Lecture 1: Origins of development
***Learning goal: explain how genes and environment can interact***
Butterfly effect: phenomenon of dynamic system
● Explains development by the interaction between many parts of the system ⇒ called
mutual interactions
○ There is an effect from A to B but also B to A
● Everyone in the system changes
Gene-environment interaction
Example 1: Hypothesis is that breastfeeding increases IQ
- Environment (type of milk) interacts with genes (the genotype for IQ)
- For GG genotype, environment did not matter
Example 2: Genotype (DNA) of parents is important here
Three types of effects visible in model:
1. Passive: parents provide both genes and environment ⇒ decreases with age as child
choses environment
a. Willow gets signed to casting by parents
b. Children inherits talent from parents
c. Parents go through texts together
2. Evocative: child characteristics elicit reactions from others ⇒
remains constant with age
a. Parents granted Jaden’s request to come along to an event
b. Trey was offered a scholarship
3. Active: child seeks an environment appropriate to its genotype ⇒ increases with age
a. In her spare time, Willow made up plays
Example 3: How environment can constrain genes (focus on the red line
only)
As people grow older, people chose an environment that fit their genes
Higher socioeconomic status (SES) provides
more opportunities to express genes
● For children with low SES, the heritability is not as high as for
children with high SES →less options to choose from
, ***Explain the importance of early interactions and how they develop***
The early interactions ⇒ they are
indications based on group averages,
however there are also individual
differences
1.Biological regulations
➔ First weeks: regulating basic
biological processes
➔ Feeding cycle
➔ Sleep patterns turn into adaptation of life by week 31→ sleeping during the night and
being awake during the day
2.Face-to-face exchanges
➔ Visual control starts around 2 months
➔ Face recognition increases (visual), followed by them being able to
recognize voice of caregivers (auditory)
➔ 7 months: smile only at familiar faces
3.Topic sharing
➔ Up to 3 months: there is only regulation of attention
➔ At 5 months: manipulative skills towards objects
➔ Topic sharing= including external topics in interaction
◆ No simultaneous attention (one object at a time)
◆ Direction of gaze is a signal for the mother
◆ Joint involvement episodes: common attentional focus
◆ Verbal: mother mentions object when attention is focused on object
4.Reciprocity
➔ Around 8-9 months
➔ Joint attention and coordination
➔ Child becomes more equal social partner through reciprocal and intentional actions
➔ Resembles linguistic conversation
➔ Intentionality ⇒ planned behavior, anticipation of consequences
5.Symbolic representations
➔ From 1.5 years
➔ Gestures for symbolic communication
➔ Language development⇒ verbal and non-verbal
***Learning goal: explain how genes and environment can interact***
Butterfly effect: phenomenon of dynamic system
● Explains development by the interaction between many parts of the system ⇒ called
mutual interactions
○ There is an effect from A to B but also B to A
● Everyone in the system changes
Gene-environment interaction
Example 1: Hypothesis is that breastfeeding increases IQ
- Environment (type of milk) interacts with genes (the genotype for IQ)
- For GG genotype, environment did not matter
Example 2: Genotype (DNA) of parents is important here
Three types of effects visible in model:
1. Passive: parents provide both genes and environment ⇒ decreases with age as child
choses environment
a. Willow gets signed to casting by parents
b. Children inherits talent from parents
c. Parents go through texts together
2. Evocative: child characteristics elicit reactions from others ⇒
remains constant with age
a. Parents granted Jaden’s request to come along to an event
b. Trey was offered a scholarship
3. Active: child seeks an environment appropriate to its genotype ⇒ increases with age
a. In her spare time, Willow made up plays
Example 3: How environment can constrain genes (focus on the red line
only)
As people grow older, people chose an environment that fit their genes
Higher socioeconomic status (SES) provides
more opportunities to express genes
● For children with low SES, the heritability is not as high as for
children with high SES →less options to choose from
, ***Explain the importance of early interactions and how they develop***
The early interactions ⇒ they are
indications based on group averages,
however there are also individual
differences
1.Biological regulations
➔ First weeks: regulating basic
biological processes
➔ Feeding cycle
➔ Sleep patterns turn into adaptation of life by week 31→ sleeping during the night and
being awake during the day
2.Face-to-face exchanges
➔ Visual control starts around 2 months
➔ Face recognition increases (visual), followed by them being able to
recognize voice of caregivers (auditory)
➔ 7 months: smile only at familiar faces
3.Topic sharing
➔ Up to 3 months: there is only regulation of attention
➔ At 5 months: manipulative skills towards objects
➔ Topic sharing= including external topics in interaction
◆ No simultaneous attention (one object at a time)
◆ Direction of gaze is a signal for the mother
◆ Joint involvement episodes: common attentional focus
◆ Verbal: mother mentions object when attention is focused on object
4.Reciprocity
➔ Around 8-9 months
➔ Joint attention and coordination
➔ Child becomes more equal social partner through reciprocal and intentional actions
➔ Resembles linguistic conversation
➔ Intentionality ⇒ planned behavior, anticipation of consequences
5.Symbolic representations
➔ From 1.5 years
➔ Gestures for symbolic communication
➔ Language development⇒ verbal and non-verbal
