Developmental Analysis: My Brothers Cases - Case Study Example

Developmental Analysis - My Brothers’ Cases - Table of Contents I. Introduction ....................................................................................... 3 II. Purpose of the Study ........................................................................ 4 III. Rationale ........................................................................................... 4 IV. Methodology ..................................................................................... 5 V. Autobiographic Information of My Brothers ............................... 5 VI. Related Theories .............................................................................. 6 VII. Analysis ............................................................................................ 8 a. My Eldest Brother ............................................................. 8 b. My Middle Brother ............................................................ 9 c. My Parents’ Favorite Son ............................................... 10 VIII. Conclusion ......................................................................................... 11 References ................................................................................................... 12 Introduction Aside from the external stimulus and challenges we encounter in life, the major factor that contributes to the development of our personal behaviour is our childhood life. The personal relationship we have with our parents starting from the infancy stage enables us to develop our acquired temperamental traits. Eventually, the personal traits our parents have moulded during the first five years of our life will be subject to change as we learn to interact socially with other people. It is a common observation that despite the fact that parents have provided the same parental care techniques under the same environment to each of their children, there will always be a very high tendency that our brothers and sisters will behave differently from us. The differences in our personal behaviour as compared to our brothers and sisters often lead to conflicts and petty misunderstandings. Analyzing the behaviour of another person using the widely used developmental stages theories by Eric Ericson (1956), Sigmund Freud, Abraham Maslow (1954), and Jean Piaget (1972) enables us to determine and understand the impact of another individual’s past life experiences on his or her visible personal characteristics at the present time. Being able to understand another person’s past life experiences allow us to develop an effective way to deal with their negative characteristics and traits. For the purpose of this study, the researcher will summarize the case of my three brothers and state the theories of developmental stages as explained by Eric Ericson, Freud, Maslow, and Piaget. Based on the summary, the researcher will apply the theories mentioned in order to allow the researcher to develop a better understanding of their current attitude and behaviour as well as their achievements in life. Purpose of the Study The purpose of the research study is to develop a thorough understanding behind the factors that contributes to the development of my three brothers’ current attitude, behaviour, as well as their individual achievements in life. Rationale The research study is intended to empower the readers to develop awareness concerning the importance of knowing the significance of the developmental stages theories in dealing with our siblings as well as the people around us. The researcher have chosen to write the paper in a simplified manner in order to encourage the group of non-professional psychologists to learn and adopt the proper way of applying the four major developmental stages for the purpose of being able to effectively understand and deal with our brothers and sisters. A major part of the study is to examine the four major developmental theories by Ericson, Freud, Maslow, and Jean Piaget. Particularly the Ericson’s eight stages in man’s life; Freud’s theory of development; the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; and the Piaget’s theory of the intellectual or cognitive development will serve as the framework in analyzing the major events that has occurred in the life of my brothers. The study will highlight the major developmental stages that each individual may have gone through as they reach the maturity stage. Methodology The researcher will use three basic steps for the purpose of this study. First, the researcher will summarize the life stages of my two brothers. The autobiographic information of my three brothers will be used in determining the possible major events that could have created an impact on their current attitude, behaviour, as well as in their individual achievements in life. Second, the researcher will state the theories of developmental stages as explained by Ericson, Freud, Maslow, and Piaget. Stating the theories will serve as a framework that will be needed in analyzing the individual cases of my two brothers. By carefully applying and analyzing the four developmental stage theories to the case of my three brothers, the researcher will be able to explore and examine the internal and external factors that contribute to my brothers’ present personality as well as their individual coping abilities to life successes and failures. Autobiographic Information of My Brothers My eldest brother, ten years older than me, is a very smart person. He always got a straight A’s in class back when he was still a student. He never had a problem with socialization. In fact, he made himself a lot of good friends wherever he goes. Despite the academic achievements of my eldest brother, my parents always believe that my middle brother Steven Jacobson is going to be successful in his career. However, up to now, Steven remains as a chiropractor in the offices of other doctors. Eventually, he got married at the age of 50 with no children. Since Steven’s wife is obsessive, he could not leave the house for a long time making him not able to make any friends. My brother who is six years older than me is my parents’ favourite son. He was never a good student. He has a strong desire to be the center of attraction. Therefore, he would get into minor trouble like breaking the window glass every now and then. Since my parents wanted him to become a doctor or a lawyer, they gave their full support to him when he went to Chiropractic College. After graduation, he opened an office but decided to close it down after five years. For more than twenty years, he has been doing drugs on and off and has been in and out of the rehabilitation center over the last ten years. Growing up with my second brother was not easy. Even though we get along pretty well, we often fought a lot. Money is always important to him but he never had enough. Occasionally, he would embellish stories just to show off. Related Theories The development of our personality traits whether we become optimistic or pessimistic, independent or dependent, emotional or unemotional, leader or follower, adventurous or cautious, and aggressive or passive starts at home. (Harder, 2002) According to Eric Ericson’s Eight Stages in Man’s Life, the infancy stage is the period when a child develops a significant relationship with the maternal parent. Eventually, the kind of relationship the infant builds with the mother enables the child to develop a sense of trust and mistrust. (Harder, 2002) The rest of the stages includes early childhood’s autonomy vs. Shame (will); the play age’s initiative vs. Guilt (purpose); school age’s industry vs. Inferiority (competence); adolescence’s learning identity vs. Identity diffusion (fidelity); young adulthood’s intimacy vs. Isolation (love); middle adulthood’s generativity vs. Self-absorption (care); and the late adulthood’s integrity vs. Despair (wisdom). Similar to Ericson’s theory, Freud’s theory of psychosexual development includes the oral phase, anal phase, phallic phase, latency phase, and the genital phase. This theory highlights the importance of proper parental care during the first few years of our lives. Freud stated that the first few years of life is very important since the child develops his ‘self’ or ‘ego’ which will serve as the basic foundation of each individual as they enter the early adulthood stage. (ETR Associates, 2007) Aside from the physiological and safety needs, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs highlights the importance of belongingness and love as well as self-esteem in order for an individual to become competitive in life. (Huitt, 2004) In order for an individual to be able to achieve self-fulfilment, one has to reach the ‘self-actualization’ stage. According to Maslow (1971), the highest stage of hierarchy of needs is ‘self-trancendence’ wherein a person could connect beyond our ego and eventually realize their own capabilities. Piaget’s four stages of intellectual or cognitive development assumes that each individual go through the sensori-motor – from birth to 2 years; pre-operational – 2 to 7 years; concrete operations stage – 7 to 11 years; and the formal operations stage – 11 years and above. A child begins to explore different senses such as visual, touch, felt, and smell during the sensorimotor stage. A child thinks only about himself or herself during the preoperational stage. At Concrete stage, the child tends to depend more on his intuition rather than thinking logically. Finally, the child starts to understand and the importance of logical thinking in solving problems in life when they reach the formal operations stage. The formal operations stage allows them to develop and create new ideas based on logical thinking. However, not everyone could reach the highest stage called ‘formal operations’ wherein a person is able to think rationally. (Atherton, 2005) Analysis My Eldest Brother Since my eldest brother is the first son of my parents, he was able to receive a 100% parental care from my parents during the stages of infancy, early childhood, play age, and school age. The solid physical and emotional care that he receives from my parents enable him to effectively develop trust, autonomy, and initiative needed in developing a sense of industry by the time he reaches the early childhood stage. (Child Development Institute, 2007) The fact that he was able to develop a solid developmental foundation since birth (ETR Associates, 2007) explains why my eldest brother was able to get a straight A’s in class back when he was still a student. Being able to perform well in school eventually contributes to the development of his self-confidence and self-esteem. For this reason, my eldest brother was able to have a sense of identity. This explains why he was able to have effective social interaction with other people. Based on Piaget’s intellectual or cognitive development, my eldest brother was successful in reaching the ‘formal operations’ developmental stage. (Atherton, 2005) This enables him to think logically better than people with average intellectual capacity. Since my eldest brother has reached the ‘self-actualization’ and ‘self-trancendence’ stage, he is very much aware of his own strengths and weaknesses which made him successful in life. (Huitt, 2004) My Middle Brother In the case of Steven Jacobson, my middle brother, he gets divided attention from my parents. Considering that my mother has to take care of my elder brothers, Steven never gets a full attention from my mother since birth. This is the reason why Steven was able to develop a sense of mistrust as well as shame and doubt. Often times, he doubt his own ability to deal with the challenges in life. (ETR Associates, 2007) Due to mistrust, he grew up having a lack of self-control, courage, and will by the time he reaches the early childhood stage. As he becomes an adult, he was not able to change his weak personality. This explains why Steven remains working for different doctors as a chiropractor. He is basically uneasy with having to deal with changes and new challenges in life. On the other hand, his lack of will to control his life made his obsessive wife able to control him within the comfort of their home. Based on Freud’s theory of development, my middle brother failed to fully develop his ‘self’ or ‘ego’ during his childhood days. (ETR Associates, 2007) This is the main factor that causes him to lose his confidence and self-esteem back when he was still a young boy. As he grew up into adulthood stage, his low self-esteem made it hard for him to lead or control other people, especially his obsessive wife. By showing signs and evidences, the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs clearly explains that my middle brother has not reached the ‘self-actualization’ stage. This makes him less competitive in his career life. (Huitt, 2004) It was his own inability to realize his personal capabilities that made him remain as an employee all his life. My Parents’ Favourite Son My brother who is the favourite son of my parents always got my parents’ attention. This made him able to develop trust during infancy stage. Being the favourite son of my parents, he always feels the pressure of keeping up to his parents’ expectations. As he reaches the adolescence stage, he struggles very hard in finding his own identity. He was never good academically. His strong desire to be the center of attraction made him get involved in minor trouble. The pressure he feels from the high expectations of his parents is one major cause why he experience role confusion during the adolescent stage. It is clear that the only reason why he went to Chiropractic College is to satisfy the desire of his parents. Since this kind of profession is not really his personal choice, he was not able to withstand the job for more than five years. Along with having role confusion, he got him involved with the use of drugs. Money, being a symbol of success is important to him due to his parents’ high expectations. This explains why he tends to create stories from time to time. Similar to the case of my middle brother, my parents’ favourite son failed to reach the ‘self-actualization’ and ‘self-trancendence’ stage. Particularly the pressure he feels from his parents blocks him from being able to become self-fulfilled, connect beyond his self and eventually realize his own personal capabilities. (Huitt, 2004) Despite that he was able to receive too much attention and love from our parents, it wasn’t able to do him much good because it made him fail to find his own identity along the way. In fact, it only caused him a lot of emotional imbalances and doubt due to the failure he has encountered in life. Conclusion The foundation of our personal characteristics and traits is moulded by our parents since birth. As we grow up and become an adult, we start to face new challenges in life which may affect our personal behaviour and outlook in life. The use of the four developmental stages by Ericson, Freud, Maslow, and Piaget is important since it enables us to analyze the behavioural patterns of other people. In this study, we have clearly observed the factors that enabled my eldest brother to become successful in his life. The study also pointed out the errors in the upbringing of my middle brother and my parents’ favourite son. Basically, too much of love and attention given to a child is not healthy since it could cause the child to experience role confusion by the time they reach the adolescence stage. On the other hand, failure to develop trust during the infancy stage contributes a lot to a person’s self development as they reach the early childhood, play age, and school age. References: Atherton, J. (2005, August 15). Learning and Teaching: Piagets Developmental Theory. Retrieved August 29, 2007, from http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/piaget.htm Child Development Institute. (2007). Retrieved August 29, 2007, from Stages of Social-Emotional Development in Children and Teenagers: http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/erickson.shtml ETR Associates. (2007). Retrieved August 29, 2007, from Theoris and Approaches: Developmental Theories: http://www.etr.org/recapp/theories/AdolescentDevelopment/developmentalTheories.htm Harder, A. (2002). The Developmental Stages of Erik Ericson. Retrieved 29 August, 2007, from Learning Place Online: http://www.learningplaceonline.com/stages/organize/Erikson.htm Huitt, W. (2004). Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. Retrieved August 29, 2007, from Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University: http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/regsys/maslow.html Maslow, A. (1954). Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper. Maslow, A. (1971). The Farther Reaches of Human Nature. New York: The Viking Press. Read More