Development Stages of Human Beings - Term Paper Example

DEVELOPMENT STAGES Human being undergoes different stages of development as we move from childhood to adulthood. Thesedevelopment theories are explained in different ways by academicians like Piaget’s, Kohlberg’s and Ericksons. However we grew up to and we can compare our growth experiences with the ideologies from these experts and gauge if they made right assumptions. Development can be defined in this instance as the changes that come in our lifespan as we grow up. It is assumed that such development depends on age, that each stage builds on the other and that the development process is not continuous. AT THREE YEARS OF AGE Fig 1: Me at 3years At this time I was just about three years old and although I cannot remember much about my experiences at that particular time, most of the explanations from the scholars are true about how I behaved at that time. According to Piaget’s theory, I am at the stage 2 Preoperational period. This is because I still don’t reason but my symbolic are improved .Though I cannot account that the measurable such as the volume, the width and area can change without changing the content. This according to Piaget is because I still have three problems. First am egocentric in that I only believe in my point of view. Secondly, I suffer from irreversibility where I cannot for sure realize the change height doesn’t necessarily mean change of quality. According to Kohlbergs, I am at the level of preconventionl level where we recognize the importance of the older people and abide by their authority. We identify that the wrong is punished but right is rewarded. According to Erikson’s I am at a stage of initiative verses guilt. Where we learn as we are able to control and act in a socially responsible manner and our success or failure determines if we grow up confident or guilty. I tend to agree with the theory of Kohlberg because I grew up in an environment in which wrong was excessively punished and right maybe or may not be rewarded. We played all over the place and as much as we knew the wrongs and the rights, we at times failed to adhere to the right code of behavior. However Pieget’s theory is as close as possible to what I was at an age of between 3-5. AGE OF 8YEARS Fig2: Picture of me at 8years At this time I was just about eight years old and had the feeling of I have the whole world in my own hands. I was in school full of morale to build friendship with my fellow classmate and I was just an innocent boy According to Piaget’s theory, I am at the stage 3 concrete operation period. My mental capability is improving and I can handle more mental troubles and think critically. I acquire the mental reversibility and ability to focus on several things at the same time. According to Kohlbergs, I am at the conventional level where we determine that rules are important and we should follow them. We a keen to be approved by the people we live with or our relations. According to Erikson’s I am at a stage of Industry verses infeority. Peers compete at this stage especially in school and in taking adulthood roles. One can end with a sense of competence or sense of infeority. At this stage I agree with all the theories because at 8 years of age I was developing in terms of mentality and learning to respect more than just family. It is this brain enhancement that led to as competing in schools, in the playing field and churches AGE OF 13YEARS Fig: Me at 13years old According to Piaget’s theory, I am at the last stage called Formal operational period where I can now think and make judgment through applying mental operation to abstract concepts. It is the stage where we can now think in abstract, systematic and in logical way. According to Kohlbergs, I am at the 1st stage of the post conventional level where we start to follow up on what work or is important to us and at the same time we still follow the society rule that some are contradictory to us. According to Erikson’s I am at the 5th stage of Identity verses role confusion. It is the point that we try to determine the direction we want in life. We can acquire the sense of identity or remain confused. According to my past lifelike find Erikson more realistic about the period I was 13 years old and did all the good and bad soul searching ,trying to determine what I want to be. Unfortunately i think i came out confused. AGE OF 33 YEARS AND ABOVE According to Kohlbergs, I am at the 2nd stage of the post conventional level where we figure the wrongs and the right for yourself and we base the judgment on abstract ethical principles. According to Erikson’s I am at the 6th stage of Generality verses self absorption. This is the middle of adulthood and we just feel like working to build our families through recreation and job. And Erickson’s is right about our life as we approach 33 years since it is a period we only think about developing ourselves and even assume anything that waste our time Fig 4: Me at 27 years old Human developments in terms of growth vary from one person to another. Unfortunately most of this professors failed to be clear on the lifestyle one lived .For example a person brought up in posh estates in grow faster mentally compared to poor person. Therefore factors that influence development is never considered and the only factors considered is the personal effort a person put to grow. I would pick on the Erikson’s model as it provided variety of stages hence its clear and easier to understand. Conclusion All the theories have their strong side and weak side and this make development just a flexible process that cannot be defined in words. The many steps created by Erickson is the best as it is more elaborated and understood. Work cited Sparknotes(2014).Development http://www.sparknotes.com/psychology/psych101/development/section1.rhtml Read More