Assignment Code: MCFT-001 / TMA-1 / ASST-1 / 2022 – 2023

Course Code: MCFT-001

Assignment Name: Human Development and Family Relationships

Year: 2022 - 2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Note: (i) Answer all the questions in both sections.

(ii) Answers to questions of Section “A” should not exceed 300 words each.

Section A - Descriptive Questions (10x6=60 marks)

Q 1. Explain the major characteristics of human development.

Ans) Development is defined as change in all human aspects including physical, motor, emotional, language, intellectual, social and behaviour in a progressive manner. Puberty in adolescent is an example of physical development.

Development is a process which has some specific characteristics. These are:

1. Development is lifelong: Development is a continuous process. It occurs throughout the life span of human beings whereas the rate of development may vary according to the phase of the life span.

2. Development follows a specific sequence: Development follows a universal order. Despite individual development rates. nonetheless. The child may skip a stage and jump from first to third, but always from a lower to a higher level.

3. Development is irreversible: Development process is irreversible as one who acquires or develops up to some level cannot go back to the lower level.

4. Development proceeds from general to specific: Development becomes more definite with age. It starts from general responses and after some time, as the development proceeds, responses become more specific.

5. Child develops as a whole: Child development includes physical, mental, social, emotional, and behavioural development. These areas develop simultaneously. The child grows together. Thus, a rich environment for child development helps them reach their full potential.

6. Development is cumulative in nature: Every organism's development builds on the previous one. New development cannot happen without existing development.

7. Development varies from one child to another: Each child develops at a different pace, but the sequence is the same. Nutrition, health, socio-cultural influences, genetic predisposition, family economic status, and other factors affect child development.

8. Biological and environmental contexts strongly influence development: Every person grows in a unique environment shaped by time and place. Heredity and maturation affect human development. Family, community, and culture also shape human development.

Q 2. What do you understand by

i) Fictional goals

Ans) Fictional goals are ideas that have a significant impact on people's lives but cannot be evaluated or proven to be true in reality. Adler thought that everything we do in life is shaped by our desire to be better than others. The goal of striving is to make sure that our lives are perfect, complete, and whole. Our ultimate goals, the ones that give our lives meaning and direction, are made up and can't be tested or confirmed in the real world. Some people, for example, may go through life thinking that if they work hard and have a little luck, they can do almost anything. Adler thinks this belief is a lie because there are a lot of people who work hard but never accomplish anything worthwhile. "Your reward will be in Heaven" is another example of a rule. Even though our made-up goals don't exist in the real world, they have a big impact on how we try to be better, be perfect, and be one.

ii) Collective unconscious

Ans) The history of our species is written in the primitive images in our collective unconscious. Lung thought that the psyche, which is what he called a person's personality, is made up of three different structures that work together: the ego, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious. The history of our species is stored in the primitive images or archetypes that are part of the collective unconscious. Mythical images that are vague and mysterious can be archetypes. The All-Powerful God, the Young Hero, the Fertile and Caring Mother, the Wise Old Man, the Mean Brother, Fairy Godmothers, Wicked Witches, and Themes of Rebirth or Resurrection are all examples of archetypes. Archetypes are unconscious in and of themselves, but lung said that they affect our thoughts and feelings and make us sensitive to cultural themes in stories and movies.

Q 3. How is Vygotsky’s approach to cognitive development different from Piaget’s?

Discuss.

Ans)

Vygotsky’s Cognitive Development

Vygotsky said that social interaction, especially between children and adults, is necessary for children to learn the ways of thinking and acting that make up the culture of a group.

Vygotsky thought that when adults and more experienced peers help kids learn to do culturally important things, their conversations become a part of the kids' way of thinking. Children use this way of talking to themselves to figure out what to think and do and to learn new skills. Jean Piaget's research on how children learn was important to Vygotsky's theory. He agreed with Piaget that children are active and creative beings, but he saw cognitive development as a socially mediated process because it depends on the support of others, which comes from adults or peers in the social group.

Vygotsky emphasised the importance of social interaction in cognitive development and came up with the idea of the "zone of proximal development," which is the difference between what a child can do alone and what they can do with help.

Piaget's Cognitive Development

Piaget says that experience is organised by mental structures called schemas. It can also be a way of thinking or acting that helps you learn. Piaget says that an infant's schemas include sucking, grasping, eating, holding, and throwing. A two-year-schema old may include things and things that happen. Schemas are made in children as they explore and learn. Schemas help children recognise things, predict what will happen, plan what they will do, and repeat how they act.

Information is processed in the mind. Piaget says that the two-year-old thinks before acting. The most important mental representations are images, which are mental pictures of things, people, places, etc., and concepts, which are groups of similar things or events.

Piaget thought that all living things change to fit their surroundings. Assimilation and adjustment are things that people do their whole lives. Also, that children are cognitively coordinated when they can add new information to what they already know. If something doesn't fit right, they might try to make changes. When kids' minds change quickly, they are out of balance. The organisation changes the schema on the inside without being affected by the outside world. When children link their schema, they make new schema and cognitive systems.

Q 4. Analyse the changing structure and nature of family in the present-day urban context.

Ans) A different structure that has come about is that of a modified extended family. This type of family does not need to be close geographically or work together, and there is no hierarchy of power. This new type of family encourages frequent visits, financial help, help and support with childcare and household chores, and involvement and participation in life-cycle events like births, marriages, deaths, and festival celebrations. So, the family and kinship ties are kept and kept alive. Even in India's more modern, nuclear families, many of the functional extensions of the traditional joint family have been kept, and the nuclear family is strongly rooted in the extended kinship matrix. Even though there have been many changes and adaptations to a pseudo-Western culture and a move toward the nuclear family among the middle and upper classes, the modified extended family is still preferred and is likely to continue to be the norm in modern India.

Modern urban families have changed significantly. Significant changes include:

1. Nuclear families: The traditional extended family structure has given way to nuclear families, where only the parents and children live together.

2. Single-parent families: The rise in divorce rates and increase in single-parent households has led to a growing number of single-parent families.

3. Same-sex families: The acceptance of same-sex relationships has led to an increase in same-sex families.

4. Blended families: The increase in second marriages and stepfamilies has led to a rise in blended families.

5. Working mothers: With more women entering the workforce, the role of women as primary caregivers has changed, leading to a shift in family dynamics.

6. Technology: The widespread use of technology has changed the way families communicate and interact with each other, leading to both positive and negative impacts on family relationships.

7. Urbanization: Urbanization has led to a decrease in the extended family support system, resulting in families having to rely more on themselves for support.

Overall, the changing structure and nature of families in the present-day urban context reflects the broader societal changes and shifting values.

Q 5. Discuss elements of parenting, and their consequences.

Ans) Being responsive and being demanding are two important parts of being a parent.

1. Parental Responsiveness: Parenting responsiveness is how much parents help their children become independent, self-regulated, and have high self-esteem by being supportive, flexible, and accepting of their needs and wants.

2. Parental Demandingness: Parenting Demandingness is a way to measure how much a parent wants and expects their child to behave in a more grown-up, sensible, and ultimately responsible way. Some parents set high expectations, while others don't ask for much and rarely try to change how their child acts. Also, some parents understand and care about what their children want.

Consequences of Parenting Style

Researchers have found that a child's social skills, academic performance, psychosocial development, and problem behaviours can be predicted by the way their parents raise them. In general, social competence and psychosocial functioning are linked to how responsive parents are, while instrumental competence and behaviour control are linked to how demanding parents are.

Baumrind, Weiss and Schwarz found that:

1. Children from authoritative families (high in demandingness and high in responsiveness) rate themselves and are rated by objective measures as more socially and instrumentally competent than those whose parents are not authoritative. These kids usually do well in school and don't get into trouble. They also have good social skills, a high sense of self-worth, and less depression.

2. Children from authoritarian families, which are high in demandingness but low in responsiveness, tend to do okay in school and not get into trouble, but they have fewer social skills, less self-esteem, and more depression.

3. Children from indulgent homes, which are high in responsiveness but low in demandingness, are more likely to act out and do average in school, but they have higher self-esteem, better social skills, and lower levels of depression.

4. Children from families that aren't involved (have low responsiveness and low demandingness) do badly in all areas.

The positive effects of authoritative parenting and the negative effects of not being involved are clear as early as preschool and continue through adolescence and early adulthood.

Q 6. Explain the assumption of systems theory.

Ans) A system is just a part of the world that people focus on and whose parts work together.

Assumptions of systems theory explain how this theory works better:

1. All parts of the system are interconnected: Any change to one component of the system will have an effect on all of the other components. For instance, the presence of visitors in the family can alter the atmosphere that prevails within the family.

2. System can be understood only as a whole: The entirety of a system is greater than the sum of its parts. The foundations of proper behaviour are inculcated in children by their families in their entirety. Mistakes, for instance, cannot be placed solely at the feet of a single individual; rather, a system analyst would be able to investigate how the error occurred within a subsystem.

3. A system’s behaviour affects its environment and in turn the environment affects the system: The actions of a system have an impact on the surrounding environment, which in turn has an effect on the system itself: It shows that cause and effect cannot be understood independently of one another.

4. "Systems" are heuristic, not real things: The theory of systems is not a description of reality; rather, it is a mode of knowing. The "view that knowledge must not be taken to be a picture of objective reality but rather as a particular way of organising experience" is the defining characteristic of the constructivist perspective. The way an individual acts within the context of their family can provide insight into how they will act in other social settings. The emotional and persistent unit that is the family system consists of close personal relationships. This way of thinking is helpful in gaining an understanding of how a family unit operates.

Section B - Short Answer Type Questions (40 marks)

Q. Write short notes (in about 150 words each) on the following: (5x 8 = 40 marks)

i) Nature vs. Nurture

Ans) Nature vs. Nurture is a long-running debate in the field of psychology about how much genes (nature) and the environment (nurture) affect how people grow up and act. The nature perspective focuses on how genes and biology affect behaviour, while the nurture perspective looks at how things like upbringing, culture, and life experiences affect behaviour. Recent research has shown that both nature and nurture play important roles in how people grow and act, and that the way they affect each other is complex and always changing. For example, a person's susceptibility to certain mental health conditions may be affected by their genes, but environmental factors like stress and trauma can also be very important in their development. In the end, the nature vs. nurture debate shows how important it is to look at both biological and environmental factors when trying to understand how people act and grow.

ii) Genetic counselling

Ans) Genetic counselling is a way for a professional in genetics to talk with a person or family who is worried about the possibility of an inherited disorder or disease. The goal of genetic counselling is to give accurate and up-to-date information about the genetic aspects of a specific condition, as well as the risks and options for testing and treatment. During a genetic counselling session, the counsellor will get a detailed family and medical history and talk about the risks of having a condition that runs in the family. The counsellor will also tell the person or family about the genetic tests that are available and what their pros and cons are. This will help the person or family make decisions about testing and care that are based on accurate information. Genetic counselling is important for people and families who may be at risk for inherited diseases because it can give them the information and support, they need to make decisions about their health that are in their best interests. It can also help people and families with genetic conditions feel less anxious and deal with their problems better.

iii) Adoptive families

Ans) A child is raised in an adoptive family by parents who are not his or her biological parents. Adoption can be done in many different ways, such as through a foster care system, internationally, or with an open adoption. Adoptive families give children who have been hurt, lost, or have had other problems in their lives a safe, loving place to live. Adoption can be good for both the child and the adoptive family in many ways, such as creating strong and lasting family bonds, giving the child more resources and support, and improving the child's health and development. But adoption can also bring problems, such as trouble bonding and attaching, differences in culture, and problems with identity and feeling like you belong. Adoptive families may need help and resources to help them deal with these problems and build strong, healthy relationships with their adopted children.

iv) Family developmental tasks

Ans) Family development tasks are the stages and problems that families face as they grow and change over time. These tasks are seen as important for the healthy growth and functioning of families. They include things like creating a family identity, setting clear roles and responsibilities, and figuring out how to handle changes like the birth of a child or a family member getting older.

Some common family developmental tasks include:

1. Forming a family identity: This involves establishing a shared sense of purpose and values and developing a shared understanding of what it means to be part of a family.

2. Establishing clear roles and responsibilities: This involves defining and negotiating the roles and responsibilities of each family member, such as who will take care of the children or manage the household finances.

3. Navigating transitions: This involves managing changes in family structure, such as the arrival of children, the aging of family members, or the departure of family members through death or other means.

4. Building a support system: This involves developing a network of relationships and resources that can provide support and stability to the family during times of stress or change.

v) Burnout

Ans) Burnout is a state of being physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted. It can be caused by long-term stress and high demands. It is common in people who work in high-stress fields like healthcare, education, and social services, but it can happen to anyone who feels stressed and overwhelmed all the time. Burnout causes people to feel tired, uninterested in their work or other activities, cynical, or negative. It also makes people less effective and productive. Burnout can also cause serious problems with your physical and mental health, like an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems, as well as physical health problems like heart disease and chronic pain. To prevent and treat burnout, you need to use a variety of techniques, such as stress management, self-care, and help from friends, family, and mental health professionals. It is also important for people and businesses to know the signs of burnout and take steps to fix the underlying causes, such as too much work, not having control over work, and not having a good balance between work and life.

vi) Cybernation

Ans) Cybernation is the term for how society is becoming increasingly dependent on technology and automation in areas like work, communication, and entertainment. With the internet and other digital technologies growing so quickly, cybernation has become a defining feature of the modern world. It has changed how people live, work, and interact with each other. Some of the most important benefits of cybernation are increased efficiency, convenience, and access, as well as the ability to automate routine tasks and reduce the time and effort needed to do them. But cybernation also has problems, such as the chance of people losing their jobs, worries about privacy, and the chance of more social isolation and loneliness. As cybernation continues to grow and change, it is important to think about both its pros and cons and to take steps to deal with the cons and make the most of the pros. This could mean making new rules and policies to protect privacy and keep people from losing their jobs, as well as putting money into education and training programmes to help people and communities adjust to the way technology is changing.

vii) Classical conditioning

Ans) Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which an organism learns to link a neutral stimulus with a natural stimulus that always makes it do something. In the late 1800s, Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov was the first person to talk about this way of learning. In classical conditioning, an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) is paired with a neutral stimulus (NS) until the NS gets the same response as the UCS. We call this the "conditioned response" (CR). For example, if a dog hears a bell every time it is fed, it will start to salivate when it hears the bell even when there is no food around. Classical conditioning has been linked to a wide range of behaviours, such as phobias, addictions, and emotional responses. It has also been used in therapy, like exposure therapy, to help people get over their fears and phobias. In the field of psychology as a whole, classical conditioning is an important idea that is still studied and used in many different ways.

viii) Gender roles

Ans) Gender roles are the set of social and behavioural rules that people of a certain gender are expected to follow. These roles are affected by cultural, historical, and social factors, and they can be very different in different places and times. Gender roles can affect a lot of different things, like career choices, how people interact with each other, and personal interests and hobbies. For instance, traditional gender roles may say that men should be the main breadwinners and women should take care of children and do housework. Gender roles can also have a big effect on a person's sense of self-worth and identity, as well as on the chances and experiences they have in life. In recent years, there has been a growing movement to challenge and break down traditional gender roles and to promote more fluid and inclusive gender roles that allow people to express their gender identity in a way that feels true to them. This includes efforts to promote gender equality, challenge gender stereotypes, and help people explore and express their gender identity in a way that feels right to them.