2.07 Project Milestone

Environmental Factors Affecting Development (2.01)

John Watson is a psychologist most notable for behavioral studies explaining development according to environmental influences. He later established a college focusing wholly on behaviorism. Environmental factors affecting development include parenting style- authoritarian, authoritative, or permissive. My mother is a permissive parent, setting few rules that result in poor responsibility and decision making. My two older sisters were subject to this parenting style, and judging by the fact they have a great deal of trouble being self-reliant, keeping good relationships, and making decisions, this factor seems to have affected them. My parents divorced when I was young, so for most of my life I lived by my father's authoritarian parenting. I could not do anything without telling him, and after explaining what it was I wanted to do, I rarely was allowed to do it. I have a moody history with my father; he sought help from friends and family, eventually progressing to be a more authoritative parent- he sets rules but allows flexibility. This has greatly improved my self-reliance since I am able to accomplish more on my own, and am responsible for my decisions. Environmental factors such as parenting style have a great affect on a child's development. Other influences include peers, early learning opportunities, and cultural influence.

Influences on Prenatal Development (2.02)

When immature and still developing, a child is perhaps most vulnerable to dangers from the outside world. Teratogens are all chemical, disease, and environmental influences that can harm an embryo. They are thought to affect embryos as soon as two weeks after conception. Embryos are most vulnerable during sensitive periods of development. A sensitive period is the time of rapid growth in one or another area of the fetus development. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a disease that can affect a child throughout the entire pregnancy, since the brain and nervous system experience continual growth. Although sensitive periods for the brain occur (such as at 2-3 weeks, 28 weeks) teratogens can affect prenatal development at any time. The systems are only more susceptible during sensitive periods. Diseases affecting the mother can also serve as teratogens. Mothers who developed rubella during their pregnancy had children who suffered from various impairments, from visual problems to deafness and other hearing-related diseases. Environmental factors can harm a baby without notice, and activities often pursued by the mother (such as smoking/drinking) may have disastrous effects on a developing child. Care for a child is just important during pregnancy as after birth, if not more so.

Adult Development According to Erikson (2.06)

Erik Erikson is a psychologist who developed a number of theories on psychosocial development of humans throughout their lifetimes. He developed crisis theories outlining specific problems that individuals face in different stages of their childhood. He believed that, in order to grow psychosocially, each crisis had to be resolved. Erikson expanded this theory into adulthood, describing the certain arguments (or "crises") that individuals face from adolescence to the elder years. In adolescence, individuals face identity versus role confusion where people must identify a role in society in order to feel secure. Studies on individuals during this timescale revealed that role identification was best attained by experimenting with various roles until the proper one was found. Young adults face an intimacy versus isolation crisis focusing mostly on relationships. Erikson believed that young adults who resolved this problem ended up with good relationships, instead of facing slow social growth and general dissatisfaction. I see this problem in a number of my friends whose ages range from 20-30; some succeed and experience storybook relationships, while others experience isolation and have trouble finding intimacy with others. Theories progress into middle and late adulthood with generativity versus stagnation, then integrity versus despair.