The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker

I left class today evaluating my personal beliefs and stereotypes of children. When I completed reading The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker last week, I completely agreed with most of what he said. Children are not born with a blank slate in the heads, and we as a country have believed this for far too long. However, in class today, I as well as everyone else, blamed parents 100% for bad behaviors. The following sites have helped me shape my ideas of nature vs. nurture.

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/behavior.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_versus_nurture

http://www.parentcoachplan.com/misbehavior.php

I googled any combination of words I could think of to find varied information on children, behavior, parents, and genes. A large majority of the websites that came up for my searches related to how parents can become better parents, or how parents can fix their mistakes. This vividly proved that our society as a whole stresses the nurture arguement. With more research I found the articles above.

I understand the genitics behind the nature argument but respect that one's environment plays a large role in who children become. I personally like Donald Hebb's reply of what plays a larger role in behavior, "What is more important in a rectangle, its length or width?"

In my own words I would explain the factors leading to how people act this way: When babies are born they are given a code to live life by, not meerely a blank slate. As they grow and mature, they follow their given code of life. However, humans live life trying to avoid pain and maximize pleasure, so when a child recieves a positve reinforcement for a negative behavior he or she continues with that behavior simply for pleasure over pain. This explains how environment can paly a role. Some children may be more stubborn or maybe more extroverted because of hereditary, but the environment they are born into shapes these inate characteristics into something positive and useful or into something negative.

Study since 2005

"When we talk about stress, most people think about how we react to problems that are difficult to deal with. Sometimes these problems are major "life events" that are unexpected or unusual. The family may be having financial difficulties. Parents may be going through a divorce. Teens may be breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend. Perhaps the teen has been hurt in an accident. Other problems are more common day-to-day difficulties". We are reading and researching about children about stress, having a temper, or just the way the teen looks at the adult as if the teen knows everything. Ya right!!!!!!!! I have done some reading online and found a research about teen and stress levels I have enclosed the web site for you. Here is the web site http://medind.nic.in/iba/t05/i1/ibat05i1p11.pdf. After reading this, the study was done in one location and not at different colleges at all. Which maybe if they would have tested in different schools, they might have gotten a different scale or even just different reaction by the student or it might have stayed the same, but either case it was one school.

How does stress attacks the body. I found a web site that answers those questions, http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/01/22/how-stress-attacks-the-body/10876.html. Stress is something that we all will go thru and will have for the rest of our lives. There is no one person that does not have some sort of stress. You might think will I don’t have stress but you probably do. You are thinking about a test or if a guy/girl likes you. How do you get her/his phone number? Do I go to work/school? Just simple question that you think of everyday is a stress. You might not know it. Please understand that this is my opinion on my finds and what I have said.

Rubric for Class Posts

Assignments: All posts should use proper English grammar, spelling, and syntax. Acronyms should be avoided when possible. References to online sources must be linked. Student posts and comments should be respectful to others at all times.

Psychology in the Media: This posting should indicate how something we have talked about in class has been reported in the popular media within the last six years. The media itself should be included (either as an image, embedded video, or working link). A clear description of how this media relates to a topic we have covered. Finally, postings should include the writer's (student's) take on whether or not the media has accurately portrayed the psychological phenomenon and research.

A “Cool” Study: This posting should describe a recent study (published 2005-2010) that relates to something we have talked about in class. The article itself should come from a peer-reviewed source, and should be linked in the posting for the class to peruse. The description of the study should relate not just the study's abstract, but should link the study to what we have talked about in class. Finally, posters should evaluate the study's importance, strengths, flaws, etc.

I Could Do That Better: This post should propose a study that examines a phenomenon we have talked about in class (or read in an assigned reading). This post can include a criticism of a previous study, but must include a research design that corrects mistakes/biases/problems of previous examinations of the psychological phenomenon. At minimum, your proposed study must include sample, methodology, and hypotheses. Finally, your post should include a clear rational for why this proposed study is superior to previous studies.

My view on a debate: This posting should include a short summary of the debate (including relevant sources) that clearly defines the argument. You should provide at least two supports for your view on the debate, and only one of these supports can include anecdotal evidence. Empirical supports should be cited/linked so that others can comment on them. Example debates: Genes vs. Environment, Parents vs. Peers, Sex Ed, Teaching Styles, No Child Left Behind, Nursing vs. Formula, etc….

Welcome to Developmental Psychology

For this course, students will be graded upon five posts and five comments. Posts will make up 15% of their final grade, and comments will make up 5% of their final grade. Students are encouraged to post and comment as often as they like; grades will only be taken from the "highest scoring" posts and comments.