Biological and Environmental Factors Contributing to the Human Psychological Development - Essay Example

Developmental Psychology deals with the study of the progressive psychological development that in a human take place over a period of time. Often termed as Human Development this field of science outlines various factors which are believed to be behind the development of humans over their lifespan. These factors include both biological as well as environmental factors also as both of them are considered critical for human development to take place.

This development in human beings takes place in phases or stages as development psychology outlines various growth phases in which human development takes place. The so-called lifespan development into 8 various stages. These eight stages of development are discussed according to various schools of thought in psychology. These schools of thought range from cognitive development, social development to attachment theory. The issue of biological and environmental factors contribute to the development takes place largely in the first two stages of development. On the same hand, as a person grows, he or she tends to get influenced by the environment within which he or she lives. Thus there is a very strong debate within psychology as to whether the development takes place through nature or nurture. The arguments regarding whether the biological factors contribute to the development or environmental factors often depend upon the personal characteristics of the person.

A person may acquire green eyes from your mother but the way you behave with the outside world may be acquired through the environment within which you live. A person from India may find it hard to live and socialize in the US due to strong differences in the environment within which people live. The debate regarding the biological as well as environmental factors eminent from these kinds of arguments. Those who argue that biological factors tend to have more contribution to the development of humans trace back their opinions to the evolutionary process by describing that knowledge arises from genetic information which is in us through our innate capabilities and environmental factors have nothing to do with.