Human Behavior and Development - Term Paper Example

? Human Behavior and Development Lecturer: Introduction In the development of human beings, there are quite a number of variations and systems that have a set of relations in the general well-being (Hutchison, 2003). This theory proposed by Bronfenbrenner discusses the socio-cultural view of development of human beings stating that the social interaction of persons plays an integral role in cognition and that every function in the cultural development of the child appears twice in his life time (Hutchison, 2003). This is at the social level and later at the individual level that is between people and later in the individual inside the church respectively. Bronfenbrenner does not believe that a person is born with positive or negative tendencies inherent in him but that we are actively involved in self-development and the environment. According to him, the individual and the environment are in a state of fluctuation and that nature and nurture are both incorporated. He argues that development is not universal as changes will occur both qualitatively and quantitatively which must be studied within the required social contexts. He therefore stresses that a phenomenological experiential outlook that is personal or taken at an individual level must be undertaken. Finally, that all the factors occur within dynamic contexts as social, cultural or historical in nature (Bronfenbrenner, 2005). Ecological Perspectives of Human Development There are five ecological perspectives according to Bronfenbrenner which include the microsystem, the mesosystem, the microsystem, the exosystem and the chronosystem (Bronfenbrenner, 2005). Microsystem The microsystem includes the immediate surroundings of an individual such as the family, school, peer group or persons in the neighborhood as well as the personal biological make-up of a person. In this context, the individual is not passive and relationship is an important concept in that events must have a substantial amount of contact over time. Bronfenbrenner stresses that in comprehending development, one must understand that relationships are bi-directional and there must be relationship between the parent and the child in parenting Mesosystem The mesosystem incorporates the connections and dimensions with objects present in the microsystem or simply put as that which consists of the connections between one’s immediate environments such as the connection between home and school. It includes the relationship between different microsystems, family, groups and peers and posits that when there is a breakdown of communication in the society; individuals are not likely to orient themselves to the microsystems. Exosystem The exosystem is made up of the external environmental settings and conditions that affect the development of the individual indirectly but of which the individual is not part of, for example the work place of one’s parents or where the parents are stationed. The territory includes the specific social structures and organizations that do not contain the individual but do affect the immediate environment of the individual that can determine and influence the outcomes in the environment. These structures may include major institutions that operate in the local level such as the neighborhood, the place of work or the agencies set up by the government that may help in the development of the youths both socially and psychologically. Macrosystem and Chronosytem The macrosytem is comprised of the larger cultural context such as the values, customs, laws, beliefs and traditions of the surrounding culture such as the national economy. The fifth ecological perspective is the chronosytem which is concerned with change over time and pertains to the modeling of events in the environmental and the changes over time, but also includes the patterning of the events in the environment and the transitions over life and time. These changes experienced in the chronosystem can be created or imposed externally as children tend to create most of their own settings and experiences (Berk, 2000). According to Bronfenbrenner, each system has got the roles, norms, rules and values that affect the development of individuals and that individuals as part of the society are in constant state of development and the change that can result. Bronfenbrenner states that systems occur as degreed specialism within itself in that a model deprived of a social system is not reflected advanced. The ecological perspective approach is unique in the sense that it attempts to define the individual and ones relationship with the environment and considers the different contexts that are in fluctuation or textures. It focuses on the learning of the child that includes both dyadic and triadic parenting that refers to the relationship between a mother and the child and the relationship both with the mother and the siblings respectively. For positive development, Bronfenbrenner identifies five processes that a child must undergo in the ecological perspective approach. For a child to develop either in intellect, emotions, social and moral well-being, the child must participate in reciprocal activity that is progressive regularly with an individual who has a strong emotional attachment to the child, for example the parents (Harwood, Miller and Vasta, 2008). Bronfenbrenner states that the establishment of these patterns for progressive interpersonal interaction under strong mutual attachment conditions can enhance how the child responds to the surrounding physical, social and later symbolic environment and the conditions. He also proposes that the functioning of the process of rearing a child in the family and other settings require that information is exchanged either in a two way, mutual or communication based on trust. Further, the effective functioning of the process of rearing a child in the family and other settings requires support from public policies and that all occupations and members of the family must support the cultural practices that are required for the development of the child (McDaniel, Lusterman and Philpot, 2001). Child Development as shown in the film “The Boy in The Striped Pajamas” This film is based on the on the events during the Second World War as experienced by an eight-year old boy by the name Bruno who is son of Nazi officer. When the boy’s father gets a promotion, the boy is forced to move along with his family from his home situated in Berlin where he had lived in with relative comfort. He gets bored with the countryside life as he has nobody to play with but one day while peeping through his bedroom window, he sees children in “pajamas” and wishes to play with them. Though he is warned not to go out and play outside, he finally goes against the advice and ventures outside to play and explore. True to his nature, though he is warned not to go to the places that are out of bounds, he goes out and explore the places such as the concentration camps. While playing in the woods, the boy stumbles upon a barbed wire fence that circles a neighboring detention camp and behind it he comes across boy by the name Shmuel who is the same age as him. They form a bond and interact a lot, though over the fence but seem unaware of the events that are currently happening around them at this time of the Holocaust. In his observations, Bruno finds out that ll the prisoners in the concentration camps wore stripped Pyjamas that greatly dismayed him as it was not just uniform but a way of identifying the prisoners. The two boys Bruno and Schmuel form a bond and to make their connection even stronger, they find out that they are exactly the same age. The Holocaust shows how brutal the Nazi regime was as the soldiers are brutal to the young boy Shmuel after he is accused of stealing food and the way the Germans treat the Jewish camp at the concentration camps. In the weeks that follow, Bruno is troubled by his observations from the detention camp and the tribulations as narrated by Shmuel to him. His tutor at the school tries to impart to him the notion that all Jewish are evil but the bond that he has with Shmuel gets stronger. Bruno comes out as a young boy of serious stand as he is not influenced by the indoctrination on the ideals of Nazi that his sister has apparently got indoctrinated to especially the propaganda. With the atmosphere both at home and the stories that his new found friend Shmuel tells him, Bruno is able to make an observation that something out of the normal is happening to him and whether his father is the good guy he has always thought of. An occurrence occurs where Bruno ends up disowning his friend Shmuel when confronted by Lieutenant Kotler with accusations that the Jewish Shmuel had stolen from his masters. Bruno remorse with guilt apologizes to Shmuel stating that he was misguided and this resumes their friendship which becomes stronger than before after Shmuel forgives him for disowning him. While this is happening, the relationship between Bruno’s parents gets strained and the family is sent to Heidelberg which has got the effect of separating Bruno from his new friend Shmuel. At their final meeting, Bruno is made aware of the missing of Shmuel’s father of which he offers to help in the search for the missing father to atone for the betrayal he did to his friend. On the day he sneaks to undertake the rescue before his move to Heidelberg, he ends up being trapped at the detention camp with others who are deemed innocent. In the film, the Holocaust is depicted as a distressing time in the history of the world as seen by Bruno whose father is the Commandant of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp but is oblivious of the occurrences at the camp. Despite the differences between Bruno and Shmuel they have a special bond that is perplexing as they are expected to be separated due to their affiliations either as a Jew or not. It is important to note that as a boy of tender age, Bruno was not prepared for the realities of the war nor does he know of the realities going on in the detention camp where his friend Schmuel and his family are in detention or concentrated. This film depicts the tragic effects of prejudice and offers a poignant view of the evil and atrocities that humans can do to fellow human beings. This film also offers an emotional experience that highlights the tragedy of innocence from a young boy that exposes the psychological devastation that happened during the Second World War. The film is also an emotional experience that highlights the tragedy of innocence at the backdrop of the atrocities of the Holocaust and its devastating effects. Against the backdrop of the Holocaust, the social interaction of the child Bruno plays a bigger role in the cognitive development. The young boy Bruno develops both at the individual and the social level as he takes his character both from the family that he lives in and at the level of his interaction with Shmuel over the fence at the detention camp. Bruno is shown as a compassionate person and is not concerned about the Nazi inclinations of his sister who sees nothing wrong with the tribulations of the Jewish detainees. Bronfenbrenner states that the person we are is dictated by the actions that we take and is largely influenced by the external environment we live in for example in the case of Bruno, he is influenced by the two environments that he lives in. Bruno’s microsytem is his family where he grows up as a young boy living with his father, mother and sister in Berlin which is a close-knit family and this influences his upbringing as a young happy child. The exosystem of young Bruno is set up both in Berlin and the Auschwitz Concentration Camp that has an active role in his upbringing as he strikes a friendship with Shmuel that makes him a better view of the effects of the Holocaust. He is affected in the sense that his father is mostly away at the detention camp and therefore less interaction meaning that he has to rely on the environment at the detention camp for upbringing and development of character. Though Bruno’s father has a difficult task as the overseer of the concentration camp, he is seen in the eyes of Bruno as caring and loving though heartless. The maxosystem that Bruno lives in at the detention camp has a culture which has a lot of disdain for the Jewish community who are set for extermination at the detention camp. This has got a great influence on the young boy as he comes to understand compassion as a virtue through his disapproval of the activities at the detention camp and all the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazi regime. When looked at from the chronosystem angle, the time that these events occurred greatly affects the thinking of Bruno and the activities that occur have somehow made him appreciate both the negative and positive aspects of life. The horror of the Holocaust is shown in the fear and pain that is suffered by Shmuel and his family that plays a key part in dictating the direction that his life takes. The fear plays a key part in transforming the innocence into ignorance. The innocence of Bruno is also shown in his new environment as he shows his childishness and his true feelings to life. Bruno’s character shows that every person or child in his development is corruptible, for example innocence can easily change into ignorance especially under fear from some quarters as was the case during the Holocaust. The film “The Boy In The Stripped Pyjamas” therefore presents the corruption of humanity under the fear and horror accompanying the atrocities during the Holocaust. Nature which refers to the biological and chemical properties of the human person greatly affect his development. In the film, nature is shown in the two boys’ characters as it shows how they form particular bonds owing to their almost similar ages. Nurture which refers to the environment that they have grown in greatly plays a key role in the development of their characters. The compassionate nature of the two boys in an environment characterized by brutality clearly indicates that the occurrences have greatly shaped their characters. For example, Schmuel who grows up in the emotionally sensitive environment of brutality and atrocities meted against them is shown as a submissive and deeply emotional person. It is impotant to realize that the emotional development and attachment among the two boys is a cumulative result of the factors made possible by the different environments across the fence of the detention camp. Resilience and resource is shown in the film “The Boy in The Striped Pajamas” as the two boys cunningly show how to withstand the stress and catastrophe as well as overcoming the risks and adversity thrown their way. The young boy Schmuel is cheerful despite living in a concentration camp where they are greatly brutalized by the Nazi regime as shown by the beatings he received from the soldiers. He is able to work through the emotions and the effects of the stresses and the painful events in the Jewish concentration camp run by the Nazi regime. The resilience has been developed over time as they stay in the camp as can be seen through his thoughts and actions over the period he and his family are incarcerated. It is important to note that the resilience by Schmuel has been made possible through his close relationship with Bruno and having a positive view of himself and his ability to manage his feelings. He also has good problem solving skills and feels in control of his feelings as well as coping well with stress. Conclusion In the film, the people that surround the main character Bruno play a key role in his development as he finds a way of actualizing himself with the trends and conditions in his environment. Though the boys in the film are naive and innocent due to their obliviousness of the Holocaust, it shows that despite the divide between their families, they are able to cope with everything including adversities that come their way. The environments both at the concentration camps and the home of the Nazi regime play key roles in their development especially the children. Life at the concentration camp molds Schmuel to be a resilient boy while Bruno also learns to appreciate the equality of persons no matter their inclinations or ways of life. Bruno and Schmuel though very tender in age are caught up in a situation that requires them to be shrewd in their daily activities. The five ecological perspectives according to Bronfenbrenner clearly come into play as the children have different stages of development influenced by the people surrounding them as well as the occurrences that occur in their environment. References Berk, L. E. (2000). Child development. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Bronfenbrenner, U. (2005). Making human beings human: Bioecological perspectives on human development. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Harwood, R., Miller, S. A., & Vasta, R. (2008). Child psychology: Development in a changing society. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Hutchison, E. D. (2003). Dimensions of human behavior, Person and Environment. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications. Hutchison, E. D. (2003). Dimensions of human behavior, The Changing Life Course. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications. McDaniel, S. H., Lusterman, D.-D., & Philpot, C. L. (2001). Casebook for integrating family therapy: An ecosystemic approach. (PsycBOOKS.) Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.   Read More