Human Development - Coursework Example

Human Development For many years, less attention was focused on child development with the assumption that they are small versions of adults. Their advances on cognitive abilities, physical growth as well as language usage were not considered of importance during childhood and adolescence. In the 20th century, people have learnt to appreciate child development. However, there is a biased focus on children with special needs compared to their counter parts. Despite this, a number of psychologists have been able to study and come up with a detailed analysis of human development stages. Understanding child development process is an essential thing for parents, teachers and health care workers among other people. It allows us to understand and appreciate physical, social, cognitive, emotional as well as educational growth patterns of a child. This happens right from infancy to late adulthood. One may not be aware of the developmental changes that happen to him or herself during childhood. However, in the adolescent years, people start to discover themselves and are able to make note of any changes that occur in them as well as their environment (Kail, 2010). There are many theories of development put forward by different scholars. However, the major ones are known as grand theories. They describe the development process via different stages. The other theories are known as mini-theories. They focus on a limited area of development, for example social and cognitive among others. Psychoanalytic child development theories The first theory was proposed by Sigmund Freud. He came up with five stages of development namely genital, latency, phallic, anal and oral. Many of us are not able to notice this stage of life due to young age. However, Freud argues that personality is shaped by a number of childhood stages of pleasure seeking that enables one to focus on pleasure parts of the body. This usually happens before the age of five and is known to influence ones behaviour to adulthood (Kail, 2010). Research has shown that if the stages are completed successfully, the person develops a healthy adulthood. Otherwise, they could develop personality problems that could lead to risky behaviours such as smoking, heavy drinking, lack of appetite as well as poor sleeping habits. The first stage comprises of birth to year one where the focus is on mouth. It is characterised by sucking and rooting reflex. Through this process, the child develops a sense of comfort and trust to the people feeding him or her through oral stimulation (Kail, 2010). This is because the child is dependent on the caretakers entirely. The mother is the centre of this through touch and eye contact. The stage enables children to have a sense of confidence both in childhood to adulthood. However, if this stage is not carefully observed, it could lead to low self esteem as well as a feeling of worthlessness. People who do not adequately experience positive maternal love are bound to have unhealthy behaviours later in life. These include drug addiction, isolation from the society and in worst cases, suicide. The second stage is the anal stage where Freud focused on libido. This involves bladder and bowel control. The parents and teachers together with all the people around the child are responsible for helping the child through this stage. At this stage, we learn other skills such as talking, walking as well as feeding ourselves. One develops autonomy of their bodies and this helps develop self esteem. However, children are very vulnerable to negative comments from adults around them. Creative, competent and productive adults are produced during this stage. In my experience at this stage, my parents guided and encouraged me (Kail, 2010). They clapped for me when I could effectively control my bladder and bowels. This has helped me become a better person today. The third stage is phallic that is focused on genitals where the child is able to discover the male and the female. The boy child gets a liking of the mother as opposed to the girl liking of the father. I remember at this stage I thought my father was better than my mother. This was contributed by the fact that I was mostly spending time with her and she could punish me when I went wrong. In addition, the children tend to copy what the adults around them are doing by using toy cars, toy guns and toy phones among others. The children are known to experience guilt in case their efforts are frustrated. The other stage is the Latent period range between ages six to puberty. Here, the child focus is on peer relationships and hobbies. The stage is meant to develop communication, social and self- confidence. Children tend to group themselves according to their gender as they explore social interactions. The next stage is the genital stage that is experienced between puberty and death. This is characterised by maturing sexual interests with the opposite sex. It is known to be a very social stage. The parents cease to be the only authority in our lives as we relates with our neighbours as well as school authority (Kail, 2010). One is able to be calm at this stage if the other stages are well balanced. According to Erikson, adolescence stage is influenced by what people do to us. Being a transition stage, there could be a number of confusing factors. People are finding their identity and balancing between moral issues and social interactions may prove difficult. Of importance is that this stage enables us to discover how we are different from our family and community at large. If the stage is not observed with the care it deserves, then one can experience confusion in their roles. However, with the right advice, we are able to differentiate the ideal from the reality and make the right decisions. In the young adulthood, people seek love and companionship. This is achieved through friends and marriage. People start families and explore intimacy. However, in the contemporary world, people are not getting married until the late years of their lives. This is contributed by careers and economic constrains. People who have been hurt in the earlier years of their lives are unable to enjoy this stage and end up isolating themselves from their peers. This limits them from creating long and satisfying relationships. Erikson describes the middle adulthood as a stage when people come up with creative and meaningful issues that are focused on their families. People are involved in preserving cultures and passing on morals to create a better society. People at this stage are known to experience middle life crises as roles changes. There is fear that one will not be able to achieve his or her goals and tend to work hard. This stage could lead to stagnation if not well observed (Kail, 2010). In the last stage of Erikson development theory, achieving personal ego is the outcome. People tend to look back and evaluate their success over the years. Success could be measured in financial, social, emotional as well as spiritual achievements. People who consider themselves successful are often happy and have a feeling of fulfilment. On the other hand, some people may despair by considering their failures in life. Some start looking for a purpose in life and this complicates their lives. This could lead to depression causing early deaths. In worst cases, people develop suicidal tendencies. Cognitive child development theories According to Jean Piaget, children and adult thinking differ in many ways. That is why he came up with the cognitive development theory. The theory suggests that there are changes in the cognitive abilities and processes. In early years of a person’s life, action acts as the bases of development. In adulthood, development is controlled by mental operation. The theory developed four key concepts that include schemas, assimilation, accommodation and equilibration. A schema explains the physical and mental actions that are involved in knowing and understanding. This equips us with the understanding of the world around us. It involves both the category and process that enables one to gather knowledge. Gaining knowledge is continues process that is sharpened by our experiences. The knowledge I have is gained from my interactions with people and books as well as the environment at large. School especially has modified me in so many ways and expanded my knowledge. Assimilation is the process by which we add skills and knowledge to the existing schemas. This involves modifying our experiences to match our standards and beliefs. Thus, this stage is subjective. For example, at this stage I do not take information as given. I will first evaluate it to ensure that it fits my standards. This stage is critical for every child. However, those with mental retardation may not experience this stage. This is because of their inability to question and evaluate situations and processes as they occur (Kail, 2010). The third concept is accommodation. It involves changing the original schemas after gaining new information. The process is known as accommodation. This is because it brings a new experience that replaces the old one through new ideas and information. At this stage, it is possible for a person to develop more schemas. Equilibration is a mechanism that entails striking a balance between accommodation and assimilation. Piaget believed that cognitive development in children is balanced by use of previous knowledge which is known as assimilation as well as using new knowledge to change behaviour that is known as accommodation. In my life, I have been able to change from one stage of thought to another through assimilation and accommodation. In addition, Piaget believes that at 0-1 month, children understands the surroundings through inborn reflexes which include looking and sucking. New sensations and schemas are developed at ages 1-4 months. At 4-8 months the child will try to trigger the environment through repeated actions. 8-12 months includes the coordination stage where intentional actions as well as new schemas are developed. At 18 months, the child is involved with experimentation using trial and error method. Finally, at the age of 24 months, the child has enough knowledge and will be seen to create symbols that will represent objects and events. Behaviour child development theory These theories are based on external factors influence on a person’s behaviour. The focus is on observable behaviours that are usually external. It is a combination of punishments, rewards reinforcement as well as stimuli to shape the behaviour of a child. The theory does not involve internal feelings and thoughts. It is based on two assumptions. First is that learning is achieved through the interactions that we have with the environment. Second, the environment is responsible for shaping human behaviour (Kail, 2010). The behaviour theory, thus, finds it useless to involve emotions, feelings as well as thoughts. Through my experience, I could say that environment has influenced my behaviour in a big way. Since interact a lot with adults, I tend to carry myself in a mature way. This has earned me a leadership position in school. I am able to make decisions that most of my age mates may find difficult. In addition, behaviour theory could be explained through classical conditioning. It involves learning that occurs when natural stimuli and environmental stimuli work together. The neutral signal usually occurs before the reflex. Ivan Pavlov used the dog as an example where the sound of a tone would cause salvation. Unconditional stimulus automatically triggers response. A perfect example is salivating after smelling ones favourite food. My favourite food is meat. Every time I pass through a place and I smell meat, I start salivating. This is has happened since I was three years. Conditional stimuli on the other hand are triggered by unconditional stimuli. It is learnt from a neutral response (Kail, 2010). Sensor-motor stage of cognitive development There are a number of characteristics of sensor-motor stage. The first is that which lasts between birth and two years. The infant is trying to understand the world. The child understanding of the environment is based on motor activities and sensory perspectives. The infants will use the limited abilities that they have which includes grasping, sucking, listening and looking. These act as a way in which the infant learn their environment (Horowitz, 1987). In conclusion, human development is a continuous process that starts at birth and ends at death. It is a period when learning is achieved through a number of interactions with both the inner and outer environment. All the things we come into contact with forms the basis of our learning, influencing us differently from one stage to another. References Kail, R. V. (2010). Human Development: A life-span view. Belmont, CA. Wadsworth: Cengage Learning. Read More