The Development from Child to Adolescent - Dissertation Example

Essay Use the six different concepts you have learned to describe the development from child to adolescent found in the online s and text. Define all terms and explain how each concept contributes to overall development. Note for each any differences that are likely for boys compared to girls. Piaget based his theory of human development on embryology, and in a similar manner, the growth of the child from infancy through puberty into adulthood proceeds through stages that are related to the human genetic code. This includes the physiological development of the brain, body, and major organ systems as they proceed through time. The nature vs. nurture argument highlights the importance that family, society, and education play in conditioning the growth of the human individual psychologically. In “Adolescence,” John Santrock (2007) identifies six different factors that determine well being, and these can be related across the various schools of psychology and sociology related to human development theory. Intellectual Assets The intellectual assets are a combination of the genetic expression in the individual physical structure, brain, nervous system and general body health. The debate on the importance of education, positive family or community support systems, and social resources all relate to the stages of body development from infancy into puberty and the specific types of thinking that are developed in personality, also as related to the emotional imprinting. Psychological Assets The psychological development must also be recognized as being unique in the different stages of human growth, and this has been recognized in Western psychology primarily since Rousseau. The nature vs. nurture argument has a broader application in behaviorist conditioning, Freudian neurosis, or the DSM related psychological disorders as they arise through conditioning, genetics, and other factors. Social Assets Social assets relate to the nurture arguments and sociology, social psychology and other fields of analysis that relate the family, community, cultural, and structural support of the human individual in the growth cycle. Continuity Continuity can be seen in the steady progression of growth proceeding physiologically, as well as the development of complex knowledge systems such as science, math, arts, literature, and language. Continuity is part of the education process and growth patterns until adulthood and elderly stages. Discontinuity Discontinuity relates to the abrupt appearance of language, physical movement like walking, running, driving, sexuality, etc. This is seen in a progression of understanding that manifests abstract thinking, sexual identity emergence, and other physical, mental, and emotional processes that break the continuous pattern of development by emerging abruptly and signaling a new stage of growth. Nature vs Nuture The nature vs. nurture arguments revolve around the relative importance of genetics and birth heritage through talents, innate personality characteristics, intellectual capacity, and how these are influenced by the family, society, education, culture, etc. in human development. Essay #2 - Explain what the "adolescent generalization gap" is and why it occurs. Then contrast this to what Daniel Offers cross-cultural research has discovered about adolescents self-descriptions. Finally discuss the stereotyping of adolescents in terms of the discussion on Assimilation and Acculturation. The adolescent generalization gap refers to an exaggerated view of adolescence that is related to awkwardness, social adjustment problems, crisis, and delinquency whereas in general most adolescents do not experience these aspects as characteristic of their puberty experience when taken objectively across the full spectrum of social relationships. For example, Daniel Offer suggests that as many as 80% of the adolescent teens will be normal in puberty, with around 20% experiencing abnormal adjustment problems. While the 20% is significant and may require extensive mental health, counseling, psychological, and sociological guidance in public institutions, education, and other youth orient groups. For example, it is not accurate to define the 80% who assimilate easily to social systems in public institutions with the 20% who experience problems and rebel through delinquency, appearance, style, culture, music, or other expressions of youth identity. Acculturation allows for a more phenomenological analysis of the processes through which individual and group identities are formed and expressed. In summary, it is important to focus on accurate description of social relations and psychological factors in individual and group identity formation, but to also avoid over-generalizations that stereotype all adolescents as suffering from maladjustment or socialization problems, when the majority may proceed through this development period normally. Essay #3 - Provide the positive and negative aspects of the broadly defined theoretical model types (i.e., Environmental model, Organismic model, etc.), keeping in mind the goals of science (specifically each models inherent likelihood of generating testable hypotheses Environmental Model / Mechanistic Model The environmental model of human development was initially based in the Behavioral theory advanced by B.F. Skinner and can be considered fundamental in recognizing the role of conditioning in human behavior. Conditioning explains why humans act in particular ways and allows for a broader view of human psychology when related to neurophysiology and the chemical and electrical configurations of the brain in holistic operation. Yet, this interpretation represents a modern revision of Behaviorist theory, which in itself was too reductionist of consciousness and human potentiality to a limited range of materialism and programming. Furthermore, fundamental Behaviorist principles appear to reduce the human being to little more than a machine and advance a view of human nature that is to view mass societies in the same manner as rats in a cage or dogs salivating at advertising and propaganda images. The dark side of behaviorism is reflected in the worst aspects of social control and abuse of power in public institutions worldwide in the 20th Century. From this moral criticism, the development of cognitive neuroscience, and a more advanced research methodology, the environmental model was reformed in popular academic theory and practice through advances such as Robert Havighurst conceptualization of developmental tasks and Banduras Social Learning Theory. Organismic Model The organismic model of human development is regarded to have begun with G. S. Halls Evolutionary Development Theory and is further related to the teachings of Jean Piaget. The organismic model can be viewed as related to Humanist psychology, and the most fundamental characteristic of these schools is a respect for and study of the subjectivity of the individual and the mind, whereas the “mechanistic” model views human individuals more as machines that are programmed with values from family, education, society, culture, etc. Contextual World View The contextual world view highlights the importance of environment and the way that this effects the expression of genetics, personality, human social behavior, or the adoption of mental illness. Psychoanalytic Model The psychoanalytic theory of human development is based in the particularities of Freud’s teaching, which includes the ego-id-superego conceptual model of consciousness and the oedipal complex, neurosis, and other Freudian diagnoses related to family development are key methods of interpretation in psychology. Psychosocial Model The psychosocial theory of human development is based in Erickson’s theory, and views the human individual as progressing through interweaving cultural and social contexts while following a biologically driven path of human growth from childhood into adulthood. Essay #4 - Compare and contrast the three cognitive theories: Piagets, Vygotskys, and information-processing. How are they alike and in what ways do they differ? Provide a general evaluation of each theory using the goals of science. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is based in a genetic epistemology that is related not to DNA but rather the way knowledge is acquired, verified, and stored as part of the human personality or consciousness. In this manner, the epistemological function in consciousness operates in a manner similar to the self in other schools of psychology. Piaget views the child as progressing through development stages that express a conflict or synergy between instinct and knowledge or culture acquisition as the means through which personality is formed. Vygotsky’s social development theory is an interpretation of human development that is similar to Piaget’s but places the emphasis on social interaction, social communications, and social conflict, highlighting the importance of social relations rather than simply an ideal individual or mind in theory. The information processing approach on the other hand accentuates the importance of knowledge acquisition, memory, information processing, and how this relates to behavior, identity, and personality, placing the emphasis on information in subjective and objective context in the individual’s mind. Essay #5 - After discussing the change from Concrete operations to Formal operational thought, discuss in detailed practical terms, how early formal operational thought is different from late formal operational thought. For example, what can an individual in early formal operations NOT do that the same person CAN do in later formal operations? In early concrete operations, the human individual acquires skill relating to concrete objects as well as language skill that both have the advantage of increasing the ability to explore, interact with, and process information from the environment. In formal operational thought, the human individual becomes aware of a broader context of the environment through patterns of experience that allow for higher thought processing, abstract thought, and moral awareness. Formal operational thought includes the ability to plan, reflect, and contemplate on experience without the thought patterns relating directly to the immediate condition of the environmental situation. Formal operations can be described as relating to symbolic thought which further directs the subjective individuality of the personality. One development that occurs with this transition is the movement from egocentricity in the individual to a more comprehensive understanding of reality that values the needs and interests of others in formal operations. Essay #6 - Analyze the following scenario, using at least eight different terms (total) from Freuds psychoanalytic theory and Eriksons psychosocial theory. Explain exactly where and how the concepts from the theories are exhibited in the story. Also, be sure you locate each concept in each theory in your answer. Rhonda is 13 years old. Between the ages of 2 and 6, she was often severely spanked for wetting her bed and for not putting her toys away. Her parents didnt agree on how to discipline Rhonda, and they often argued loudly. When she was first born, her parents argued and sometimes neglected Rhonda. Rhonda is having problems at school. She refuses to participate in any potentially messy activities, such as science experiments and outdoor sports. She doesnt socialize well with other kids. Talks with the guidance counselor have revealed that Rhonda has no memory of her bed-wetting problems and being spanked. She insists that her parents have never spanked her (even though her parents told the counselor that they did). After several meetings with the school guidance counselor, Rhonda still refuses to apologize to her classmates and teachers for her bad behavior. She says that if people dont like her the way she is, then thats too bad. In Freudian psychoanalytical terms, Rhonda is experiencing unresolved conflicts from early childhood in her early pubescent behavior. The bed wetting in this example is a key symbol of problems in early childhood that may relate to the authority issues in the conflict between the two parents. On one level, the bed wetting may be a regression to earlier states of childhood, due to the existence of unresolved issues in development. For example, neglect in early childhood may force Rhonda to unconsciously return to those states where consciousness seeks to resolve the conflicts through identification. The anti-social behavior is an expression of socially of the projection of the parental issues that are unresolved subconsciously or unconsciously with the parents. According to Freud, the anal stage of development relates to waste elimination but also the subtle sexuality of children, and bed wetting will be seen as relating to this stage of mental conditioning in the family, interrupted or unhealthily determined by the subconscious power relationships between the mother and the father that Rhonda identifies with. Rhonda’s refusal to apologize or accept responsibility for her behavior in social context suggests a state of latency where the issues from early childhood are still unresolved, and rather than sublimating instincts Rhonda has regressed in her behavior to more infantile states because of the unresolved subconscious content in the mind. Her reaction formation illustrates the way that she has chosen to turn socially negative values into positives for her own personality. In Erickson’s epigenetic theory of human development, unresolved issues from earlier stages of childhood will persist in causing behavioral problems such as Rhonda’s bed wetting, rebellion, and unsocial behavior in school. Erickson’s second stage of human development highlights the ideal of autonomy vs. shame and guilt in early childhood, which is where the negative or unhealthy imprinting from family relationships likely entered Rhonda’s life and disrupted the development pattern from a healthy and normal course. Guilt may be repressed in Rhonda from the earlier stages of development, leading to the third stage school conflicts of initiative and participation in class. This is further expressed in the work ethic or industry vs. a sense of inferiority in Rhonda’s behavior in school that is related to the home patterns, support system, and conditioning. Erickson’s view leads to a more holistic view of the individual’s life and progression in development than Freud’s fixed interpretation, yet both suggest that the issues must be resolved psychologically for Rhonda to progress healthily to further levels of personal development. Essay #7 - Explain what the endocrine system is and what role it plays in the physical changes associated with puberty, defining your terms along the way. The Endocrine System consists of the pituitary gland, hypothalamus, pineal gland, thyroid system, thymus, adrenal glands, pancreas, and male or female sex organs, such as the testicles and ovaries. This physiological network of glands produces the hormones, neurochemicals, pheromones, sexual reproductive fluids, and other chemical agents in the body important for communication of information within the body and in exchange with the greater environment. What make the endocrine system unique and important psychologically is the way that the hormones particularly relate to thoughts, emotions, desires, and environmental reactions such as fear, panic, arousal, love, determination, etc. The endocrine system is established as regulating the human growth system by signaling to different parts of the body the time to change and develop into new stages of growth. One example of this is the abrupt emergence of sexual identity characteristics in puberty. In this example, the hormones are produced that lead to the production of reproductive cells, change in the body physiology, and other changes that are established in the DNA code and timed to a particular pattern of human growth. The adrenal glands mediate emotional reactions to environmental response, such as emergency crisis, and may represent the human chemical structure of fear with the evolutionary advantages of increased awareness, strength, and mobility in response. In this regard, the endocrine system also relates to what is known of instinct in early psychology, pointing to further research in neuroscience and understanding of the bio-chemical nature of consciousness. Essay #8 - Explain the effects of hormone production in the human body as it relates to the development of secondary sex characteristics. Include in your answer the pathways in the body that inform its development during puberty, and an explanation of the role of the endocrine system in the physical changes associated with puberty. Be sure to define all terms In the endocrine system, the pituitary gland produces growth hormone during the puberty stage that gives the impetuous to the physical changes that occur in the skeletal-muscular system at this time of human development, leading to rapid physical growth and maturity of the body into adulthood. The pituitary gland also produces prolactin which activates the milk production in females, as well as a number of hormones that act as activators of other endocrine pathways. Testosterone and androgen are produced in the testes of males, along with the sperm cells and other chemicals related to reproduction. These further contribute to the genital and facial hair growth, deepening of the voice, and muscle accumulation in males. The female sexual development is regulated by estrogen and estradiol produced in the ovaries primarily, and this leads to the feminization of the body through the production of eggs, uterus preparation in the menstrual cycle, breast enlargement, voice tone, and other characteristics of womanhood in human societies. The pituitary gland works as a regulator of the growth process and also the stimulation of the other parts of the sexual development in puberty, such as the gonad or ovary secretions that are characteristic of mature human sexual activity and identity. Essay #9 - Discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of early and late maturation. Be sure to divide your answer into early/late for boys and early/late for girls. Early and late maturation in boys and girls during the puberty or adolescent stages can produce advantages and disadvantages as related to the social conditioning and personal interrelation process, though this is variable to a large degree by the overriding effects of other stimuli or conditioning patterns in the individual. The advantages and disadvantages recognized in human development studies primarily have been analyzed in terms of self-esteem, body image identification, popularity, romantic relationships, academic performance, and sense of autonomy or independence. As early maturing boys and girls may experience each of these aspects differently, and individuals will react to the same experience differently, these studies analyze broad patterns of data over multiple environments to build conclusions on a broad and specific implementation. For example, early maturing girls may experience no difference in self-esteem but may be given an increase in popularity and romantic relationships by the other members of society. Studies suggest early maturing girls begin as being more satisfied with their body image just as early maturing boys, but later this changes in a different way than boys to dissatisfaction, suggesting a broader root in social identity patterns related to males and females specifically. Early maturing girls may tend towards worse academic performance and early college drop-out rather than early maturing boys. One aspect is that early maturing girls are generally given more independence by families than late maturing girls. Popularity and social activity may also contrast with time available for study, impacting education. From this, late maturing students would e expected to be more inclined to introspective and academic pursuits due to competition differences that disadvantage them from competitive sport activities. The location of the validation principle for selfhood in the individual will further condition or determine variance in reactions and behaviors of late and early maturing boys and girls depending on where their sense of personal value and identity is created and maintained existentially. For example, late maturing boys and girls may be conditioned to social activities in a different manner than early maturing counterparts, leading to a difference in personality development, talents, and sense of identity in groups that conditions all of life’s experiences for the individuals. In this manner, it is important to understand the differences between the early and late maturing types in educational psychology, child psychology, and human development, so that specific policies can be built from the understanding in cultural organization, families, schools, etc,. Essay #10 - Explain the concepts of genotype and phenotype and how the two explain development using the concepts of Polygentic Inheritance, Canalization, the continuum of indirectness, and the The Heritability Quotient. The genotype is the DNA signature of each person’s unique individuality as expressed in the structure of amino acids, chromosomes, and genes in the cell structure of the body. The genotype exists as a type of biological code that informs the growth and development of cells in the body in different ways. As the human individual advances through the growth cycle of development into maturity from embryo, at each stage there will be a physically measurable individual with a distinct height, weight, fingerprint, brain structure, DNA pattern, physiology, etc. This is the phenotype, and it represents all that can be measured and monitored about the physical operations of the human individual at any point and time. The genotype or fundamental DNA pattern of human individuality is often seen in studies not to be absolute but rather expressive of a range of possibilities that are conditioned by other genetic or social factors in becoming evident, dominant, or repressed in various individual life patterns. This relates to the balance between nature (DNA) and nurture (society/environment) in the traditional debates of psychology and sociology, and again here the DNA is not always 100% determinant as cause but rather expressed within a range of social values that are determined by the environment. Canalization refers to a narrowing of possibility of genetic expression from the broader range due to strongly determinant effects such as physical deprivation, lack of emotional support, or the hard-coded expression of genetic structures in the human body as individual physiology. In the continuum of indirectness, the more variance found in the diversity of individual expression of a certain gene in human behavior, biological functioning, or social-psychological operations is believed to signal a less important direct effect of that gene or DNA pattern on the operation itself. Thus the continuum of indirectness assists with the narrowing of variables with the study of the genotype in social individuality. The heritability quotient extends this by attempting to mathematically calculate the extent of the cause-effect relationship of DNA and gene patterns in the genotype of individuals as related to physiological, social, and psychological expressions. This is becoming increasingly important in genetic testing as it searches the genotype for concrete evidence of the cause of mental and physical disease in the genetic patterning of the human individual. Source: Santrock, John (2007). Adolescence – 12th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities, Social Sciences, & Languages. Read More