The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology - Report Example

Psychology al Affiliation) Introduction Development is the gradual modification of the cognitive, physical structures, psychological and social processes. Developmental stage is a particular period characterized by specific features (Maria and Deise, 2012). Historically, human development is influenced by multiple factors. Various theorists have different classifications of developmental stages. , the acknowledged stages include Infancy, early childhood, school age, adolescence, early adulthood and late adulthood. For this essay, the influence of culture, gender, positive psychology, nature and nurture are tackled to explore their roles in human development. Culture Culture is the shared values, beliefs, morals, arts and customs that are passed over from one generation to another. Right from infancy, culture plays a significant role in human development. When a baby is born, the birth is culturally celebrated with joy and the child welcomed into the society with great pampering. Most cultures require the community to give attention to the baby at this stage of development. This influences the baby’s development in that he or she will develop a sense of belonging and trust to the people around (Maria and Deise, 2012). In early childhood, culture expects younger children to start practicing some roles that are fit for that stage of life (Maria and Deise, 2012). For instance, a child at three years can be sent to bring something or to accomplish simple tasks. This affects the development of this child because it instills a sense of responsibility at such a tender age. At puberty, there exists a range of initiation practices to mark this transition to adulthood. The circumcision ceremonies are an example. During circumcision, the candidates are not expected to complain or cry. This played a crucial role in that it instilled bravery and endurance in the face of difficulties (Inglehart and Norris, 2003). Candidates are expected to have undergone molding into brave adults. In addition, initiation ceremonies also mark the separation of the individuals from their parents (Maria and Deise, 2012). This is an indication to the elders that the youths have become grown-ups and independent. Therefore, growing up indicates that they can fend and take care of themselves at this stage of development. This stage also involves gaining of autonomy by the initiated individuals. Culture also plays a role in conduct management across all stages of development. There are certain codes of conduct that are expected in every individual depending on the person’s developmental stage. Indiscipline is in most cases punishable by culture (Maria and Deise, 2012). This ensures that one behaves normally in line with the developmental stage. For example, an adult is allowed to marry, whereas children are expected to remain under their parents’ care not marrying. Nature and Nurture Nurture are those factors that influence someone from without. In other words, they are environmental factors. Nature refers to genetic or biologically associated factors that affect a person’s development. Over the years, many theorists have debated on which of the two have a great influence on the development of an individual. Current takes on this matter, however, rests on the opinion that both are influential in the development. Many a times, they link with each other. Nature determines our potential as humans while nurture influences the way in which those potentials are realized. Nature affects human development in two main ways. To begin with, the fact that we are all humans, our genetic make-up gives us the ability to engage in a range of developmental activities. For instance, walk, talk, interpret and understand language, depending on the stage of development that an individual is undergoing (Keller, 2010). These are the examples of universal traits in everyone due to nature. Nature can also lead to the development of specific traits of a person. These traits remain unique to an individual. For examples, the differences in facial appearance, the color of the eyes or height are due to an individual’s unique genetic make-up. Old age also witnesses the influence of nature on development. Nature states that there is a biological clock that leads to specific and observable features. These features can be development of white hair and wrinkling of the skin (Keller, 2010). Biologists link this to physiological alterations that occur in the body due to advanced age. Also during puberty, the developmental changes that occur in the body are associated with biological activities, such as hormone production. These changes include breast development and menstruation in girls and broadening of chest and development of hair on the chin for boys. Nurture can either speed up or slow down human development (Keller, 2010). For example, when a baby is raised in an environment full of other young children who play and with him or her, that know how to talk and walk faster than another baby who has no one to talk and play with. This shows that the environment in which a baby is raised can either inhibit or promote its development. Both nature and nurture tend to influence intelligence in various developmental stages. For example, for school-going children, some individuals tend to grasp the content quickly while others take time. Studies have shown that intelligence is inherited. Genetically children may either be fast or slow learners depending on the inherited genetic traits (Keller, 2010). Similarly, environmental factors also play a role in the intelligence of school-going children. For instance, a child may perform dismally if the child has friends who are destructive and not interested in knowledge acquisition. Gender Gender is defined as social construction of male or female based on the types of roles we assume, characteristics we portray and personality that are taken to identify us as either male or female. For school-going children, gender contributes to the comprehension and performance of girls and boys differently depending on the subjects (Inglehart and Norris, 2003). The society believes that girls are weak performers in mathematics and sciences. Due to this, school-going girls tend to perform poorer in math and sciences as compared to boys while boys perform poorly in languages. This affects the development of the comprehensive and learning ability of boys and girls in the respective subject areas. Right from early childhood, boys tend to engage in certain games such as football that make them quite aggressive compared to girls of the same developmental stage. Girls engage in playing with dolls that make them develop gentility from a tender age (Inglehart and Norris, 2003). These are seen to influence human development since males right from a young age will be intrigued with situations that call for aggressiveness. In adulthood, there are certain types of jobs that are associated with men and others associated with women (Inglehartt and Norren, 2003). For instance, catering and nursing are associated with women since they care even for their families. Developmentally, such societal expectations make the women develop a submissive trait. Men are expected to be the managers of firms and occupy other authoritative positions. This enables most men be commanding in most cases. Therefore, gender influences the traits that people develop, although currently this is progressively changing. Positive psychology focuses on making human beings live a satisfactory and happy life. It concentrates on making mental functioning better than the normal. It deals with relationships, experiences and institutions that are positive. Satisfactory relationships affect human development at various stages. At infancy, when a baby feels cared for by the parents, he or she tends to develop trust in them (Barbara F. 2001). This will in turn result in that child growing into a trusting individual. Experiences that are positive are also significant in human development (Barbara, 2001). For instance, when a baby is learning how to walk, positive comments from the people around the baby will help the baby learn to walk within a shorter period than in the absence of positive comments. Institutions contribute to development in that they reinforce certain traits (Barbara, 2001). For example, schools strengthen discipline among school-going children. This leads to the moral development of such children. Conclusion. In conclusion, human development is affected by a variety of factors that are in most cases linked with one another rather than independent. References Fredickson, B. (2001). The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology. Inglehart, R., & Norris, P. (2003). Rising Tide: Gender Equality and cultural change around the world. Cambridge university press. Keller, E. (2010). The Mirage of Space between nature and nurture. Durham: Duke university press. Maria, L., & Deise, M. (2012). The Role of Biology and Culture. In Tech. Read More