Human Development 2005-2006

UNIT 1. Genetic and Prenatal Influences on Development Part A. Genetic Influences 1. The Age of Genetic Technology Arrives, Leon R. Kass, The American Spectator, November/December 2002 The 30,000 human genes have been mapped and biotech businesses are booming. Will genetic engineering result in every baby being born without any mental or physical disabilities? Will we eliminate tumors and infections, enhance immunity, and make disease extinct? How much more memory, or years of life, will we add? Will we be fulfilled or dehumanized? Leon Kass addresses these ethical issues. 2. Brave New Babies, Claudia Kalb, Newsweek, January 26, 2004 Reproductive technology has made it possible for parents to have their eggs and spem united in a lab dish. After selecting the genetic characteristics they want, the appropriate embryo (or embryos) are implanted in the mother for gestation. This practice has raised some troubling questions. Claudia Kalb addresses these questions of morality and ethics. Part B. Prenatal Influences 3. Inside the Womb, J. Madeleine Nash, Time, November 11, 2002 The author gives a detailed description of development from conception to birth and what it means for the expectant mother. By examining the link between mother and child, the article emphasizes the importance of prenatal care to the growth of a healthy fetus. 4. The Mystery of Fetal Life: Secrets of the Womb, John Pekkanen, Current, September 2001 John Pekkanen describes the many potential threats to the fetus's well-being, including the mother's diet, drug use, caffeine, and environmental hazards. The fetus's ability to learn and remember is impressive, but the author argues that parents can risk over stimulating the fetus. 5. The War Over Fetal Rights, Debra Rosenberg, Newsweek, June 9, 2003 What is the moral and legal status of a fetus? The politics of the womb are complicated. Prenatal development, once private, is now monitored with high-tech ultrasound. A 12-week-old fetus can be seen with beating heart, eyes, ears, fingers, and toes. Has life begun? Can abuse of a pregnant mother murder a fetus? Some states have made fetal harm a crime. UNIT 2. Development During Infancy and Early Childhood Part A. Infancy 6. Four Things You Need to Know About Raising Baby, Joanna Lipari, Psychology Today, July/August 2000 In this article, Joanna Lipari explains the synthesis of important aspects of areas of infant development genetic inheritance, physical development, cognitive skills, and emotional attachment into a new view that equates parenting behaviors to software that promotes the growth of the baby's brain (hardware). Lipari discusses attachment theory and compares "old thinking" about raising a baby with research-guided "new thinking." 7. Who's Raising Baby?, Anne R. Pierce, The World & I, February 2002 What happens to self-esteem and emotional/personality development when babies are rushed to do everything sooner and better than others? The author contends that parenting and infancy should be more about love of learning. Through play, babies discover their individuality and genetically driven interests. Pressuring them to conform to gender-appropriate activities (e.g., sports, ballet) or academic pursuits is miseducation. 8. Vaccines and Autism, Beyond the Fear Factors, Jane E. Brody, The New York Times, March 25, 2003 Brain development is not threatened by infant immunizations, but rather by a failure to vaccinate against the severe infant illnesses that affect neurons. Anxiety over autism is misplaced. Autism's rise may reflect better diagnoses or other environmental or genetic factors. Part B. Early Childhood 9. Four Perspectives on Child Care Quality, Deborah Ceglowski and Chiara Bacigalupa, Early Childhood Education Journal, Winter 2002 Is early childhood education good for children? Will the parent-child attachment bond be weakened? Researchers need to study the quality of care from the child's point of view and from the parent's perceptions, not just by staff and/or professional criteria. 10. Guilt Free TV, Daniel McGinn, Newsweek, November 11, 2002 A new generation of parents use television as an aid to early childhood socialization. New high-quality programs improve cognitive skills, language, self-esteem, and emotional intelligence. Some families still have anxiety about sex and violence. Kids' TV is improving however. 11. Raising a Moral Child, Karen Springen, Newsweek, Special Issue, Fall/Winter 2000 Parents are held responsible for ethics and morality training during early childhood. Our culture has fewer moral role models than before and more and more aggression and violence, increasing the urgency for moral lessons. Karen Springen relays the advice of several experts on how to help preschoolers learn right from wrong. UNIT 3. Development During Childhood: Cognition and Schooling Part A. Cognition 12. Implicit Learning, Peter A. Frensch and Dennis Runger, Current Directions in Psychological Science, February 2003 Implicit learning learning without awareness is an active area of cognition research. This article discusses the problems of trying to prove its existence. It is believed to be very important to critical thinking and problem solving despite its elusiveness. Understanding implicit learning can elucidate brain development issues and aid in educational planning. 13. The New Science of Dyslexia, Christine Gorman, Time, July 28, 2003 Genetic differences in brain wiring are now believed to create dyslexia. Children with dyslexia are skilled problem-solvers and many achieve fame in arts and science. Reading involves separating language into phonemes, analyzing sounds, and automatically detecting them. Educational practices can improve these cognitive skills. 14. Metacognitive Development, Deanna Kuhn, Current Directions in Psychological Science, October 2000 Cognitive development that reflects on itself is called metacognition. Understanding intellectual performance will allow parents, teachers, and others to help children develop effective metacognitive awareness. Deanna Kuhn suggests that knowledge of metastrategies will help us to understand how education occurs or fails to occur. Part B. Schooling 15. Trick Question, Michael Fumento, The New Republic, February 3, 2003 Our culture has been critical of calling attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) a real disorder. We blame parenting, stress, and educational settings for inattention and impulsivity. We claim the drug Ritalin reduces creativity and makes boys more like girls. This article gives the facts about ADHD and its treatments, including Ritalin use. 16. The Future of Computer Technology in K--12 Education, Frederick Bennett, Phi Delta Kappan, April 2002 The author argues that the computer culture will benefit education. Creative individuals can develop software with many cognitive advantages. However, the improvements will not happen until teaching undergoes a major alteration. Parents, politicians, and citizens must want this to happen. 17. The New Gender Gap, Michelle Conlin, Business Week, May 26, 2003 There are gender differences in brain development; boys do more spatial thinking and learn better from action than from talk. Schools in Great Britain focus on teaching the genders differently; we do not. American boys are motivated to bulk up muscles and are socialized to be stoic. Television models this boy code. As a result, females are now outperforming males academically. 18. Girls, Boys and Autism, Geoffrey Cowley, Newsweek, September 8, 2003 The brain development of children with autism enables strong spatial systematizing and weak empathizing, an extreme version of the male gender type. Memory may be due to super-fast growth of systematizing neurons. Autism has a spectrum of behaviors, each producing unique personalities requiring individualized education. Peers can adapt to weak social skills when differences are explained. 19. "High Stakes Are for Tomatoes", Peter Schrag, The Atlantic Monthly, August 2000 This article raises questions about the widespread use of assessment tests to judge the performance of students and schools. The frenzy for higher performance and accountability is shackling creative teaching, driving out good teachers, and creating undue student stress. Are tests culturally biased? Will a testing backlash lower educational standards? UNIT 4. Development During Childhood: Family and Culture Part A. Family 20. Raising Happy Achieving Children in the New Millennium, Alice Sterling Honig, Early Child Development and Care, Volume 163, 2000 This article is packed with excellent advice on care that creates self-esteem and emotionally happy and cognitively achieving children. Alice Honig stresses the need to educate parents early, even before the birth of their child, especially if parents have experienced depression, drug abuse, or family violence. Family aides must be sensitive to different cultures. 21. When Safety is the Name of the Game, David Noonan, Newsweek, September 22, 2003 Organized sports provide exercise and improve the physical status of children and adolescents. Sports injuries, however, are a major health issue. Emotions rise in competition. Coaches and referees may tolerate violence and aggression. Parents can reduce risks by pressuring schools for safety education and athletic trainers. 22. The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker, Discover, October 2002 The author argues that family socialization and cultural constructs interact with genetics (talents, temperament) to create unique humans. It is hypocrisy to blame parenting, or schools, or peers, or television for all behaviors. Children have some inherited traits; they are not blank slates. Social progress can be made by reinforcing good traits and teaching control of bad ones. Part B. Culture 23. Parents or Pop Culture? Children's Heroes and Role Models, Kristin J. Anderson and Donna Cavallaro, Childhood Education, Spring 2002 Women and minority cultures are underrepresented by prime time television. Men are portrayed as important, angry, and often violent. Likewise, comic books show exaggerated male aggression and underrepresent women and minorities as heroes. Research demonstrates that children's play mimics these stereotypes. Parents' impact is more important, but families need to limit exposure to some stereotypes. 24. Brown v. Board: A Dream Deferred, Ellis Cose, Newsweek, May 17, 2004 Cultural differences still exist in American education, according to Ellis Cose. The schooling of children and adolescents from African- and Hispanic-American families is not equal, nor are school resources equivalent. The anxiety and stress of minority learners will be lessened if we give them the same benefits we give upper-middle-class white students. UNIT 5. Development During Adolescence and Young Adulthood Part A. Adolescence 25. The 100 Best High Schools in America, Jay Mathews, Newsweek, June 2, 2003 Advanced placement (AP) tests are motivating both teachers and adolescents to a more challenging education. High expectations plus creative use of resources can stimulate success and improve self-esteem. Twice as many AP tests are taken now than 7 years ago; 77 percent more by cultural minorities and 10 percent more by low-income students. This is turning schooling around. 26. Choosing Virginity, Lorraine Ali and Julie Scelfo, Newsweek, December 9, 2002 Adolescents are increasingly saving sex for marriage. Despite the "everyone is doing it" message from television and peers, many teens feel that they are not emotionally ready and/or focus on education and career choices instead. Their control of their sexuality can improve their self-esteem. Family and friendships fulfill their needs for love and belonging. 27. Hello to College Joys: Keep Stress Off Campus, Jane E. Brody, The New York Times, August 26, 2003 Adolescents at schools away from home face new challenges: sex, drugs, grades, and paying bills. The "best time of their lives" becomes a time of anxiety, emotional stress, and depression. Mental health services are necessary for many students. Jane Brody gives many creative solutions for college students' problems. Part B. Young Adulthood 28. She Works, He Doesn't, Peg Tyre and Daniel McGinn, Newsweek, May 12, 2003 Gender roles in marriage are changing for some young adults. More women than men have college degrees. "Mr. Mom's" may care for the home front while wives have careers. The stress of unemployment and the anxiety over womanhood and manhood may lead to divorce unless couples can relate and adapt to these cultural changes. 29. We're Not in the Mood, Kathleen Deveny, Newsweek, June 30, 2003 This article suggests that married men and women dodge sex due to stress, career tensions, child-rearing anxieties, and depression. Male and female sexual response may need help from drugs like Viagra and Avlimil. No sex often leads to divorce. DINS (Double Income No Sex) couples need to communicate more and schedule time alone together. 30. The Battle for Your Brain, Ronald Bailey, Reason, February 2003 Neuroscience may soon provide ways to manipulate our brains. New drugs may improve memory, boost cognition, and fine-tune our emotions. Will these future enhancements be ethical? Ronald Bailey addresses this question and gives eight objections voiced by neuroethicists. UNIT 6. Development During Middle and Late Adulthood Part A. Middle Adulthood 31. Emotions and the Brain: Laughter, Steven Johnson, Discover, April 2003 A primitive part of the human brain, the brainstem, prompts laugher. Tickling in sexually private or guarded regions (e.g., groin, waist, throat) is registered in another ancient region, the somatosensory cortex. We laugh as a form of instinctive social attachment, especially in childhood. We're often not aware that we're laughing, but our laughter is contagious and helps bond friendships and improve health. 32. Alcohol's Deadly Triple Threat, Karen Springen and Barbara Kantrowitz, Newsweek, May 10, 2004 Socialized gender differences exist in alcohol abuse. Men drink openly. Women drink in secret to ease stress and anxiety. Drinking in adulthood can contribute to divorce, health problems, and death. Pregnant women who drink also impair prenatal brain development and contribute to birth defects. 33. The Great Back Pain Debate, Claudia Kalb, Newsweek, April 26, 2004 What percent of adulthood health problems are caused by disease and physical decline? What role is played by poor diet and lack of exercise? How important are psychological stressors? Psychotherapy, massage, chiropractic manipulation, and acupuncture help. 34. 12 Things You Must Know to Survive and Thrive in America, Ellis Cose, Newsweek, January 28, 2002 This article targets minority men in American culture with career concerns. Personal advice is given on race, education, motivation to achieve, choosing friends, keeping high expectations, and having faith in oneself. Ellis Cose also discusses family fidelity love and care for wife and children. Part B. Late Adulthood 35. Aging's Changing Face, Willow Lawson, Psychology Today, July/August 2003 Aging adults are increasingly returning to education after retirement. Some have the physical status to run triathlons. Willow Lawson reports that optimism contributes to better health, improved memory, and enjoyment of sex. Exercise as well as an upbeat outlook can also reduce depression. 36. Secrets of the Centenarians, Maya Pines, HHMI Bulletin, Spring 2004 Centenarians, over 100 and aging well, have positive emotions, gregarious personalities, good memory and cognition, and remain independent. Researchers have found genetic materials which contribute to this vigor. The health and physical status of many centenarians resemble people 30 years younger. 37. The Nun Study: Alzheimer's, Michael D. Lemonick and Alice Park, Time, May 14, 2001 Almost 700 late adulthood nuns have been part of an innovative study on Alzheimer's disease since 1986. The results are surprising. Use of complex language, education, and positive emotions are correlated with cognitive maintenance. Mental exercise keeps neurons in better health. Genetic factors, cardiovascular disease, nutritional deficiencies, and lack of exercise may predict or contribute to dementia. 38. Navigating Practical Dilemmas in Terminal Care, Helen Sorenson, Emphysema/COPD: The Journal of Patient Centered Care, Winter 2004 Our physical status is more decline (after adolescence) than incline. Aging is universal, and death is inevitable. Helen Sorenson addresses the ethics and morality issues of terminal care. Trust and good communication are essential when preparing advance care directives. Each of us has choices to make about our own deaths.