on attachment. The study revolves around infants and their primary caregivers, properly addressing the attachment level between them, and how they interact with each other. With thorough observations, this study will be able to determine how attachment affects the infant’s sense of security and predetermine their future behavior.
If homeostasis is not maintained it will result in illness disease and even death, as without each functional part of the body working efficiently together, the body cannot operate at a sufficient level to maintain survival.
Today, realising that genes and environment cooperate and interact synergistically, traditional dichotomy of nature vs. nurture is commonly seen as a false dichotomy. Especially operant conditioning, i.e. the learning of the consequences of one's own behavior can lead to positive feedback loops between genetic predispositions and behavioral consequences that render the question as to cause and effect nonsensical. Positive feedback has the inherent tendency to exponentially amplify any initial small differences. For example, an at birth negligible difference between two brothers in a gene affecting IQ to a small percentage, may lead to one discovering a book the will spark his interest in reading, while the other never gets to see that book. One becomes an avid reader who loves intellectual challenges while the other never finds a real interest in books, but hangs out with his friends more often. Eventually, the reading brother may end up with highly different IQ scores in standardized tests, simply because the book loving brother has had more opportunities to train his brain. Had both brother received identical environmental input, their IQ scores would hardly differ.
Evolutionary theory is developed from Darwin’s argument that “suggests that a process of natural selection leads to the survival of the fittest and the development of traits that enable a species to adept to its environment. “ Many have taken this a step further by saying that our genetic inheritance determines not only our physical traits but also certain personality traits and social behaviors. There is such a controversy over significant behaviors that unfold because many believe that we are already pre-programmed human species. It has also been argued that evolution is reflected in functioning and structure of the nervous system and that is has evolutionary factors that have a significant influence on everyday behavior. With what is being said means that if we follow the evolutionary theory, then it would be said that we are already pre-programmed from before birth to follow certain protocols in life. Whether it is from finding a mate or by getting a job. It also believed that this theory gives use cues from our own system to follow, providing us with certain aspects of life from our ancestors. By believing in this theory we can determine that the importance of heredity when influencing human behavior. Behavioral geneticists and evolutionary psychologists have both agreed that not only do genetic factors provide specific behaviors or traits but it also shows the limitations on the emergence of such traits or behaviors. What this means is that our genetics will determine how tall we will be to how ...
Infant attachment is the first relationship a child experiences and is crucial to the child’s survival (BOOK). A mother’s response to her child will yield either a secure bond or insecurity with the infant. Parents who respond “more sensitively and responsively to the child’s distress” establish a secure bond faster than “parents of insecure children”. (Attachment and Emotion, page 475) The quality of the attachment has “profound implications for the child’s feelings of security and capacity to form trusting relationships” (Book). Simply stated, a positive early attachment will likely yield positive physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development for the child. (BOOK)
The purpose of this academic piece is to critically discuss The Darwinist implication of the evolutionary psychological conception of human nature. Charles Darwin’s “natural selection” will be the main factor discussed as the theory of evolution was developed by him. Evolutionary psychology is the approach on human nature on the basis that human behavior is derived from biological factors and there are psychologists who claim that human behavior is not something one is born with but rather it is learned. According to Downes, S. M. (2010 fall edition) “Evolutionary psychology is one of the many biologically informed approaches to the study of human behavior”. This goes further to implicate that evolutionary psychology is virtually based on the claims of the human being a machine that can be programmed to do certain things and because it can be programmed it has systems in the body that allow such to happen for instance the nervous system which is the connection of the spinal cord and the brain and assists in voluntary and involuntary motor movements.
The author mentions a few key take away main points. First of all, solutions must address the underlying causes of HIV risk among women. This mainly includes poverty and disempowerment because women in lower living standar...
...criterion that true science is progressive. It has proven able to successfully account for apparent anomalies and generate novel predictions and explanations and therefore has the hallmarks of a currently progressive research program capable of providing us with new knowledge of how the mind works (Ketellar and Ellis 2000). A glance at the Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology (2005), edited by David Buss, shows just how vigorous and productive the field is. Important challenges remain in the discipline, however. The most important are determining the role of domain-specific versus domain-general processes and integrating evolutionary psychology with other behavioral sciences like genetics, neuroscience, and psychometrics (Buss 2004; Rice 2011). Even though critics will remain, Evolutionary Psychology will remain as a scientific discipline for the foreseeable future.
The comparative method is a species that can be studied and compared to the search of understanding human behavior. The physiological outlook elucidate the performance of how the nervous system and hormones reacts to the body, what precedent of the transformations in the structure can affect one’s behavior, and how the brain operates. For example, when a cardiologist operate on someone’s heart. He has the expectation of extending that individual's life (Thomas Spray). Another comparative method utilized is the investigation of inheritance. This technique engages a species inheriting genes from its parents. For instance, when the offspring with dark skin complexion begat blue eyes this trait is hereditary. Each of these biological aspects consisting of the comparative, physiological and the genetic systems explicates human behavior. This dissertation will focus on the brain, the nervous system, and the ways in which these physiological mechanisms interrelate.
The human body is divided into many different parts called organs. All of the parts are controlled by an organ called the brain, which is located in the head. The brain weighs about 2. 75 pounds, and has a whitish-pink appearance. The brain is made up of many cells, and is the control centre of the body. The brain flashes messages out to all the other parts of the body.
The brain is an astonishing product of evolution. This can be seen by our numerous technological developments and society structure. The brain has always been the most important organ for species that had developed past the cellular stage and has always performed the same functions that it does now but has developed constantly to where it is now through growth and a reorganization of its’ primary functions and gained the ability to learn has been something that the human brain does better than other brains. Our brains have not always been like this and many social and biological factors have led us to where they are now.