The Sources of Who We Are
Priniples of Human Development
 % of common variance in traits explained by
environemtal and genetic influeces (monozygotic
vs. dizygotic twins)
Jang, K. L., Livesley, W. J., & Vemon, P. A. (1996). Heritability of the Big Five
personality dimensions and their facets: A twin study. Journal of Personality, 64(3),
577-592.
 Biological factors in the brain (e.g. neurotransmitter
production and sensitivity  Temperament)
 Biology sets limits to the efficiency of learning
(environment-induced change)
 Motivation (sensitivity to positive/negative
experiences vs. specific objects and
situations associated with these emotions|
 Beliefs and representations
 Skills and competencies
 Character strengths
 Motivation
 Beliefs and representations (flexibility in
thought operations vs. specific “ingedients”)
 Skills and competencies
 Character strengths
 Motivation
 Beliefs and representations
 Skills and competencies (baseline limits in
processing efficiency vs. learned
behavioural patterns, e.g. critical thinking
skill)
 Character strengths
 Motivation
 Beliefs and representations
 Skills and competencies
 Character strengths (“formal” aspects of
spontanous behaviour vs. global “guides” in
decision-making, e.g. agreeableness vs.
compassion; shyness vs. humility;
inhibition vs. temperance)
 Biological maturation – some types of learning
cannot be expected of children at certain age
Jean Piaget
 Even an inherited trait may need specific
environmental triggers to be fully expressed =
heritability is % of variance, not amount!!!
Blakemore, C., & Cooper, G. F. (1970). Development of the brain depends on the
visual environment. Nature, 228(5270), 477-478.
Critical period = time when specific stimulation is needed
for healthy development of a specific function
Lev Vygotsky
Zone of proximal development
“Give me a dozen healthy infants,
well-formed, and my own specified
world to bring them up in and I'll
guarantee to take any one at random
and train him to become any type of
specialist I might select – doctor,
lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and,
yes, even beggar-man and thief,
regardless of his talents, penchants,
tendencies, abilities, vocations, and
race of his ancestors. I am going
beyond my facts and I admit it, but
so have the advocates of the contrary
and they have been doing it for many
thousands of years.”
(John B. Watson, Behaviorism, 1930)
Seligman, M. E., & Maier, S. F. (1967). Failure to escape traumatic shock. Journal of
Experimental Psychology, 74(1), 1-9.
Seligman, M. E., & Maier, S. F. (1967). Failure to escape traumatic shock. Journal of
Experimental Psychology, 74(1), 1-9.
Three groups of dogs:
Time to learn
escape in phase 2
Successful escape
Control (no initial
learning) < 27 s 88%
Escape condition (Phase
1) < 27 s 100%
No escape condition
(Phase 1) 48 s 25%
 Learning that there is no link between one’s
behaviour and the outcome of the situation
 Learning through further conditioning severely
impaired in other situations, too
 Symptoms of depression
“Monster Study” (1939)
W. Johnson & M. Tudor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_Study
“Monster Study” (1939)
W. Johnson & M. Tudor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_Study
 Stuttering experiment = children who were
criticized for the quality of their speech developed
serious speech problems even when their speech
was actually normal
 Effect of negative criticism on performance
through increased self-consciousness
 Considered highly unethical by both present and
past standards + unclear mechanism
Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through
imitation of aggressive models. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology,
63(3), 575-582.
Albert Bandura
The “Bobo Doll Experiment”
 Children imitated aggressive behaviour of an adult
model (boys more than girls)
 Even non-imitative aggressive behaviour increased
(e.g. pointing a toy shotgun on the Bobo)
 Effect of gender of the model (social stereotypes) –
men expected to show more aggressive behaviour
 Problems with the study: no measure of long-term
effects; low ecological validity – unusual situation;
generalization of violent behaviour on other
situations?
 The effect of vicarious reinforcement – behaviour
will be imitated if reinforced and if the model is
similar – The Social Learning Theory
Harlow, H. F. (1959). Love in infant monkeys. Scientific American, 200, 68-74.
Affection in rhesus monkeys
 Baby monkeys clung to the cloth “mother” even
when it provided no food
 They ran to the cloth “mother” when scared or
run to it for “reattachment” in a strange
situation
 They opened a window to look at the “cloth”
mother as often as they did at real monkeys
but treated the food-providing wire mother as
any other inanimate object
 Inspired research on attachment (John Bowlby)
 Instincitve and intuitive positive responses to
social stimuli
 Specialized brain area for face recognition
 Child-protective and child-responsive instincts
in adults
 Emotional and social deprivation impairs
development in general
 Our brains are wired for and dependent on
specific types of interactions with the
environment
Blakemore, C., & Cooper, G. F. (1970). Development of the brain depends on the
visual environment. Nature, 228(5270), 477-478.
 Inappropriate social responses and interactions
 Inability to form healthy relationships
 Pathological self-concept
 Impaired moral reasoning – lack of empathy and
conscience
 Lack of interaction with the environment =
imparied cognitive development
 Impaired self-regulation
 Development of personality disorders
(psychodynamic theories = based on
psychoanalysis)
 Before attempting the second quiz, watch the
videos on the research and theory mentioned
in this lecture and the video on the effects of
neglect