Psychology 3 Marks Question

Durganand Sinha (1977) has presented an ecological model for understanding the development of children in Indian context. Ecology of the child could be viewed in term of two concentric layers.

1. The upper and the more visible layer: Consist of home, school, peer groups and so on.

Elements of visible/ upper layer:

1. Home, its conditions in terms of overcrowding, space available to each member, toys, technological devices use etc.
2. Nature and quality of schooling facilities, to which the child is exposed.
3. Nature of interactions and activities undertaken with peer groups.

The surrounding layer of the child's ecology: It influences the upper layer's factors.

2. Elements of surrounding layer:

1. General geographical environment. It includes space and facilities outside the home including general congestion of the locality and density of population.
2. Institutional setting provided by cast, class and other factors.
3. General amenities available to the child like drinking water, electricity and means of entertainment and so on.

The visible and the surrounding layer factors interact with one another and may have different consequences on development in different people.

1. The image of old age is changing: There are people who have crossed seventy years of age or so and are quite active, energetic and creative. They are competent and valued by society in many walks of life. We have aged people in politics, literature, business and science. The experience of old age also depends on the socio-economic conditions, availability of health care, attitude of people, expectations of society and the available support system.
2. Old age is an issue of Perception: Retirement from active vocational life is quite significant. Some people perceive retirement as a negative change. It is seen that older adults who show openness to new experiences are more striving and have achievement oriented behaviour prefer to keep busy and are adjusted.
3. Issues related to adjustment: Older adults also need to adjust to changes in the family structure and new roles that have to be learnt. They may depend on their children for financial support and to overcome their loneliness.
4. Problem of insecurity and dependence: In old age feeling of loss of energy and dwindling of health and financial assets lead to insecurity and dependency. Indian cultures favours dependency of elderly on their children, for old age needs caring.
5. Fear of death: In old age death is more likely to occur because of chronic diseases. The death of a spouse is usually seen as the most difficult loss. Support from children, grandchildren and friends can help the individual cope with the loss of spouse.
6. Problem of loneliness: Due to rigidity of thoughts, obsession of old memories · and generation gap, old people find themselves alone "nobody wants to talk to me."

Some major reflexes in the newborn:

1. Rooting Reflex: It includes turning the head and opening the mouth when touched on the cheek. "It disappears between 3 and 6 months."
2. Moro Reflex: If there is a loud noise, the baby will throw his/ her arms outward while arching his/ her back, and their bring the arms together as if grasping something. It disappears by 6 to 7 months (although reaction to loud noises is permanent).
3. Grasp Reflex: When a finger or some other object is pressed against the baby's palm, the baby's finger close around it.

It disappears by 3 to 4 months: Replaced by voluntary grasping.

4. Babinski Reflex: When the bottom of the baby's foot is stroked the toes fan out and then curl. It disappears by 8 to 12 months.

Urie Bronfenbrenner's contextual view of development emphasizes the role of environmental factors in the development of an individual.

1. Micro system: The micro system is the immediate environment in which the individual lives. It is in these settings where the child directly interacts with social agents-the family, peers, teachers and neighbourhood.
2. Meso system: The meso system consists of relations between these contexts. i.e. How a child's parents relate to the teachers or how the parents view the adolescent's friends. These are experiences which are likely to influence an individual's relationship with others.
3. Exo system: The exo system includes events in social settings where the child does not participate directly, but they influence the child's experiences in the immediate context. e.g. the transfer of father or mother may cause tension among the parents which might affect their interactions with the child or the general amenities available to the child like quality of schooling, libraries, medical care, means of entertainment, etc.
4. Macro system: Macro system includes the culture in which the individual lives.
5. Chronosystem: Chronosystem involves events in the individual's life course, and socio-historical circumstances of the time such as, divorce of parents or parents economic setback and their effect on the child.

Bronfenbrenner's view is that a child's development is significantly affected by the complex world that envelops him/ her whether it be the conversations on very small matters with his playmates, or the social and economic life circumstances into which he/ she is born.

• Environment of the child has a major role to play in the development of the child because it includes the surroundings in which the child develops various cognitive and motor skills. It also influences the physical development of the child according to the limits set by genetic characteristics.
• The socio-economic and cultural environment has a major role in the development of the child’s process, e.g., a child who is sent to school is able to develop characteristics of confidence and self-reliance more easily than a child who does not receive education.

Thus, environment plays a vital role in the child’s development.

Delinquency refers to a variety of behaviours, ranging from socially unacceptable behaviour, legal offences, to criminal acts e.g. truancy, running away from home, stealing or burglary or acts of vandalism.

1. Adolescents with delinquency and behavioural problems tend to have a negative self-identity, decreased trust, and low level of achievement.
2. Delinquency is often associated with low parental support, inappropriate discipline and family discord.
3. Often adolescents from communities characterized by poverty, unemployment and having feelings of alienation from the middle class perform anti-social act to gain attention and to be popular with their peers.

Development is a process by which an individual grows and changes throughout the life cycle.

• The term Development refers to the changes that have a direction and hold definite relationship with what precedes it.
• Includes changes in size (physical growth), changes in proportion (child to adult), changes in features (disappearance of baby teeth) and acquiring new features.

Development includes growth as one of its aspects.
Growth:

• Growth refers to an increase in the size of body parts or of the organism as a whole.
• It can be measured or quantified, e.g. growth in height and weight.

Maturation: Refers to the changes that follow an orderly sequence and are largely dictated by the genetic blueprint which produces commonalities in our growth and development.