Impact of Heredity and the Environment on Child Behaviour

Impact of Heredity and the Environment on Child BehaviourRachel PriceChoose a specific ara of psychology such as addictive demeanor, intelligence or personality traits. Evaluate the mend of heredity and the milieu on this area. in that location are a number of different approaches to psychology and each of these makes different suggestions about what aspects of psychology are worth studying and what underlying models or images grass be developed to understand what people are like (Gross, 2009). These models or images then provide alternative views of psychology which bear be utilize to pardon the nature of a persons development, the causes of abnormality and the preferred methods of study and treatment (Gross, 2009). This assignment will look at how some of these different approaches to psychology can garter to dispute the impact of heredity and the environs can have on childrens behaviour. Firstly, this discussion will consider from some perspectives why heredity might be considered to have a stronger find on childrens behaviour than environment. It will do this with reference to genius theories, twin studies and perspectives that children who are born pre term can have behavioural difficulties. Secondly, it will explore how environment might be considered to influence childrens behaviour. It will do this with reference to social constructivist and social integrationist studies such as Banduras theory of social learning and studies of attachment and arouseing style. In conclusion it will identify the key points of this argument and summarise them.Different suppositious perspectives on psychology include biological and cognitive approaches, behaviourism, constructivism, and social constructivism (Davy, 2012). Each of these takes a different standpoint on the relative influence of heredity and environment on the psychology of individuals. Behaviourism is a theory of learning which is based on the idea that all behaviours are learnt through cond itioning, where conditioning occurs through peoples interactions with the environment (Davey, 2012), In contrast, the Biological approach (often referred to as biopsychologyor physiological psychology) studies psychological functioning by examining biological processes such as brain function, bio chemistry and inheritable (Davy,2012), Constructivist and Social constructivist approaches dismissed the view of scientific psychology where individuals can be studied in an objective manner when on their own in closing off and instead they attempt to identify how interactions can help construct knowledge(Davy, 2012).Davy (2012) suggests that the behaviour of children has been look fored by psychologists from all perspectives, but with different emphasise. One theoretical perspective that guard the suggestion hereditary might be considered to have a stronger influence on childs behaviour is temperament theories. Goldsmith et al (1987) research suggests that although there are numerous th eories on childrens temperament and behaviour, the majority agree that temperament refers to early appearing individual differences in behavioural tendencies that have a childs nature. Soon after birth children show a vicissitude in behavioural dimensions that are considered to be temperamental such as attention/persistence, sociability etc (Goldsmith et al, 1987). Temperament theories suggest that such differences have a biological or constitutional foundation to a childs behaviour (Saudino, 2005). Another approach that offers suggestions that genetics mould a part in a childs behaviour is the nativist approach, which use twins studies to support this suggestion. Twin studies that use parent ratings (most frequently used measure of temperament in infancy and childhood) offer suggestions of evidence of the genetic influences on a childs behaviour and temperament (Saudino, 2005). Cyphers, Phillips, Fulkner and Mrazek (1990) research on the temperament of jibe during the modulatio n from infancy to early childhood, which analysed data in which one twins scored was predicted from that of its co-twin, which as a result showed direct results that genetics and heritability had on the twins temperament. The results of the research showed that the predictions of the co twins behaviour were found to be correct in eight out of the nine temperament scales that were used in the research and supports the biological approach and a crosstie between a childs genetics and their behaviour (Cyphers, Phillips, Fulkner and Mrazek, 1990). Research that uses twin studies to offer evidence of the conjoin with a childs genetics and their behaviour consistently find that MZ twins are more similar in behaviour than DZ twins across a panoptic variety of temperament dimensions including emotionality, activity, shyness, sociability, attention/persistence, approach, adaptability, distress, positive affect and negative affect (Saudino, 2005). Saudino and Chemys (2001) research into par ental ratings of temperament in twins to a fault found that MZ twins showed similar behavioural styles.Bhutta, Cleves, Casey, Cradock and Anand (2002) research suggests that children who were born preterm are at risk for reduced cognitive test scores and their immaturity at birth is at a time proportional to the mean cognitive scores at school age. Preterm-born children also show an increased incidence of ADHD and other behaviours (Bhutta, Cleves, Casey, Cradock and Anand, 2002).Evidence to demonstrate the influence of the environment on behaviour is provided by research on attachment Bowlbys attachment theory These attachment representations influence childrens cognitions, feelings, and behaviour in ensuant relationships and interactional settings having an overall effect on the style in which an individual relates to others (Bowlby, 1982).Greenberg, Speltz, Deklyen, Endriga,(1991) suggest that in proportion there is a widespread number of unsteady attachment in children with e arly-onset conduct problems ( conduct disorder is a psychological discord that is diagnosed in childhood and presents itself through a persistent or crying pattern of behaviour in which the basic rights of others and a lack of behaviour that relates to the childrens development and social skills) Insecure-disorganised attachment is common in conduct-problem samples (Green, Stanley, Peters, 2007) and shows a robust link with antisocial behaviour (Fearon, Bakermans-Kranenburg,Van IJzendoorn, Lapsley, and Roisman, 2010). Disorganised attachment is marked by an absence of coherent strategies for attachment related resolution of distress, and often results in chaotic and quaint child behaviour (Main Solomon, 1986).Parenting can have a significant and well established impact on the early childhood socialization process which includes childrens equal behaviour (Belsky 1984). Parenting during early childhood has been shown to have a significant impact on a childs social development, suc h as social engagement, cooperation and social competency (Landry, Smith, Swank, Guttentag, 2008). Parenting that is negative , hostile and unsupportive can be damaging for childrens social outcomes, hostility and un supportiveness in the parent child relationship are suggested to be associated with slight social competence and an increase in social aggression in early and middle childhood (Brannigan et al., 2002).This suggestion supports the social learning theory which suggests that children who friendship hostile exchange with their parents learn maladaptive social responses and that children may as a result respond disruptively in peer situations based on prior negative experiences with their parents (Russell, Pettit and Mize,1998).Disruptive peer behaviour during early childhood can restrict the development of social ability needed to help children develop by and by relationships with peers (Crick et al, 2006).Banduras social learning theory (1977) suggest that childrens be haviour is learnt from the environment through a process of observational learning. Children observe the people around them and the way they behave, which was shown by Banduras Bobo doll experiment that investigates if social behaviours can be learnt from observation and copying behaviour. The experiment suggests that children observe and then encode behaviour (Bandura, 1961). Children raised in institutions are known to be at great risk for developmental delays and disorders, which include mental health disorders (MacLean, 2003). Bos et al research Bucharest Early handling Project(2011) into psychiatric outcomes in young children with a history of institutionalization also offer suggestions that the environment can effect childrens behaviour. Young children with a history of being in institutional care often show poor attention, hyperactivity, difficulty with regulating emotions, elevated levels of anxiety and increased rates of attachment disorders (Ellis, Fisher and Zaharie,2004 ) They are also at increased risk for a quasi-autism syndrome, a pattern of features similar to autism(Rutter et al , 2007). The results of the research showed that children in the institutionalized group demonstrated significantly high levels of emotionally withdrawn reactive attachment disorder (RAD) than children in the community comparison sample. Institutionalized children also scored significantly higher than the community sample on indiscriminately social/disinhibited RAD. The differences in signs of both types of RAD were large and statistically significantTraditional behaviour-genetic models that make suggestions about childrens behaviour do not discuss the comparisons of the effects of differing environments on individuals who vary on genetically influenced characteristics. For example, in twin and adoption studies the degree of biological relatedness between individuals and not specific markers of genetically united characteristics in the two individuals, is the primary focus, whereas variations in environments are rarely researched ( Collins, Maccoby, Steinberg, Hetherington and Bornstein ,2000).Elam et al (2014) research on adoptive parent hostility and childrens peer behaviour problems looked at 361 sets of adoptive children, and included research on adoptive baffles and fathers and the childrens biological finds. The research looked at the links of birth mother low behavioural pauperization and toddler low social motivation, as well as adoptive parent child hostility and childrens disruptive peer behaviour. The research showed that birth mother low behavioural motivation was linked to a toddlers low social motivation as well as adoptive mother/father hostility and a link between adoptive mother/father hostility resulting in reports of disruptive behaviour. Knafo, Israel, and Ebsteins (2011) research on the pin contribution of genetics and the parenting environment to childrens prosocial development (Prosocial behaviours are those intended to help other people Eisenberg et al., 2006). The results of the twin study suggested the importance of both the environment and genetics in explaining individual differences. More in depthhttp//b2ess.nus.edu.sg/publications/knafo2011heritability.pdfhttp//psycnet.apa.org/journals/bul/128/3/490/Conclusion approx 200Reference ListBandura, A., Ross, D., Ross, S. 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