Psychosocial Development - Assignment Example

? PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Psychosocial Development Psychosocial development can be termed as the whole development of an individual’s ego that takes place throughout the entire life span of an individual. It begins when one is born until he/she ages. This kind of development varies from social, physical and mental development. This kind of development helps us to understand the difference between a child’s behavior and an adult behavior and how to handle each in a special way. This paper seeks to focus on psychosocial development of Clare, a friend of mine. The adolescent development of Clare is discussed With reference to the theories and concepts on psychosocial development. It describes and reflects on Clare’s experiences as well as identifying major issues and challenges which were significant during her adolescent years. It also focuses on appropriate strategies and actions that parents could undertake to help facilitate for positive outcomes when handling adolescents. It draws psychosocial development concepts from: self and identity development; Erikson’s psychosocial theory, self-concept, self-esteem, self-efficacy and identity status, emotional development; emotions, feelings and temperament, and emotional intelligence, moral development; cognitive-developmental moral reasoning, Piaget’s, Kohlberg’s and Gilligan’s Theory, Prosocial behavior and Eisenberg’s Theory ( Collis, 1997). The person I have identified is my friend Clare; she was brought up in a well of family. She was brought up by both parents, grew with her siblings and received proper education in her early years. Her parents did not allow her to mingle with other children, most of the time they spend at home interacting only with computers, television and their workers. At the age of 10, she was taken to a boarding school. Where she began to experience lots of changes that were ranging from physical, emotional, social, cognitive and to a larger extend moral changes (Ee, Chang and Tan, 2004). During the period of adolescent, Clare experienced many challenges, and among them were self definition, identity, social problems and psychological related problems. The stage of adolescence is usually the time when teenagers are confronted with self identity or self definition problem. These problems are brought by biological changes and intercultural differences. My friend had great difficulty during this period, she wanted to associate herself with other people, and she viewed herself like a queen. The mode of dressing and the language she used resulted into conflicts between her and her parents, teachers and her fellow students. From Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory, he termed this stage to be a period of identity versus confusion (Ee, and Moore, 2004). He argues that during adolescence, teens explore their independence and begin to develop a sense of self identity. He has argues that those children who get proper reinforcement and encouragement during adolescence will emerge with a strong sense of self identity, control and feeling of independence, while those who are confused and unsure will not be able to develop self identity in the right way hence this will affect their own future. When an adolescents has no clear understanding of his/her personal identity, he/she experience confusion, empty, and uncomfortable feeling. Therefore, in an effort to bridge this kind of gap in their feelings, they may end up engaging in antisocial behaviors such as substance abuse, alcoholism, theft and even other dramatic behaviors. My friend Clare at adolescents, she developed some kind of behaviors that did not satisfy her parents and teachers. She could sneak out of school to engage in drinking and having fun with some of her peers. Her behaviors gravitated to even displaying a disgraceful identity to the outside world, her mode of dressing, tattoos, and hair styles drew attention of others (Ee, and Moore, 2004). Clare during that period of adolescents joined bad companies which drove her into these immoral activities. She was given advice by her parents and teachers but she could not consider. Thus she was faced with social challenges ranging from rejection to negative attitude by the authorities (parents & teachers). One of the common problems of adolescence is that teens attempt to struggle with the problems of the social identity which maintains ambiguous nature. Socially, teenagers begin to move their interest away from their families and focus their network to their friends. These social networks gave Clare an opportunity to experience support, guidance and comfort that were once given by their family. Because of increasing importance of having friends, Clare struggled to fit in and to conform to pressure from her peers without considering whether she was being affected negatively or positively in terms of social development. Kohlberg theorized that, teenagers are profoundly influenced by opinions of their peers and other people (Ee, and Moore, 2004). Through this they make moral decisions basing on how other people judge their decision. Some adolescents do mature when making moral decisions based on what they see is best for the society at large. Bronfenbrenner’s Bio-ecological Theory argues that social relationships do change in quality and quantity (Ee et al, 2004). It has that adolescents mature emotionally and become more capable of deeper intimate relationships. Their relationships with their family and adults change at this phase, as teenager’s shows responsibility to maintain relationships. At around age 18, my friend Clare began to develop a mutually-beneficial relationship with her parents and established the right social networks with her peers. Another social development at adolescence is romantic interests. Ee and Chan (1994) acknowledged that society is the main contributor to the way most teenagers views the world and themselves. This however, has resulted to contradictory relationships between adolescents and the community at large. This has created conflict among teenagers, parents, peers, and the authorities (Collis, 1997). The other greater challenge that was faced by Clare was psychological problems. She engaged in relationship with fellow peers of the opposite sex and she really ruined her life. She would be found in streets at night being drunk. This behavior did not please everyone including her parents, teachers, and some of her friends. Adolescents are widely well thought-out by the psychologists to be prone to risk taking and reckless behaviors, which can often lead to car accidents, substance abuse, youth crimes and unsafe sex (Ee and Chan, 1994). Piaget argued that risk-taking is biologically determined and that it is caused by the emotional and social part of the brain known as amygdale. This part of the brain develops at a faster rate than the frontal cortex which is the cognitive-control part of the brain. Though a majority of adolescents are healthy psychologically, they display some signs of mental illness. Usually late adolescence is the peak period for the onset of schizophrenia. Parents need to raise their children to acquire a sense of self identity. This is achieved by acquainting parents or caregivers with the right knowledge on the importance of development of identity in adolescents and on child upbringing. If children are properly guided throughout their childhood about the self-discovery process, by age of 16 teenagers will be ready to define their values, directions and selection of tastes (Ee and Chan, 1994). Parents therefore need to understand what their children at adolescents feel and think so as to avoid conflict battles of teenagers saying to their parents that it is their lives and should leave them alone since they are in charge. This is a battle that a parent does not ever wish to engage in. The process of decision-making has helped to determine who a person becomes. It begins when a young child first understands the word that has been spoken; parents are required to offer the best opportunities for them to make choices. This provides a clear message to children to learn that their opinions matter, they are separate persons and that their voices are heard by their parents. If children therefore grow with this idea that they make decisions to create their own life, they are able to develop a strong self identity that will assist them during the critical process at adolescents. But when parents deny them the opportunity to establish their preferences, these children at a teenage age will not consider themselves as separate human beings. Some children begin life by already knowing what they think and who they are. With their high self esteem and self confidence they develop a sense of self identity. For some other children, the process of revealing a personal identity requires a directed effort from their family members. Clare’s mother reports that Clare, unlike her other younger sister, experienced difficulties in knowing what she wanted. Her tendency was always to go alongside the plans of her peers rather than her own. In spite of the children’s personality predisposition, parents should offer safe choices. At adolescents, a child will have inner and personal choices that are gratifying in directing her life. The building of self identity, self efficacy, and self concept is strengthened by parent to child communication. This communication should be in questions form rather than commands. Asking teenagers simple questions allows them to make a choice and evaluate whether they are comfortable with the outcome of that particular choice. This is the perfect way that will let them know that they are in charge of improving their quality of life and will possibly modify it whenever they go wrong (Collis, 1997). A greater number of adults in a young person’s life play a significant role in the development of self identity. These adults are necessary to be the guiding voice of interllectual and experience that guides the adolescence in making sense of the world and their life. They should draw attention to what is important, what is right, reward righteousness, and explain how things fit jointly in life. Nevertheless, a common drawback for parents happens when they face defiance of their rules, values, or expectations. Parents would often respond by making a situation to a win or lose situation. Identity is strengthened when teenagers are allowed to make their choices and hold different viewpoints and should be respected by those in charge (Ee and Chan, 1994). At adolescents, teenagers often adopt a habit of answering, “I don’t know,” to nearly everything that is asked of them. This answer can be decoded by some parents to mean that his or her child does not figure out what she feels or thinks. Parent therefore should thus respond to this answer in a positive way by assisting them with self-discovery (Ee and Chan, 1994). Parents should not be harsh with their children, and should understand that they are in a critical stage where they struggle with precision of personal thought. They need to be gently guided in the process of developing a right way of answering. Parents and guardians should help adolescents define their lives since the development of identity need that every teenager invests in something helpful in defining his or her life. Whether it is sport, a talent, career, ability or interest, they needs something that is theirs and are proud of. As they develop a passion in their areas of interest they emerge out with a strong sense of competence, confidence, self esteem and sense of self (Ee et al, 2004). Parents should thus provide assistance in this whole process of discovering what fits them. The impact of her experiences on her development can be discussed in connection to the following theories concerning cognitive, emotional, physical and moral development. Cognitively, adolescents are able to think abstractly. Unlike their younger children, teenagers usually think about things which are not observable such as beliefs, values, and theories. Piaget termed this ability to think in abstract as formal operations. The other notable features of adolescent cognitive development according to Ee, Moore and Atputhasamy (2001) are hypothetical-deductive reasoning and propositional thought. Additionally, Piaget notes that at adolescence, teenagers develop cognitive ability known as contemplative thought that is, the ability in which they reflect upon their own, feelings, motivations, thoughts, intentions, and beliefs and those of others. This new ability also increases teenagers’ self-consciousness; believing that everybody is watching them closely and that they are scrutinizing every move that they make (Ee et al, 2004). Piaget concluded that adolescents’ advance their cognitive skills like the ability to arrange information in their minds, and increase the capacity to hold things in their memory. In emotional development adolescents are expected to develop emotional self efficacy. Self efficacy is the ability to express and identify emotions in an effective as well as in a positive way. Accordingly, the ability to express and identify emotions is important in establishing appropriate social relationships among teenagers, peers and their parents. Development of one’s identity is another important aspect of emotional maturity. Erickson proposed that identity of an individual emerge and then evolve at the period of adolescence, and continues into adulthood. Erickson concludes that, some adolescents often have the capability to examine and question some appropriate set of characteristics, beliefs, behaviors, and values that are suitable for them (Collis, 1997). In physical development, the teenagers experience physical changes in their body shape, height, weight and more importantly, the hormonal changes of puberty. Adolescents continue to develop their physical strength as well as enhancing their fine and gross motor skills (Collis, 1997). The other changes noted during puberty are development of both primary and secondary sex characteristics that continues throughout the adolescence stage. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident from the experiences of adolescence discussed that development is multi-faceted. This means that developmental dimensions are inter-related. Psychosocial development focuses on various features of human development among them identity development, moral development, and cognitive development. It gives insights into the huge complexity of human growth and development more importantly, the psychosocial theories that highlighted the problems facing adolescence for instance identity problem, psychological problems and social problems that were related to my friend Clare’s experience. This provides a platform for parents, guardians and teachers to understand the various dimensions of adolescent development which includes: emotional, moral, physical, and sexual development. Reference Collis, B. (1997). Design of multimedia Web-based learning materials: Course site. [On-line] Available: http://www.to.utwente.nl/ism/isml-96/home.htm Ee, J., Chang, A., & Tan, O. S. (2004). Thinking about Thinking: What Educators Need to Know. Singapore: McGraw Hill. Ee, J. & Chan, L. (1994). Attributional beliefs, goal orientations, strategic learning and achievement of Primary 6 Singaporean students. Paper presented at Australian Asso. For Research in Education (AERA), Annual Conference in Newcastle, New South Wales. Ee, J. & Moore, P. J. (2004). Motivation, strategies and achievement: A comparison of teachers and students in high, average and low achieving classes. Thinking about thinking: What educators need to know. Singapore: Mc-Graw Hill Education. Ee, J., Moore, P. & Atputhasamy, L. (2001). The relationship between teachers’ goal orientations and strategy-based instruction and low-achieving students’ goal orientations, self-regulation and achievement. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education & Development. 4(2), 115-134. Read More