The Psychological and Sociological Developmental Factors of Child Development - Case Study Example

Child Development (Author’s name) (Institutional Affiliation) The 7 up series is a story of young 14 persons dealing with experiences that will resonate with everyone. It covers issues like youth, puberty, unrealized dreams, marriage, children, divorce, the death of parents, and mortality (Almond & Apt 1964). The focus of this essay is to investigate the psychological and sociological developmental factors of child development, as well as the different theories and concepts associated with it. The two characters that will be depicted in this essay are Suzy Dewey, a girl from an immensely wealthy family, and who is also a snob. The other person is Simon Basterfield, who is black, the only minority that is represented in the film. These two characters come from totally different worlds. Although they are both seven year olds, they differ in many ways (Almond & Apt, 1964). Suzy comes from a wealthy family, which is in the upper class of England’s society and lives with both of her parents. When she was young, she says in the movie that she has a nanny; which means that she was a spoilt, pampered, young girl and never lacked anything. She always got what she wanted. She even attended a fashionable girls’ school, which taught her all the life skills that she required. During the interview, it is noticeable that her diction is exceptionally good for a seven year old; she is not shy and easily expresses herself. Although, she seems to be ignorant and oblivious of the world that lies beyond her rich world that she knows (Almond & Apt, 1964). Simon is a humble, soft spoken young boy who stays in an orphanage. One could assume that he is an orphan, but it is later known that he actually has a mother. Not so many things are known about Simon's life because he is uncommonly soft spoken and keeps to himself. He is the only black child in the story, which makes him a minority. This does not stop him from being himself as it does not bother him that he is not like the rest. Simon’s education is at an orphanage which does not offer him a wide perspective on life. Both Simon and Suzy exhibit the psychological development of loss or gain of balance (Harwood et al 2007). They can communicate and express themselves fluently in the common language which is English; which they have been taught since childhood. They are able to apply the theory of language and vocabulary development. They have learnt by association because the difference in their language can be noted (Bee & Boyd, 2009). Suzy's is polished and refined while Simon’s does not flow. Every society has inherent and unequivocal assumptions on the capacities of children, and it is related to their social status and development (Sonuga, 2010). Their caregivers are also responsible for the child’s language development and how often they interact and speak to them (Hamon and Trask, 2007). Another gain is the basic literacy, since they both are in school to learn what their caregivers could not teach them. They also exhibit theory of mind which is illustrated by certain development theories like Erikson’s Life Span theory, Piaget’s cognitive theories and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory (Piaget, 2001). The traits that they have lost is eidetic memory since they can now communicate and pretend play, because they are now grown and have an idea of what reality is all about. Both of the children have hopes and dreams for the future. They also differ from each other’s due to different circumstances that surround them. These conditions influence their vision for the future and this could be seen by how they respond about their future dreams. Suzy's future dreams are to become a mother with two children, and plans to have a nanny that will take care of them. She also plans to go the university, but does not have a particular one in mind. Her decisions are probably influenced by her surrounding (Axline, 2001). Her parents are educated and have decent jobs, and she has been attended to by a nanny ever since she was small, so in her perspective, that is how life should be to her. Simon, does not know what a university is. He plans to work around before he reaches the age of getting a real job. He has probably never interacted with highly educated people due to his confinement in the orphanage. An orphanage does not offer someone proper life skills, but only the necessary life skills (Cicarelli, 2008). It does not teach the value and importance of education. Simon has not enough life skills to get him through and will depend on what he knows and what he has been taught. On the issue of people’s color and racism, Suzy’s response to it shows how ignorant she is. She says that she has never met any, and would not want to associate with them. She does not even care for them. This again is related to her upbringing and from the kind of family that she comes. Not so many colored people are privileged, so that is why there is no interaction with them (Arnett, 2010). Simon’s response to the issue shows that he has interacted with people from different backgrounds especially ethnicity and cultural, that is why he does not have much to say about it. He does not care for anyone’s color, and thinks that everyone is the same. The psychological processors used in the film is that of longitudinal design, where people of the same age and of a diverse cross cultural and backgrounds are developing and growing up, but in different in different circumstances (Rogoff, 2003). Their psychological development is measured by their response to certain issues like prejudice, race, discipline, future plans and identity (Harwood et al 2007). Simon and Suzy belong to the same age group and are seven year olds. There are differences in personality and behavior patterns in the two children. Suzy is more outgoing and comes out as a snob, whereas Simon is a bit timid and shy. They are also aware of their gender roles in the future because Suzy wants to have children, which is a maternal instinct that is there in all females, and their role for reproducing and taking care of a family. Simon, however, wants to have a job, which is a manly duty. Erikson’s lifespan theory states that; there is a personality challenge throughout an individual’s life, and that this personality which is healthy is a product of conflict with increased cognitive social, and personality strength (Cicarelli, 2008). A child at Suzy’s and Simon’s age is at the stage of being industrious and feeling inferior or superior, heading towards the identity crisis (Bee & Boyd, 2009). This is depicted when asked about violence, some of the children state that it is necessary to protect one so as to make a mark, and the stronger one is, the more superior they are. Simon and Suzy do not believe in violence, of which they think that it is a dumb thing to do. In their case, being superior does not mean resorting to violence. Also, when asked about rich people, Simon depicts his inferiority by saying that rich people always have what they want and get to do anything. They even hire poor people like him to work for them. Suzy feels that being rich makes one superior since they get what they want and looks down on poor people. The prerequisite skills that are necessary for attachment are recognition, cognitive, awareness of stranger, watching and following and communicative (Hamon and Trask, 2007). After interaction with the other children during the party, Suzy does not like boys at all, but got along well with the girls and even liked them a lot. This is because of a specific attachment that is demonstrated. She recognized the people who were of the same sex and related to them. She could be a Type B secure, regarding to attachment. She does not mind the strangers and gets along with everyone especially girls. She is quite calm and relaxed in the situation. She also has a high self esteem; good social engagement and gets along with peers. It is also noticeable since she comes from a healthy family with both parents (Axline, 2001). Simon on the other hand kept to himself during the party and did not interact a lot with his peers. He also seems quite relaxed but somehow uncomfortable around people. He is the anxious type, thus the reluctance to get close to people. This kind of person avoids conflicts, when in a relationship it is short term, discloses indiscreetly (Rogoff, 2003). The development of a child also depends on factors like the setting, whether in a community or a society (Piaget, 2001). Suzy comes from a society which is urban, intricate and differentiated economic roles, high technology and high level of literacy, and has regular contact with the outside world. Simon on the other hand Simon is from a small community; the orphanage, which is small scale, low technology, lack of literacy and relatively self contained (Piaget, 2001). This affects their way of thinking and how they socialize with their peers. About their future plans, Suzy’s exposure and literacy can be seen when she says that she wanted to go to the university. Simon does not know what a university is, because of his illiteracy and self contained life that he is used. He has no further perspectives of life beyond the orphanage. The change in gender roles in their generation is more flexible and democratic (Rogoff, 2003). The women are equal counterparts with the men in that they can both have an education by going to school and even further their education (Suzy wanting to go to the university). Her need has developed from an evolutionary perspective of vast social interactions, and the culture that she is accustomed to. It has enabled her to acquire the sense of self recognition and awareness (Harwood, 2007). In the society that the children live in, a lot of emphasis tends to be on identity which is defined by an individual’s progress as they develop. In this case, one’s identity focuses on the social background that one comes from (Hamon & Trask, 2007). Suzy comes from a wealthy family hence she is identified as rich. Simon lives at an orphanage hence he is poor. There is also the issue of rich people that are asked to the children and their replies can tell how they identify themselves. Independence and individuality is laid emphasis on in the western culture (Harwood et al 2007). When they are asked about certain issues, their answers vary due to the different cross cultural influence, which shows their individuality and independence. It is one thing that is highly valued. There are a number of methods and cultures that are studied on identity, individuality and independence, whereby the conclusion of the findings can be accredited to the theoretical dimension of interest (Rogoff, 2003). The aim of the research was to determine whether childhood has influence on the kind of people that we grow into. It is a time capsule of human growth and personality development, and has been a success since it strikes a deeper and depressive chord. We usually tend not to see the changes that push us towards our own eventuality, and if fate can or cannot be altered. The series is able to prepare us for the unforeseen road ahead. It also highlights that if parents spend time in learning their children’s hopes and dreams, then the burden of growing up would not be that much. This can be seen in the case of Neil, who has issues with the parents. The limitation of this research is that it subjected the young children to pressures that they were not aware of. This will highly influence them in their later age because they would try to live up to what they said when they were young. Children are vulnerable and most of the times they do or say what they feel like. They were also subjected to talking about certain issues like their parents, race and others which they were not aware of, or they said what they heard someone else say about that issue. The different perspectives that the children portrayed are matched with changes and expectations of a community and social background that one comes from. Many activities that the society familiarizes with them are treated as a natural point of transition. References Almond, P. (Producer), &Apted, M. (Director). (1964). Seven Up [Motion picture]. Britain: Granada Television. Arnett. L., J (2010) ‘Ridging Cultural and Developmental Approaches to Psychology: New Synthesis in Theory, Research and Policy’. Oxford: Oxford Press. Axline, V. (2001) ‘Dibs in Search of Self’ New York: Ballantine Books Bee, L., H. Boyd A., D. (2009) ‘Developing Child’ (12th ed.) Boston: Allyn & Bacon Publishers. Cicarelli, S., White, N. (2008) ‘Psychology’ (3rd ed) New Jersey: Prentice Hall Hamon, R., Trask, B., S. (2007) ‘Cultural Diversity and Families: Expanding Perspectives’ London: Sage Publications. Harwood, R., Miller, A. S., Vasta, R. (2007) ‘Child Psychology: Development in a Changing Society’. New York: Wiley publishers. Piaget, J (2001) ‘RC Series Bundle: The Language and Thought of the Child (Routledge Classics)’ (3rd ed) London: Routledge Publishers. Rogoff, B (2003) ‘The Cultural Nature of Human Development’ Oxford: Oxford University Press. Sonuga B., E. (2010) ‘Child Growth and Development’ Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 66(6): 15-22 Bottom of Form Read More

They have learnt by association because the difference in their language can be noted (Bee & Boyd, 2009). Suzy's is polished and refined while Simon’s does not flow. Every society has inherent and unequivocal assumptions on the capacities of children, and it is related to their social status and development (Sonuga, 2010). Their caregivers are also responsible for the child’s language development and how often they interact and speak to them (Hamon and Trask, 2007). Another gain is the basic literacy, since they both are in school to learn what their caregivers could not teach them.

They also exhibit theory of mind which is illustrated by certain development theories like Erikson’s Life Span theory, Piaget’s cognitive theories and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory (Piaget, 2001). The traits that they have lost is eidetic memory since they can now communicate and pretend play, because they are now grown and have an idea of what reality is all about. Both of the children have hopes and dreams for the future. They also differ from each other’s due to different circumstances that surround them.

These conditions influence their vision for the future and this could be seen by how they respond about their future dreams. Suzy's future dreams are to become a mother with two children, and plans to have a nanny that will take care of them. She also plans to go the university, but does not have a particular one in mind. Her decisions are probably influenced by her surrounding (Axline, 2001). Her parents are educated and have decent jobs, and she has been attended to by a nanny ever since she was small, so in her perspective, that is how life should be to her.

Simon, does not know what a university is. He plans to work around before he reaches the age of getting a real job. He has probably never interacted with highly educated people due to his confinement in the orphanage. An orphanage does not offer someone proper life skills, but only the necessary life skills (Cicarelli, 2008). It does not teach the value and importance of education. Simon has not enough life skills to get him through and will depend on what he knows and what he has been taught.

On the issue of people’s color and racism, Suzy’s response to it shows how ignorant she is. She says that she has never met any, and would not want to associate with them. She does not even care for them. This again is related to her upbringing and from the kind of family that she comes. Not so many colored people are privileged, so that is why there is no interaction with them (Arnett, 2010). Simon’s response to the issue shows that he has interacted with people from different backgrounds especially ethnicity and cultural, that is why he does not have much to say about it.

He does not care for anyone’s color, and thinks that everyone is the same. The psychological processors used in the film is that of longitudinal design, where people of the same age and of a diverse cross cultural and backgrounds are developing and growing up, but in different in different circumstances (Rogoff, 2003). Their psychological development is measured by their response to certain issues like prejudice, race, discipline, future plans and identity (Harwood et al 2007). Simon and Suzy belong to the same age group and are seven year olds.

There are differences in personality and behavior patterns in the two children. Suzy is more outgoing and comes out as a snob, whereas Simon is a bit timid and shy. They are also aware of their gender roles in the future because Suzy wants to have children, which is a maternal instinct that is there in all females, and their role for reproducing and taking care of a family. Simon, however, wants to have a job, which is a manly duty. Erikson’s lifespan theory states that; there is a personality challenge throughout an individual’s life, and that this personality which is healthy is a product of conflict with increased cognitive social, and personality strength (Cicarelli, 2008).

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