Transcript EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY (7th Edition in Modules) David Myers

Environmental
Influences on Behavior
Module 6
Environment and Brain
Development
Enriched environments enhance brain
development.
Brain Development and Adulthood
Our brains change over the course of our
lifetimes.
Both hotos courtesy of Avi Kani and Leslie
Ungerleider, National Institue of Mental Health
How Much Credit (or Blame) Do
Parents Deserve?
Parental influence is largely genetic…(ouch).
Culture and peers play a role.
Miquel L. Fairbanks
Although raised in the same family,
some children are greater risk takers.
Peer Influence
Peers are influential !...watch out for conformity.
Ole Graf/ zefa/ Corbis
Environmental Influence
 Culture
 the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes,
and traditions shared by a large group of
people and transmitted from one
generation to the next
 Norm
 an understood rule for accepted and
expected behavior
Variation Across Culture
Cultures differ. Each culture develops norms…
Jason Reed/ Reuters/Corbis
• American women did
not shave their armpits
until the early 20’s
• And legs were not
bare until the 40’s
Variation Over Time
Cultures change over time.
This change cannot be attributed to changes in
the human gene pool because genes evolve very
slowly.
Culture and the Self
If a culture nurtures an
individual’s personal
identity, it is said to be
individualist.
If a group identity is
favored then the culture is
described as collectivist.
Kyodo News
Culture and Child-Rearing
Individualist cultures (European) raise their
children as independent individuals whereas
collectivist cultures (Asian/African) raise their
children as interdependent.
Jose Luis Palaez, Inc./ Corbis
Individualist/Collectivist
Westernized Cultures
Asian-African Cultures
Responsible for your self
Responsible to group
Follow your conscience
Priority to obedience
Discover your gifts
Be true to family-self
Be true to yourself
Be loyal to your group
Be independent
Be interdependent
Developmental Similarities Across
Groups
Humans are more similar than different.
Copyright Steve Reehl
Gender Development
Based on genetic makeup, males and females
are more alike than different,….the majority of
our inherited genes (45 chromosomes are
unisex) are similar.
Males and females differ biologically in body
fat, muscle, height, onset of puberty, and life
expectancy.
Gender Differences in Aggression
Men express themselves and behave in more
aggressive ways than do women.
This aggression
gender gap appears in
many cultures and at
various ages.
In males, the nature of
this aggression is
physical.
Gender Differences and
Connectedness
Young and old, women form more
connections (friendships) with people than
do men. Men emphasize freedom and selfreliance.
Dex Image/ Getty Images
Oliver Eltinger/ Zefa/ Corbis
The Nature and Nurture
of Gender
 X Chromosome
 the sex chromosome found in both men and
women
 females have two; males have one
 an X chromosome from each parent produces
a female child
 Y Chromosome
 the sex chromosome found only in men
 when paired with an X chromosome from the
mother, it produces a male child
Biology of Sex
Biological sex is determined by the twenty-third pair
of chromosomes.
The Nature and Nurture
of Gender
 Testosterone
 the most important of the male sex hormones
 both males and females have it
 additional testosterone in males stimulates
 growth of male sex organs in the fetus
 development of male sex characteristics during
puberty
Sexual Differentiation
In the mother’s womb, the male fetus is exposed to
testosterone (because of the Y chromosome),
which leads to the development of male genitalia.
If low levels of
testosterone are
released in the uterus,
the result is female
genitalia.
Disorders of differentiation…
• What if you are neither….
• AIS
• Tell about undiscovered
case from bio-psych…
Sexual Differentiation
Sexual differentiation is not only biological, but
also psychological and social.
Gender Roles
Our culture shapes our gender roles —
expectations of how men and women are
supposed to behave.
Gender Identity — means how a person views
himself or herself in terms of gender.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kokogia
k/66087367/
The Nature and Nurture of
Gender
 Gender and Culture
The Nature and Nurture of
Gender
Stereotype threat….
Gender Roles: Theories
1. Social Learning Theory proposes that we
learn gender behavior like any other
behavior—reinforcement, punishment, and
observation.
2. Gender Schema Theory suggests that we
learn a cultural “recipe” of how to be a male
or a female, which influences our genderbased perceptions and behaviors.
Gender Roles: Theories
EXPLORING
PSYCHOLOGY
(7th Edition in Modules)
David Myers
PowerPoint Slides
Aneeq Ahmad
Henderson State University &
James A. McCubbin, Ph.D.
Clemson University W/Edits
Worth Publishers, © 2008