Developmental Journal 8

Body Image

                I think body image is something that everyone can relate to and occasionally struggles with. I started becoming aware of body image in high school and throughout my college years. I am conscious of what I eat and try to exercise to stay healthy. Every since I can remember my mother and aunts have always talked about how much they weigh, how much weight they need to loose, and what kind of diet they were on. Weight and diet talk was a constant subject growing up and it made me aware of the importance of weight at a young age.

                While sitting at Thanksgiving with my family, again the topic of weight came up. My aunt was discussing the new exercise class she was taking and my mother was complaining about how much she weighed. My 10 year old cousin then chimed in with the fact that she needed to lose one pound to maintain her goal weight. I am pretty confident that she said this for a reaction, but it struck me at what age we develop the idea that we need to weigh a certain amount. The idea that my 10 year old cousin thinks she has a goal weight and is already trying to lose the healthy weight she is gaining as she grows disturbs me. My family are naturally small people, but my aunts and mother do struggle with maintain a healthy body weight. My cousins and I have constantly be subjected to the idea that being thin is the ideal and that we always need to be on a diet. As much as I think my cousin said this statement for a reaction I am frustrated that she even knows the concept of a diet. Girls are bombarded by the media with ideas of the perfect body and having a family that feeds into this idea doesn’t help. In my opinion it is only a recipe for disaster, a sick social cycle. Instead of being taught about the gloriousness of being thin, parents and the media should be promoting being healthy. Thin is not always healthy, and I am not immune to the notion that we as a nation have a serious weight issue, but the goal should be being healthy, not underweight. I know about the pressure to be thin and I don’t want my cousins to have to feel that same pressure (high hopes I know). As confident as I am about my cousin’s statement, I am not inside her head and there is still the possibility that she already believes she weighs too much. I just wonder if my family realizes that when they discuss their weight and diets that it is having an impact on the children around them.

Developmental Blog 7

Categorical Self

Over the weekend I was riding in the car with my niece and nephew. My niece is 4 months old and my nephew is 3 years old. My mother was sitting next to my niece and nephew and talking to both of them. While carrying on a conversation with my nephew about his baby sister, my mother asked him “isn’t she pretty”? My nephew replied, “she is a girl” and “she is a baby”. As I sat in the back seat observing this conversation I thought this was funny because he described her with a physical characteristic of her sex and age instead of something such as being pretty. He was describing her with a category. After this he decided to start describing himself as a boy and as 3. I knew that we had discussed this type of description of self in class and it was interesting to watch my nephew do this. I am sure he refers to himself in categories; I just never paid close attention before.

Fantasy Period developmental Blog 6

Ms. Preteen Alexandria Fair

A few weeks ago my ten-year-old cousin competed in a statewide beauty pageant. No, she did not win but she is still the most beautiful girl in my book.  There were 57 girls ranging in age from 8 to 13 years old. During part of the pageant the girls walked down the stage while the MC announced a few things about each of them. Each girl was previously asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. As each girl came out and their biographies read, each one answered the what they wanted to be question with one of four things, a doctor, a nurse, a teacher, or Miss America. Every once in a while some girl’s biography said she wanted to be a pediatrician or a pediatric oncologist, still not an original answer. This amazed me as I listen to all the girls’ answers. When one differed, such as the pediatric oncologist, I couldn’t help but think that their mother had wrote that answer. Most girls were in the fantasy period of selecting their career. The girls likely understood the glamour of their choices or have been surrounded by families who have the careers they selected. It bothered me that every girl had the same idea about what they wanted to be when they grow up. After reading the Berk book and learning about the fantasy period, it makes a little sense why the girls chose what they did. Afterward, I asked my cousin why she wanted to be a doctor; her response was because I want to help people. I just let her know there are many careers out there that help people. I know, as she gets older she will figure all this out.

Developmental Blog 5: Sociodramatic Play

Recently at my practicum site I subbed for the playgroup teacher. The playgroup is made up of about 7-10 typical developing kids. I was in the gym observing them playing when a group of the girls started to make-believe play. They first started out playing house, one was the mom, one was the dad, and one was the baby. They acted out typical “house” situations and directed each other on what they were suppose to say and do. After playing house for a few minutes, the moved from being people to dogs and the play-scape became the doghouse. They were barking and chasing each other around the room. Finally, the girls began to pretend “jungle” each pretending to be a different animal and added to the play by making the animal noises. Watching all this take place, I was amazed at their imaginations and how quickly they could move from one instance of make-believe straight into another. It seemed like they didn’t have to think about what they were going to play, each instance flowed smoothly into the next. It seemed so obvious to the girls that this is how to play. I guess as an adult I have forgotten how easy it is to make-believe play.

Risk Taking in Adolescence New Perspectives From Brain and Behavioral Science By Laurence Steinberg

Trying to find out why adolescence take more risks than adults has plagued the research community for years. The common theory that adolescents engage in risky behavior because of irrationality, ignorance, and fantasies of immunity may not be true. This article examined the developmental neuroscience behind risk taking behavior.

            It is no secret that adolescents and college-age people take more risks than adults or children do, based on statistics about binge drinking, unprotected sex and automobile accidents. There are numerous theories as to why adolescent risk taking is so high compared to any other period of development. One theory that based on evidence from developmental neuroscience is that heightened risk taking behaviors is the result of an interaction between two brain networks.

            The first network, the socioemotional network of the brain is remolded during puberty and is sensitive to social and emotional stimuli. It also plays a role in forward processing. The second network, the cognitive-control network, develops overtime and plays a role in functions such as thinking ahead, planning, and self-regulation. These two networks of the brain compete when an adolescent is engaging in risk taking behavior.  The socioemotional network because more controlling when an individual reaches puberty and the cognitive-control network does not have as much power. When individuals are alone and the socioemotional network is not as stimulated the cognitive-control network can assert more control over things such as impulsive risk taking behavior.  Whereas when an individual is in the presence of peers and the socioemotional network is being stimulated the cognitive-control network can not be as effective in controlling impulsive risk taking behavior. As the individual matures from adolescence to adulthood this scenario tends to occur less because the cognitive-control network is also maturing.

            The increase is risk taking behavior in adolescence could be explained by the two networks in the brain based on the fact that most adolescents tend to spend most of their time with their peers which stimulate the socioemotional network. The presence of peers has no effect on adults when it comes to risk taking behavior and only moderately effects college-age individuals. When teenagers were studied using a video driving game to assess risk taking behavior, the number of risks and adolescent took doubled in the presence of peers, but had no effect on adults. The article suggested that adolescents tend to recruit the cognitive-control network less than adults and there is not as much cross talk between brain regions as there is in adults.  This results in adolescents acting without thinking or thinking too much when they should be relying on gut feeling.

            To help combat the increase risk taking behavior in adolescents the article suggests limiting adolescents’ opportunities for immature judgment that have harmful consequences. Instead of trying to change how adolescents view risky behavior, implementing strategies such as raising the driving age, increasing the tax on cigarettes, and vigilantly enforcing laws on the sale of alcohol. Increase risk taking during adolescents is going to happen, so limiting the opportunities for it to occur is the best way to deal with it.

            After reading this article I can see how the biological aspects of the brain can play a role in the increased risk taking behavior of adolescents. The article mentioned that providing teenagers with information about risky behavior changes their thinking, but rarely changes their behavior. Programs such as DARE and driver’s education classes have been around for decades but have yet to decrease adolescent risk taking behavior. The way to change adolescent behavior and behavior in general is to manipulate the environment in which the behavior occurs. If a teenage can’t get their driver license until a later age, the cognitive-control network has had time to mature and can help to better regulate risk taking behavior. Teenagers are aware of the risks when it comes to driving recklessly but have an inability to delay the reinforcement they get from taking that risk especially when peers are around. Peer pressure and the need to fit in during adolescents sets the ground work for an increase in risk taking behaviors.