Development and Disorder

location_on Location: Emanuele A

(Links to papers / posters are embargoed until 4/7)

All times in Eastern Time Zone

• assignment_ind Aguilar, M. “ Bilingualism’s Effects on Psychological Development ”
  Language is a part of our everyday life and is essential for connecting with our culture and those around us. This presentation addresses bilingualism’s effects on psychological development, specifically cognitive and behavioral development. Research shows that bilingual individuals score better on the WISC IQ test, have greater selective attention, greater working memory, and have higher flexibility in terms of creativity. Behavioral research shows that bilinguals are more understanding and accepting of cultural differences and when they switch from one language to another; they often look for cultural cues to match the language with the appropriate cultural setting. Serendipitous findings show that negative factors such as discrimination, prejudice, and stereotyping may cause bilinguals (who belong to more than one culture) to develop inferiority, low self-esteem, and hostility. Living in the cultural salad bowl that is the United States, it is important to have cultural sensitivity and one can begin by understanding the differences between all cultures represented in this country. Doing so can actually serve to unite us during times of wide division.
• assignment_ind Smith, K. “ Development During Early Childhood ”
  A human being goes through many changes characterized by age and experience that can shape an individual for the rest of their life. Such changes and lessons provide a new beginning for individuals as they make choices that influence their development. This project observed the third of psychologist Erik Erikson’s eight stages of lifespan development, initiative versus guilt, which typically occurs at preschool age, around 3-5 years old. By teaching dance to a class of preschoolers, the physical, mental, emotional, and social factors that influence children at this stage of life could be observed. Through the action of dance, the preschoolers were able to further develop their motor skills, rhythm, and memorization with the repeated movements and actions. The project also surveyed the response of the students in terms of their motivation, maturation, and impulse control in relation to their developmental stage, revealing that success in learning led the child to cherish the moment and want to further develop the skill, and that failure often led to the child becoming upset and disinterested in learning.
• assignment_ind Tamez, A. “ Dying to Eat: Male Disordered Eating, Its Negative Effects, and a Plan for Recovery ”
  Male disordered eating is not discussed as openly as it should be. The current disordered eating discourse is female-centric and almost wholly ignores that men have disordered eating. Clinicians are limited to using treatment plans formed from female-centric research data, and clinicians find themselves having to make the symptoms male disordered eaters present fit into a box not designed for them. To effectively create new treatment modalities for men, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) needs to update existing modalities, fund new research, and update existing literature to address male disordered eating adequately. By creating new guidelines, updating the DSM-V to include more precise male disordered eater definitions and symptoms, funding more male-centric disordered eating research, and following a proposed 5-year plan outlined in my presentation is the only way the APA can bring about the necessary change in helping male disordered eaters. This will give clinicians the right tools to diagnose male disordered eaters and provide them the treatment modalities they deserve.