Self-Assessment Based on HBSE Framework - Term Paper Example

 Self-Assessment Based on HBSE Framework Introduction The process of development is not an easy process. One has to pass so many stages in it that change his beliefs of the world, alter her perceptions of people, inform him about precautions that he needs to take and many others. An individual is influenced by external factors and forces that shape him or her to be what they are. From childhood to adulthood, people learn so many things, changing and adapting to situations as the settings require. Without these forms of adaptations people experience conflict between the self and the environment, they are stressed, and are forced to take different directions in life to help them out. I have been through a similar process as a human being, from childhood, through adolescence to adulthood. What I grew up knowing as a child was changed when I reached adolescence, the same happened when I passed the stage as I began thinking like an adult. This paper is therefore a self-assessment of my own development and is based on the framework of the human behavior and the social environment (HBSE). I am going to describe each of the stages of human development explaining the various key events related to the environment and my family and how they affected my development incorporating the various theories that relates to these events and how they apply to my life. Infancy and early child hood Life as a child was quite enjoyable I would say so. I grew up in a Christian family as my parents were catholic. As a small kid what my parents said was law as I used to be very obedient to them. I would listen attentively to what they would say and do what they would require of me. I grew fond of my parents and especially my mother who used to bring the two us gifts every day when she came back from work. The love I received from my parents made me feel special and confident. My mother treated as very well and this made us feel special and cared for. She would tell us what to do and what not to do, she would show us how to do basic tasks as a kids like bathing and brushing our teeth. Things changed when I went to school as it meant strict following of school rules and regulations and therefore no free time to play around. I loved school in the early days because our teacher used to be very good and used to like me because I was a bright student. Life for me was easier than it was for me kids who struggled to win attention of their parents or school teachers. Jean Piaget’s theory of stages of cognitive development influenced much of my childhood development. His theory of cognitive development focuses on predictable cognitive stages. He believed that thinking was different at each stage of development. His theory explained the mental operations that take place during child development. This includes how children perceive, think, understand and learn about their world. The theory can be divided into four stages: (a) sensorimotor stage (0-2 years) is the stage during which sensory input and motor processes become coordinated; (2) preoperational stage (2-7) years is the period when children begin to use language and think symbolically, yet remain intuitive and egocentric; (c) Concrete operational stage (7-11 years) a period in which children to use concepts of time, space, volume and number, but in ways that remain simplified and concrete; and (d) formal operations stage (11 years and up) which is the period of intellectual development marked by a capacity for abstract, theoretical and hypothetical thinking (Coon & Mitterer, 2010). Therefore as children develop they progress through stages characterized by unique ways of understanding the world and this is also influenced greatly by how they are treated by the people around them (Ojose, 2008). Adolescence I remember when I was 13 my mum told me that I was in the break or make stage of my life and the way I handled myself was critical to my future. I thought of that statement but it did not hit my mind as to what she really meant. This is when I began to see body changes that scared me. I was really curious and scared at the same time and the only person I could approach was my mother. She told me it was normal and that I was growing up. It is also at this time when I began questioning why it was mandatory for us to go to church unlike other people who were not going to church. I realized that I became emotional over small issues and I would cry for example if my friends laughed at what I was wearing. So many times at school people would want to make fun of me because I was very conservative having brought up in a strict Christian background. It was sometimes very difficult for me until I changed my mind and told my parents that I did not like the conservative nature and wanted to be like the others. Due to the low economic status of my parents I could not get the fancy clothes that I wanted and therefore I stuck to my usual self. Life was rather hard at this stage, peer influence was great and I wanted to do things that my friends were doing at 16 like having boyfriends but my background could not allow me. I wanted to be like others but I could not because of the circumstances. At this time I also began to question the beliefs that we had in the family as we were not allowed to eat meat on Fridays. I could not simply understand the reasoning behind it and I remember I tried it just to see what will happen and nothing ever happened. I stopped believing in such awkward statements. Bandura in his social learning theory says that social learning is the learning of social behavior through observation and replicating of behaviors seen in others. It is the learning of social and moral behaviors after observing a model (Thyer, 1998). That we learn things and want to behave like others just as I did. He gives four conditions for this to occur: attention-people attend to the significant features of a models behavior; retention-the observer stores information about the model’s behavior in memory; reproduction-where the behaviors are performed or imitated and motivation where there is reinforcement such as a reward or punishment for motivation (Newman & Newman, 2011). I learnt a lot from my peers and engaged in many things with them some of which I still do at the moment. Young Adulthood As a young adult When I joined college life took a completely new turn. Many of the things that interested me in my adolescence looked childish though I maintained a click of friends that we went to hang out together. I reinforced some of the behaviors I had and I began to think broadly about life and my goals and expectations in life. I remembered my mother was from a minority group and she was not so open with people and she grew up with the fear of discrimination among the most dominant groups. My grandparents were from a dominant group and sometimes would criticize and talk evil of the minor groups like my mothers. This made me think of having a relationship with people of my class and the same group with me. I did not want to a person I cherished to be subject to such prejudice and forms of discrimination. At this time I was not even financially stable as I was still at school and I did not have any more to help me with my daily expenses. My mother still took care of me helping me grow and realizing my potentials. I felt that I could not do certain things on my own so together we formed groups with friends at the college where we study together and did other things of interest together. I was more academically oriented than socially oriented so I used to engage in academic work most of the time. Groups really inspired me as people had different interests and capabilities. There are a number of good things about groups that I liked and I learnt a lot at the same time. Working together was very helpful as individuals are able to complete tasks faster and achieve more. Groups develop in stages beginning with the orientation stage where there is initial gathering and causal questioning about mutual interests. When this is clear and people find that they agree on given issues they move to stage tow which is the mutuality stage. In this stage, patterns of communication, alliances and subgroups emerge as do roles and responsibilities (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). This culminates in the third stage that is the drama stage which involves testing of old patterns of behavior-human proclivities emerge. In the fourth stage called the love ties, people begin to accept one another and their shortcomings and there is group bonding and many tasks are achieved together. The last stage is the Blossoming stage where there exist changes in group structures and communication patterns and there is positive growth towards mutually satisfying goals (Fambrough, 2006). The difficulties that existed in getting money made me work even harder. I fell in and out of relationships because I wanted to concentrate on my studies and get the best grades to boost my chances of ever being economically stable. I did not want the current state of affairs and therefore I worked hard to be the best I can. I also learnt that in life so many things are interrelated and i need other and they need me. Life was like a system in which everything was interrelated. In this stage I remember the lifespan development theory developed by Baltes. The theory deals with the study of individual development from conception to old age. It assumes that development is not completed at adulthood. It is premised on the fact that ontogenesis extends across the entire life course and that lifelong adaptive processes are involved. Most people have a sense of being actively involved in shaping their lives. They follow developmental paths that are coherent in terms of identifying and effectively pursuing long term goals and when necessary, disengaging from goals that are no longer attainable. Even when confronted with setbacks, disappointments and failures humans have a remarkable capacity to stay on course and maintain a sense of personal agency (Heckhausen & Wrosch, 2010). I view myself as having gone through all these stages from the time I was born, the struggles I have seen in my family and the many influences that I have seen on my life have made me decide on which path I want to take. I realized that group thinking was not good and all of us were different and came from different backgrounds and so we had to fend for ourselves in one way or the other. This has made me to always struggle to achieve goals and other things that I find important in my life. Conclusion My development as it has been established is influenced by so many things both external and internal. The internal factors were as a result of the constant motivation that I received from my parents. The love and care they gave me made me think positively and be confident in myself as I grew up as a small kid. My development was therefore influenced by my parents and other family members. During the adolescent stage things got a bit complex for me as I began realizing who I was. Trying to get a sense of identity was a huge task as I struggled to fit in the society. My behavior was influenced greatly by my peers and I got to try things that I never thought I would do. Life was really getting tough as emotions due to changes in my body also resulted in a different me. I learnt from observation and imitated others and what I thought was good. In my early adulthood, I changed my lifestyle and became more focused. I realized the importance of focusing on my future goals and working towards being a better me. The experiences I went through when I was a kid and during adolescent, especially economic problems made me want to be good in everything I do. In summary the environment has influenced my growth to a great extent helping me be who I am and realizing what I want to be. References Coon, D., & Mitterer, J. O. (2010). Introduction to Psychology: gateways to Mind and Behaviour. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning. Fambrough, M. J. (2006). The Changing Epistemological Assumptions of Group Theory. The Journal of Applied behavioural science, 42(3): 330. Heckhausen, J., & Wrosch, C. (2010). A motivational Theory of Life-Span Development. Pyschological review, 117(1)32-60. Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2011). Development Through Life: A Psychosocial Approach. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning. Ojose, B. (2008). Applying Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Develoment to Mathematics Instruction. The Mathematics Educator, 18(1): 26-30. Thyer, B. A. (1998). Social Learning Theory. Journal of human behavior in the social environment, 1(1)33. Zastrow, C., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2010). Understanding Human behaviour and the Social Environment. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning. Read More