Seen Exam Developmental Psychology

Running Head: DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 1

Developmental Psychology

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DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2

Developmental Psychology

Psychology assists individuals to understand how they think, feel and behave. Biological,

psychological and cognitive approaches guide psychological research. The biological theory

uses a biological perspective to explain physiological processes. It looks at how the nervous

system and genetic composition of an individual affect behaviour. Cognitive psychology studies

how the brain and sense organs process information. This theory is concerned with how people

perceive, make decisions and remember information. The theory asserts that a person’s thoughts

determine his or her emotional experiences and behaviour. Psychological theories help to

describe a behaviour and make predictions about future behaviours. They are valuable for

guiding practice in various domains and providing answers to questions concerning perception,

emotion, and learning. Biological, psychological, and cognitive theories can help explain autism

spectrum disorder (ASD), separation anxiety disorder (SAD), and ADHD.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental condition that impacts a

person’s brain development of communication skills. A person with ASD has impaired social

skills, impaired communication skills, and problems processing information. From a biological

perspective, there is strong evidence for genetic factors contributing to ASD. Although biological

factors cause autism, it is believed parenting practices could also contribute to the development

of the disorder. According to Joseph, Thurm and Soorya (2015), early biological theories

suggested that ASD is caused by damage to the brain during the prenatal period. These theories

argued that damage to brain cell tissue and gene-environment interactions played a role in ASD.

Brain damage causes a deficiency in coordination and abnormalities in brain activity. ASD also

has a psychological basis as it serves to put cognition into practice to link brain and behaviour.

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 3

Although people believe hereditary factors play a role in the incidence of ASD, the

diagnosis of the disorder is based on behavioural analysis. Various cognitive theories help to

explain the condition. The three most famous theories are executive dysfunction, weak central

coherence, and theory of mind. They are useful theories because they provide a precise

understanding of the nature of ASD. The theory of mind suggests that autistic persons have a

deficiency in developing social cognition and communicative activities (Rajendran & Mitchell,

2007). Executive dysfunction theory states that individuals fail to control executable actions

resulting in repetitive behaviours. Autistic individuals face difficulties planning and switching

attention from one activity to another due to lack of control of behaviour. Weak central

coherence theory suggests that autistic individuals show superior skills in certain aspects due to

perceptual-cognitive processing (Rajendran & Mitchell, 2007). The theory posits that autistic

individuals have a tendency to weak central coherence. People with autism process incoming

information and can draw details to recognize the meaning of the entire picture.

Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD) comprises an inappropriate and extreme fear of

separation from a person to whom there is a strong emotional attachment. It affects both children

and adults but is common in children. Children diagnosed with SAD often exhibit excessive

anxiety when they are separated from their mothers or caregivers (Ehrenreich, Santucci &

Weiner, 2008). Comprehensive diagnosis is required to distinguish what is normal from a

disorder. The biological theory explains SAD by suggesting that tendencies toward anxiety are

inheritable. Thus, genetic susceptibility to anxiety and biological vulnerabilities make a person

vulnerable to SAD.

Cognitive theory suggests that separation anxiety is a usual part of growth. It is a healthy

and essential adaptation that helps a child to develop emotionally. Erikson places children who

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experience this kind of anxiety in the stage of trust versus mistrust. Piaget’s cognitive theory

categorizes children experiencing anxiety in the sensorimotor stage. These theories show that a

wide range of changes occurs in a child. Children with SAD tend to be shy, fearful and irritable.

Some of them tend to be cautious, quiet, and introverted. Abnormal levels of anxiety are a

problem because they occur without a recognizable stimulus and interfere with a person’s

functioning (Heap, 2012). Cognitive-behavioural interventions are accepted models for

understanding the maintenance of fears and anxiety (Hu, Chou & Yen, 2016).

The psychological theory posits that children learn to be anxious from their parents. It is

usually a response to their environment. Existing theories postulate that SAD develops from a

combination of biological and environmental influences. ADHD is an illness characterized by a

continuing pattern of inattentiveness and hyperactivity that hinders normal functioning.

Diagnosis of ADHD is necessary when the symptoms are chronic and cause a person to lag

behind in normal development. A biological theory of ADHD is that attention takes possession

of the mind in a clear form enabling a person to focus, concentrate and be conscious. A person

has to withdraw from certain aspects to concentrate effectively on other issues. The human mind

needs processes that can select and organize information into meaningful units. Interrelated brain

areas promote attention functions and behavioural regulation. The lateral prefrontal and parietal

cortices are responsible for sustained attention.

Abnormalities in the connections between brain areas contribute to ADHD (Hu, Chou &

Yen, 2016). Anomalies in the frontal lobes of the brain cause ADHD because this part of the

brain is used for regulating attention. Researchers believe that a gene involved in the creation of

dopamine may be the cause of ADHD. The role of dopamine is to maintain regular and

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 5

consistent attention, but individuals with ADHD have low levels of dopamine. ADHD is genetic,

meaning a parent can pass it down to a child.

The cognitive theory postulates that ADHD is a behavioural syndrome that commences in

early childhood and leads to other behaviours. A psychological theory of ADHD suggests that a

dysfunction in the mechanism for self-regulation causes a child to experience a delay in

behavioural response. Children with ADHD often have problems in their working memory,

information processing, and executive functioning. Executive functions include sustaining

attention to a task ignoring inappropriate information (Heap, 2012). Children with ADHD

process information at a slower speed than other children. These aspects demonstrate the

executive dysfunction theory of ADHD where the illness arises from reduced executive control.

Executive functions help a person to make decisions about how to behave.

Bringing together biology, cognition, and behaviour helps to understand disorders at all

the levels. Cognitive theories focus on making connections between brain anomalies and

behavioural symptoms. Cognitive-behavioural models suggest that situations, emotions, thoughts

and behaviours are interrelated and are useful in understanding people’s emotions and

behaviours. Psychiatric conditions occur as a result of the interplay of biological, social, and

psychological forces. Clinical researchers often look for a biological basis for mental illnesses.

Biological theories cover many aspects from structure to chemical functions within brain

cells. It is important to identify individuals that are at risk for these disorders to provide

appropriate treatment before it causes extreme cognitive dysfunction and behavioural difficulties.

Individuals with ASD, SAD, and ADHD have different levels of anxiety but are likely to

comorbid. Parents and caregivers need to understand behavioural traits associated with anxiety

and depression in children with ASD, SAD, and ADHD. Monitoring symptoms and patterns of

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 6

behaviour enable parents and guardians to take appropriate action.

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 7

References

Ehrenreich, J. T., Santucci, L. C., & Weiner, C. L. (2008). Separation anxiety disorder in youth:

phenomenology, assessment, and treatment. Psicologia conductual, 16(3), 389.

Heap, M. (2012). Hypnotherapy: A handbook. Berkshire, England: Open University Press.

Hu, H. F., Chou, W. J., & Yen, C. F. (2016). Anxiety and depression among adolescents with

attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: The roles of behavioral temperamental traits,

comorbid autism spectrum disorder, and bullying involvement. The Kaohsiung journal of

medical sciences, 32(2), 103-109.

Joseph, L., Thurm, A., & Soorya, L. (2015). Autism spectrum disorder. Boston, Mass: Hogrefe.

Rajendran, G., & Mitchell, P. (2007). Cognitive theories of autism. Developmental Review,

27(2), 224-260.

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