Theories Concerning Human Development - Assignment Example

Theories Concerning Human Development Table of Contents Theories Concerning Human Development 1 Overview 3 Theories Concerning Human Development 3 Importance of the Biopsychosocial Approach for Understanding Human Development 7 The Impact of Teratogens on the Unborn Child and on the Child in Later Life 7 Two major Considerable Issues in terms of Designing Prospective Parents Program 8 The Most Important Learning from the Parental Video and the Article concerning Heredity and Environment 10 Information Learned from the Group or Class Members 10 Most Important Information Concerning Prenatal Development 12 Works Cited 13 Overview The knowledge of human development replicates the density and uniqueness of each individual and their experiences. The concept of human development is firmly rooted in different theories as well as researchers that are highly focused on efficiently understanding the behavioral patterns of humans (Kail and Cavanaugh 3). Based on the aspects of human development and its various dimensions, this report intends to briefly focus on the basic ideas/tenets of 10 theories related to the concept. Moreover, the discussion of this paper also encompasses the bio-psychological approach for understanding human development. The paper also discusses the significance of the theories and researchers in order to gain an in-depth knowledge of the subject. Theories Concerning Human Development Sigmund Freud According to Freud, the human development involves psychosexual aspects which incorporate five major stages such as oral stage, anal stage, phallic stage, latency stage and genital stage (Sulloway, 135). Erik Erikson The basic tenets of the psychosocial theory of Erikson focus on eight major stages through which the development of individuals is experienced from infancy to late adulthood. These stages include Basic Trust v Mistrust; Autonomy v Shame, Initiative v Guilt; Industry v Inferiority; Identity v Confusion; Intimacy v Isolation; Generativity v Stagnation and Integrity v Despair (Papalia 493). Lawrence Kohlberg The psychosocial theory of Kohlberg constitutes six recognizable stages of human moral and ethical development, i.e. obedience and punishment orientation, self-interest orientation, interpersonal accord and conformity, authority and social-order maintaining orientation, social contract orientation and universal ethical principles. These six stages of Kohlberg's theory are further categorized into three basic groups such as pre-conventional, conventional as well as post-conventional level (DeLuca, “Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development: Theory Synthesis”). B. F. Skinner The basic tenet of Skinner’s theory of human development is based on the belief that the reinforcement strategies and punishment threats play a major role in influencing human behavioral development (The McGraw-Hill Companies, “Theories of Development”). Albert Bandura The social cognitive theory of Bandura highly emphasizes on observational learning where an individual can develop his/her behavioral skills through observation. The basic idea of this theory also depicts that perceptions of humans tend to influence their level of self-efficacy or belief concerning their talents and capabilities (Bandura, “Social Cognitive Theory of Mass Communication”). Jean Piaget Piaget’s cognitive theory of human development defines that cognitive developments among humans emerge through a process of adaptation through the assimilation based upon previous learning and accordingly adjusting with the changes in understanding. The theory explains four basic stages of human life in terms of sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage and formal operational stage (The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc, “Child Development Principles and Theories”). Lev Vygotsky The basic idea of the theory of human development presented by Vygotsky affirms that the individual’s behavioral development can occur through socio-cultural influences such as culture, language and Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) (Blake and Pope “Developmental Psychology: Incorporating Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s Theories in Classrooms”). Urie Bronfenbrenner The human development theory of Bronfenbrenner focuses on four basic ecological approaches, i.e. microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem to explain the process of human development. The basic idea of this theory states that every dimension of human life encompassing the environmental, parental as well as political and social aspects tend to be interlinked causing strong influences on the growth of a person (The McGraw-Hill Companies, “Theories of Development”). Abraham Maslow According to Maslow’s human development theory, there are fundamental needs for an individual that must be satisfied with the five hierarchies’ model which include the physiological needs, safety needs, belonging or social needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs of individuals. The basic tenets of this theory depict that people tend to be motivated to work or perform a particular action when it satisfies their need at any of the aforementioned phases (The McGraw-Hill Companies, “Theories of Development”). Lawton & Nahemow The basic idea of Lawton and Nahemow’s theory of human development explains that the concept of adaption or development of individual behavioral skills depends upon the person’s competencies and capabilities (Lawton and Nahemow, “Toward an Ecological Theory of Adaptation and Aging”). Importance of the Biopsychosocial Approach for Understanding Human Development The biopsychological dimensions explained in relation to human development involve different psychological as well as social aspects which represent the behavioral traits of an individual in response to the external circumstances. Emphasizing on the biological perspectives, various psychologists defined that human experiences and behavioral skills originate from the functions performed by the nervous systems of the human body. The presence of electrochemical within human neurons structuring their nervous system tends to stimulate the thinking capabilities and feelings within each individual. It has been found from various researches conducted by the biopsychologists that development of the human brain is determined by the inherent genes of a person carried from his/her generation. Moreover, it has also been identified that human behavior is also influenced by the genetic factors within the human body (Sammons, “The Biological Approach: The Basics”). Thus, it can be stated that biopsychologists assist in understanding the scientific and biological reasons behind human development owing to which it can be regarded as quite significant in studying the subject. The Impact of Teratogens on the Unborn Child and on the Child in Later Life A teratogen can be identified as an agent, especially in the form of drugs which causes abnormal prenatal of physical development. Biological studies have often revealed that the genetic factors are the general and basic causes of birth defects or congenital malformations being influenced negatively by teratogens (Chung, “Teratogens and their Effects”). Contextually, the impact of teratogens which causes congenital malformation is one of the major constraints of prenatal development. Researchers based on this context revealed that drugs such as alcohol, caffeine, aspirin, and nicotine convey serious risks for prenatal development. Pregnant women who consume a significant amount of drugs tend to give birth to babies with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). It might also cause diseases such as genital herpes and other similar syndromes which can severely impact the prenatal development (Kail and Cavanaugh 62-65). Two major Considerable Issues in terms of Designing Prospective Parents Program The two major issues which need to be considered when designing prospective parents program can be regarded as the mother’s age and her nutritional requirements. In this context, it is highly important to consider mother’s age and her nutrition requirements which impose considerable affects on a prospective mother and consequently on the health of her child. In this context, the age of the mother is a major concern which can have the major impact on the prenatal development of her unborn child. Prenatal development is most likely to proceed normally when women are between 20 and 35 years of age, are healthy and eat right, get good health care, and lead live free of chronic stress. Alteration to either of these aspects may lead to complications during the pregnancy course which may further be fatal for the infant owing to which age needs to be considered as a vital element in developing a prospective parents program. Contextually, nutrition level of a mother can be considered as the general risk factor which has the widespread effect on prenatal development. Thus, through prospective parents program the pregnant women should be motivated to focus on her daily nutritional intake. This shall not only ensure the better health of the infant but also assure a safer pregnancy course. Vignette Jim today suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which is mainly caused due to the extreme level of anxiety or exposure to serious psychological trauma. As diagnosed, this could be the possible consequence of his mental and physical reaction to the World Trade Centre massacre in 2001. Contextually, his age might have been an influencing factor as through the normative stage models it is apparently discussed that young adults tend to decipher more active response towards any kind of trauma being steered with their quench for unique identification in their workplace. Young adults are also observed to possess the high degree of moral values which might have influenced Jim’s response to the disaster when he was 25 years old in 2001 (Papalia 493-494). His PTSD syndrome may affect his capability to deal with stress in his future career which shall further limit his job opportunities. He might also develop anxiety and frustration in his married life which will again disrupt his physical as well as mental health making him stressed and emotionally weaker. These forces shall thus increase emotional vulnerability within Jim making him less confident in his relationship. He might also seek the less stressful job and be reluctant in accepting diversity easily as compared to other people. Hence, he might have to face severe constraints when performing in working areas such as schools where stress level and diversity are perceived to be quite high. However, regular interaction with young children might be helpful for him to reduce his psychological vulnerability (Papalia 494). The Most Important Learning from the Parental Video and the Article concerning Heredity and Environment The most important learning that was obtained from the video and the article based on heredity and environment was the reason owing to which children tend to be different. Information Learned from the Group or Class Members From the group discussion, I was able to learn that caused disequilibrium related with the linkage between environmental hazards, genetic orders or heredity and time in prenatal development. Although class members were arguing regarding the influences of these factors, least significance was provided towards control measures regarding these factors which could have significantly assisted in gaining the better understanding of human development. Most Important Information Concerning Prenatal Development The most important aspect that I could learn about myself when going through the class discussion, course documents and texts was my eagerness to learn from the in-depth perspective, understanding the causing factors of an identified problem. I believe this particular trait shall help me to identify the rudimental problems faced by my team and thus help me to grow as a leader. Works Cited Aldwin, Carolyn, M. and Michael, R. Levenson, Stress, Coping, and Health at Mid-life: A Developmental Perspective. Stress Coping and Health, n.d. Web 14 Feb. 2013. Bandura, Albert. “Social Cognitive Theory of Mass Communication”. Media psychology, 3 (2001): 265–299. Print. Blake, Barbara, and Tambra Pope. “Developmental Psychology: Incorporating Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s Theories in Classrooms”. Journal of Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives in Education 1.1 (2008): 59 – 67. Print. Chung, Wendy. Teratogens and their Effects. Human Development, 2004. Web 14 Feb. 2013. DeLuca, Jenn. Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development: Theory Synthesis. Kohlberg’s Theory, 2011. Web 14 Feb. 2013. Sulloway, Frank, J. Freud, Biologist of the Mind: Beyond the Psychoanalytic Legend. New York: Harvard University Press, 1992. Print. Kail, Robert, V. & John, C. Cavanaugh. Human Development: A Life-Span View. Canada: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Lawton, Lucille, and M. Powell Nahemow. "Toward an Ecological Theory of Adaptation and Aging". Environmental Design Research 1(n.d.): 24-32. Papalia, Diane, E. Human Development Ninth Edition. India: Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2004. Print. Sammons, Adrian. The Biological Approach: The Basics. Approaches to Psychology, n.d. Web 14 Feb. 2013. The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Child Development Principles and Theories, n.d. Web 14 Feb. 2013. The McGraw-Hill Companies. Theories of Development, n.d. Web 14 Feb. 2013. Read More