The theory of evolution can explain human development when examining biological adaptations. To begin, one adaptation that supports human development with regards to evolution is sweat glands. Sweating is a cooling mechanism that ultimately keeps the body’s internal temperature stable. The human skin is naked, has no coat of fur and is sweaty which helps one’s body cool down. The absence of sweating can cause the human body to overheat and die instantly. The humans developed the sweat glands mostly during the time of hunting as it was highly beneficial because it gave humans the ability to run in speed for long distances while animals had to stop and cool off by panting. Humans were able to run for a long period of time because the sweat glands cooled their body by releasing water molecules onto the surface of the skin. Sweating allowed humans to become superior hunters because animals were unable to sweat and while running, animal’s guts would hit their diaphragm causing them to stop and rest. This provides humans an opportunity to strike at the animals first during the hunting journey.
Furthermore, another prominent adaptation that enhances human development is melanin. Melanin provides human skin with pigmentation ranging from various shades. Melanin’s main function is to protect humans from UV rays. Melanin’s adaptation has provided great advantages to human development because the pigmentation was a survival tool to protect individuals from UV rays. UV rays can cause skin damage or cancer but the strong radiation was blocked because melanin acted as a barrier to the sun’s exposure. The dark pigmentation reduced the chances of cancerous formations or skin damage, therefore, humans can live longer and healthier. People who inhabited in the North had to get rid of their melanin due to the reduction in revelation to the sun and vitamin D. The colder climates had less sun exposure causing individuals to absorb less vitamin D, which is vital because it strengthens the immune and bone system.
Lastly, an adaptation that effectively supports human development with regards to evolution is the lactose enzyme. Lactase is a digestive enzyme for lactose, a nourishing combination of milk and sugar. Individuals who had this gene had ancestors who farmed and milked cows, sheep and goats. Humans who never inherited this gene had previous ancestors who lacked access to dairy. For example, the Mongol army was lactose persistent which allowed them to get this adaption whereas, the Jin soldiers ate rich carbohydrates like rice. The Jin army did not have the enzyme, so they carried rice on the horses as their food source during the time of war, which applied a lot of weight and pressure on the horses causing the horses to walk slower. The lactose enzyme was beneficial for the body and during the time of war as the horses were a source of milk while the Europeans travelled to their war destinations. People favored this function because milk and other dairy products like cheese provides protein which gave them long-lasting energy.
In conclusion, the theory of evolution ultimately demonstrates human advancements when analyzing various physical transformations.
Have you ever brought a new puppy home and then watched it grow up? You may have noticed it transform from a cute and shy puppy, to a troublemaker, then to a lifelong companion until death. That is the beautiful cycle of life development. Just like dogs, humans go through different developmental stages in their life as well. Each of these stages involve different physical and emotional characteristics, which humans usually develop at similar rates. The four main stages of human life include infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Learning this continuous life process is essential in order to become a nurse because without it, I would not know how to treat patients specific to their age and point of development, and it would be impossible for me to teach others about how the growth process works.
The first stage of human development is infancy, the first year of life. During this first year, babies must rely on and trust others to meet their needs. Developmental psychologist Erik Erikson describes this as the trust vs. mistrust stage. In order to develop both physically and emotionally, they must feel this sense of security and bond with their parents. Like a new puppy, an infant needs a lot of love, attention and care. As you meet their needs, they are guaranteed to trust you and healthily develop. However, a lack of this will lead to mistrust and possible issues with development later in life.
Moving on to the next stage of human life, childhood occurs when children start to seek independence. Throughout this stage, children develop decision-making skills and learn that the actions they make have consequences. They also develop a sense of self and confidence, which helps them to achieve their goals. The childhood stage can be broken down into 2 secondary stages: early childhood and middle childhood. Early childhood, often ages 2 to 5, is where the toilet training and exploration begins. According to Erikson, children in this stage experience autonomy vs. shame and doubt (personal control and independence) and initiative vs. guilt (control and power over their environment). Whereas middle childhood, ages 6-11, experience industry vs. inferiority, where school begins, and they start to adjust to new social environments.
Along with beginning to develop a sense of independence, children move on to the next developmental stage of adolescence. Between the ages of 12-18 years old, children and teenagers are primarily concerned with finding a sense of identity and expressing who they are. Going back to Erikson’s psychosocial stages, identity vs. role confusion is the basic conflict during this stage of development, as they are figuring out who they are and what purpose they have in this world. Puberty also occurs most commonly during this stage, as physical attributes like body/facial hair, body odor, and changes in growth come about. Compared to all four basic stages of life, adolescence is considered to be the most confusing and stressful. While adolescents are learning to adapt to their new changing bodies, they are also trying different things like clothing choices, hairstyles and hobbies, in order to discover what they’re most comfortable with. In addition, you will notice a change in behavior from the young adolescent. The once sweet and innocent kid has now changed into a rebellious and sassy teenager, ready to make their independent mark on the world.
Finally, the last stage to complete the cycle of human life is adulthood, ages 19 to death. Throughout this stage, our physical bodies and emotional well-being continue to change, and we continue to learn and grow from experiences. Yet, there is more life challenges such as career, school and personal life, during this stage. Similar to childhood, this stage can also be broken down into three substages: early adulthood, middle adulthood and late adulthood. Deciding where you want to live, work and become romantically involved with are among the few emotional changes associated with early adulthood – ages 19 to 40. Intimacy vs. isolation is the main conflict of this stage due to the need of intimate and loving relationships for young adults. After finding love and building nurturing relationships, adults (40-65 years) then transition to middle adulthood and experience more physical changes than emotional through the generativity vs. stagnation stage. They have children and continue to work, while aging drastically through wrinkles, gray hair and slight weight gain. The ultimate stage of life – late adulthood, focuses on ego integrity vs. despair or their reflection on life. This is where you’ll find older adults feeling a sense of fulfillment and passing down their wisdom to their children and grandchildren. They usually live the rest of their days feeling grateful for the life they’ve lived until death.
In the end, learning about the stages of human life is a necessity for me as a nursing major in order to know how to treat and comfort each patient. Just like a new puppy, humans go through various developmental life stages and experience both physical and emotional changes. Though a predictable and similarly developed process among everyone, each patient develops in their own unique ways. Learning about this lifelong process helps me and other future nursing students to make generalizations about the different stages, comfortably treat patients and give information about how to react to each stage to patients, new and aging parents, older adults and more.
The study of how people change and develop can be defined as human development. Many researchers explain that human development has a strong theoretical foundation and research background. In my opinion, one theory cannot fully explain the development of an adult, so we need to look at it from the life-span perspective.
According to Kail and Cavanaugh (2017), development can only be fully understood when viewed as a life-long process and all factors are considered holistically. Louw and Louw (2019) write that a perspective that can help us understand the importance of taking a holistic approach to development is the life-span perspective. According to the life-span perspective, development is lifelong, multidirectional, multidimensional, plastic, contextual, and multidisciplinary.
Bates et al. (2006) explain that being multidirectional means that during every developmental stage of life a person develops and improves in certain areas while declining and losing in other areas. Louw and Louw (2019) write that development being multidimensional refers to the dynamic interaction of factors such as biological, socioemotional, and cognitive. Baltes et al., (2006) explain that development being multidimensional means that development occurs in many different dimensions, including physiological, cognitive, and emotional dimensions. They explain that the dynamic and complex interaction of each of these dimensions is what influences a person’s overall development. Louw and Louw (2019) write that plasticity refers to the ability to change. They explain that many aspects, characteristics, and skills of a person are malleable or changeable, and experiences at any stage of development can lead to a change in the person’s development. Kail and Cavanaugh (2017) explain that with training and practice, many skills and abilities of an individual can be improved, and thus one’s capacity to grow and develop is not predetermined. Baltes et al. (2006) write that development is influenced by contextual factors, which means that every person develops through experiencing a certain set of circumstances. Bronfenbrenner (1979) writes that a person’s development is influenced by biological, social, and environmental factors that intertwine and interact together to influence a person’s development. He explains that historical, economic, social, and cultural factors influence the individual’s microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem. How these factors interact with the individual is vital for understanding development. Louw and Louw (2019) write that in order to understand the development entirely it is vital to view it as multidisciplinary. They explain that this means that human development is influenced by various factors, disciplines, and forces. Kail and Cavanaugh (2017) explain that four different forces influence and play a role in a person’s development: biological, psychological, sociocultural, and life-cycle forces. Baltes et al. (2006) explain that biological forces include all biological, physical, and physiological factors that affect development. They explain that psychological forces include all the internal cognitive, perceptual, emotional, and personality factors that affect a person’s development. Sociocultural forces include all cultural, societal, interpersonal, and ethnic factors that affect an individual’s development. Louw and Louw (2019) write that life-cycle forces reflect how a specific event or the combination of biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces affect people at different stages of their lives. They explain that it is vital to understand that all four forces of development interact and influence development. Therefore it is essential to have a holistic approach to human development, as it can only be fully understood when viewing it as being life-long, multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, contextual, and multidisciplined.
According to the life-span perspective, as we now know, development is influenced by our experiences, issues, and forces. During high school, I was a shy and quiet student with low self-esteem. Today though, I am a confident, outgoing, and talkative individual. When looking back at experiences that could have influenced this development, my year-long trip to Israel as a gap year stands out. Kail and Cavanaugh (2017) write that learning about yourself and your abilities and skills, as well as becoming independent, can significantly improve a person’s self-esteem and confidence. This can explain my developmental change and character change throughout the year. While in Israel, I introspected and did numerous self-growth activities. I also had to look after myself and be independent as I had no one looking after me throughout the year, which caused me to become confident in using my skills and strengths to look after myself. Throughout my year in Israel and when I became a student at SACAP, I was exposed to and introduced to many new people with diverse backgrounds and different ideas. I made a significant effort to meet as many people as possible and to engage actively in lectures. The result was that I learned to overcome my shyness and low self-esteem, which Shimizu, Nakashima, and Morinaga (2018) report as having adverse effects on building friendships and relationships. By overcoming these negative attributes, I have developed into a more confident and outgoing individual. I was born into a Jewish household which significantly influenced my development as being Jewish is considered a sociocultural and psychological force. I went to a Jewish school where I only met Jewish individuals, learned Jewish laws and texts, and kept all the Jewish festivals and events. As a result, my entire development was influenced by my religion and the Jewish cultural context as the way I think and behave are according to Jewish law and rulings.
Overall, this essay has shown that development needs to be viewed holistically as it is a lifelong process that is influenced by numerous factors and forces. Therefore, no single theory can be used in isolation to explain adult development fully. However, by taking all theories into account and looking at development as life-long, multidirectional, multidimensional, plastic, contextual, and multidisciplined like the life-span perspective does, one can have a better understanding of the development process.
There are diverse factors, which influence the progression of early human development. Nurture is one of those factors. This incorporates the process through which parents influence the growth and development of their younger children.
It is notable that other arguments have suggested that nature plays a critical role in the early development of children. The link between nature and nurture in terms of how they affect early human development has also been the subject of discussion in many areas.
Although it is true that nature plays a role in the progression of early human development, this paper focuses on the role of nurture in influencing early human development.
The Role of Parents
It is notable that parents are the ones who are normally the closest people to their offspring during the processes of early growth and development. The notable role that parents play in influencing how their children develop cannot to be overemphasized.
The parents can have a positive influence on the development of their children depending on how they handle them.
However, parents can also negatively affect important developmental aspects of their children through mistreatment. It is important to mention that parents desire to have positive impacts on the development of their youngsters.
Nature and Nurture Debate
It is notable that nature defines the sex of a baby. This takes place through the biological processes that control human development. However, the way the child grows up and assumes diverse lifestyles depends on the nurturing process provided by the parents.
For example, the feeding regime that parents adopt to feed their children affects their development.
Children who overeat due to parents’ allowing them to consume too much food eventually put on more weight than their counterparts who have normal feeding regime and thus follow healthy lifestyle.
The process of early human development normally starts from the moment when a child is still in their mother’s womb. The kind of environment, in which the pregnant woman lives, influences the way the baby develops.
Apparently, women who become sick in the course of their pregnancy can negatively affect the development of the unborn children.
Furthermore, women who take personal responsibility to maintain their fitness, eat a well-balanced diet, and minimize incidences of pollution eventually give birth to healthy children.
Nurture also influences the development of certain character traits, skills and abilities. The process when children learn to speak is very critical in the development process.
Therefore, parents can influence the development of neurological abilities that facilitate communication due to talking with their children. For example, children who, in the process of their development, have many people around them talking to them will learn how to speak faster than their counterparts who are raised in an environment where no one talks to them.
The attention provided to children by their parents also helps in developing their cognitive abilities in a desired manner because they learn the people and the world around them through communication and interaction they receive.
Conclusion
In summary, nature plays a critical role in the development of children, particularly during the early stages. However, nurture is also crucial to the early development of babies. The role that parents play in nurturing their children is very important.
For example, children who are naturally born with certain challenges may develop into excellent young men and women depending on how their parents care for them.
The parents should pay great attention to how they treat and handle their children to facilitate their development in a positive manner enabling them to acquire the characteristics they are expected to have.
Society has ways of measuring its development to ensure its plans for the present and future needs of its members. Organizations and nations have development indexes used to determine whether they are developing or not. A development index is a system used to determine the performance of society regarding the economy, politics, and social aspects. They are compared to standard measures, and when their results are higher than this it means the society is developed; however, a lower or negative outcome shows that there is no progress. This essay analyses the human development and political indexes.
Human Development Index
This is a combination of factors that affect developments in countries, and they are used to rank nations into four groups of human development. This concept was developed by Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen to try to explain why there is inequality in society. They believed that development should not be measured in terms of national income but by examining people-centered policies. The Human Development Index (HDI) was published in November 2010, and it combines the following three aspects. First, it emphasized life expectancy and observed that when people live longer they develop their society. In addition, they identified education as a key component of human development because of the role it plays in preparing people for the future. Lastly, they examined the importance of improved health standards as a measure of evaluating a country’s development.
Criticism
This index has been criticized because it presents ideological biases towards egalitarianism systems. It portrays support for inequalities in society because it uses variables used in western nations. In addition, it does not explore ecological considerations when comparing developed and developing nations. Critics argue that this model does not consider the contributions of technology to development and civilization. Moreover, its perspective is limited to nations, and it does not view development from a global standpoint. Lastly, there are high possibilities of miscalculations because of the UNDP’s changes in the formula used to rank nations. The following formula is used to calculate the Human Development Index to determine the position of a country.
Brand Development Index
Brand Development Index is a measure used to determine the performance of a product within groups of consumers. This paper uses a case study of how the Coca-cola brand sells in countries A and B. The table below shows the sale of this brand among people aged below 30 years.
Country A
Country B
Total Population
121
180
200
The Brand Development Index for this product can be calculated by dividing the number of brand sales by that of households in countries A and B. The figure obtained is then divided by the totals of brand sales and households.
Brand sales to group ÷ Households in groups (121÷200) = 0.605
Total households ÷ Total Brand sales (301÷400) = 0.7525
Brand Development Index= 0.605 ÷0.7525 = 0.80
This data shows that this brand has a good market penetration in both countries even though there is a need to improve marketing strategies to ensure it improves. The company should evaluate its marketing strategies in country A to ensure this product attracts consumers. This means that it can reduce the price of this product or offer promotions to boost its sales.
The human development index is a statistic tool used by scientists from different disciplines to describe a given population’s quality of life. It mainly concentrates on various demographic characteristics although much emphasis is given to education, life expectancy, and income (Cleveland & Douglas, 2013).
The Human Development Index (HDI) is used internationally to rank countries into four categories based on the above-mentioned aspects. It is important to note that the origin and development of the human development index is closely linked to the United Nations, to be more precise, to the United Nations Development Program’s annual development reports (Cleveland & Douglas, 2013).
History of the human development Index
As mentioned earlier, the Human Development Index traces its origin to the United Nations Development Program reports. Mahbub ul Haq, a Pakistani economist is credited as the main architect behind the development of the HDI (Stanton, 2007, p. 1). Mahbub together with other economists sought to shift human development indices from national income to a more “people-oriented” approach that captured the real situation as far as human development is concerned (Cleveland & Douglas, 2013).
Apparently, the national income approach grossly underestimated or overestimated the quality of life that people within a given region led. Thus, the need for a more accurate method to indicate the quality of human life gave rise to the Human Development Index in 1990.
Dimensions of the Human Development Index
In a nutshell, the Human Development Index measures the quality of life of a given group of people, mainly in countries or regions with recognized political autonomy.
Precisely, the HDI seeks to investigate and establish the quality of life which is measured through the life expectancy rate (UNDP, 2013). Life expectancy at birth is the number of years a person is expected to live in a particular country with special consideration given to the quality of life. It also takes into account the mortality rate of the people concerned.
Besides life expectancy, another important aspect of HDI is the education index that seeks to measure the quality of education available to people in a particular country. This dimension takes into account the years of schooling and the expected number of years that the inhabitants are expected to have access to education (UNDP, 2013). The education index is shaped by such factors as access to basic primary school education by all demographic groups which crucially determines literacy levels.
HDI also measures the gross national income per capita that is mainly done in USD. Per capita income which sometimes can be given in purchasing power parity figures is the income per person in a given territory (UNDP, 2013). It usually indicates the production potential and contribution to the GDP of every individual in a given economy. Many times economists use per capita income as an indicator of a country’s standard of living.
Calculation of HDI
Calculation of HDI has slightly changed over the years especially due to the dynamics of human life and economic development. The old calculation method that was used in the UNDP reports up to the year 2011 used three indices, i.e. life expectancy, knowledge and education and standard of living (UNHDR, 2004). In the new method of calculation however, HDI is calculated using the three indices with minor changes.
In the new method, the life expectancy index remains the same while the education index does not give a lot of weight to knowledge. It is important however to note that knowledge is considered to be crucial in the new method as indicated by one’s level of education. In the standard of living index, the new method notably uses gross national income instead of gross domestic product (Cleveland & Douglas, 2013).
HDI and Per Capita
It is important to note that HDI and GDP are two different terms with different meanings although they come in handy when describing human development in any setting.
GDP is used to describe the total sum of all economic activities in a country. GDP indicates the economic wellbeing of a nation (UNDP, 2013). Essentially, any effect on GDP has a ripple effect on the entire economy and can easily affect the HDI.
Given its nature, HDI is more or less an all round measuring indicator that considers many aspects including GDP to describe human development levels (UNDP, 2013).
Weaknesses of HDI
The human development index is widely used in gauging the level of development of a population. However, it does not mean that the method is perfect and has no flaws. For instance, HDI does not take into account other important factors such as gender equality and development (Cleveland & Douglas, 2013).
Additionally, HDI relies entirely on statistics that are supplied by different national bureaus. Given the long chain that this data follows, it is likely that some of the statistics that UNDP uses to calculate HDI are not accurate, hence resulting into an unrealistic picture.
References
Cleveland, C & Douglas, G. (2013). Human Development Index. Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). Web.
Man is a social animal and is here in this world just because of our one and only God. He is the one who has sent us in this world to live and to do various types of activities so that we can understand that what actually life means. But the question is that how can we survive? How can we live? How will we manage to live? Because when we arrive in the world, we are nothing, only a small piece with little heartbeat along with life, but we are unable to do a single thing. So how can we live? And the answer is that we can live and can survive day by day with the help of our development. (Kaplan, 87)
There are different steps of development from the day first when you are born to die.
Motor development refers to the progression of muscular coordination required for physical activities. This kind of development includes basic growth, which includes grasping, reaching for objects, manipulating objects, sitting up, crawling, walking, and running; when a baby is born, he/she is unable to do even a single activity. He even can’t sit on his/her own or can’t talk, or can’t convey his/her feelings. This motor development helps the baby to grow day by day and helps to know the world to know that how to live, how to sit, or how to start their life. This type of age is very much sensitive and needs a lot of attention. (Kaplan, 79)
Here are some activities which usually all babies do when they are in their motor development stage.
Prone, lifts head
Prone, chest up, arm support
rolls over Bears some weight on legs
Sits without support
Stands holding on
Pulls self to stand
Walks, holding onto furniture
Stands well alone
Walks well alone
Walks up steps
These above mention activities are done by all babies when they are in their motor stage and are growing. This age is no doubt very much hard and difficult and sensitive too but has very much importance too. In this stage, a baby wants to do a lot of things; things also attract them, but they are unable to do anything in this stage because of unawareness, and all the things are unreachable from them; therefore, they try and tries.
In this stage of life, a baby can do nothing and is totally dependent on others. Even if a baby wants to sit, he can’t sit without the help of others. (Kaplan, 75).
Attachment means bonding – creating a bond with people, especially with family members or people who are all around the child. In this stage, child starts making bond and attachments with their closest ones. They start to recognize people who are who. This stage has very much importance in the child’s life because at this age child starts to recognize that who is who and what is the relationship of that particular one with him or her. And similarly, when infants are separated from people with whom they have formed an attachment, they develop emotional distress situations which are very much harmful to their lives.
Research by Ainsworth and her colleagues believe that attachments basically emerge out from the complex relationship which is between infant and mother. Mothers are always with their babies and spend most of the time with them, so this is the reason that why infants develop a strong bond with their mothers as compare to fathers.
Erikson divided the life of a child into eight major parts.
Trust versus Mistrust
Autonomy versus Shame And Doubt
Initiative versus Guilt
Industry versus Inferiority
Identity versus Confusion
Intimacy versus Isolation
Generativity versus Self absorbtion
Integrity versus despair
Here these stages have their own meanings. In the first stage, it means “Whether my world in which I am living is predictable and supportive.” The second stage means “can I do things on my own or I must always depend on others.” The third stage means “Am I a good one or not.” The fourth stage means “Am I competent or worthless.” The fifth stage means “Who am I and what are my paths.” The sixth stage means “Shall I share my life and feelings with others or not.” The seventh stage means “Will I produce something or not.” And the last stage means “Have I lived in full form of life or not.” (Kaplan, 68).
When a child is in the growing stage, his/her mind is full of these questions and is deciding that what is happening all around.
“Human personality in principle develops according to steps predetermined in the growing person’s readiness to be driven toward, to be aware of, and to interact with a widening social radius.” (Kail, 67)
This type of development includes the transaction in youngsters when they develop the ability of thinking, recognizing, remembering, reasoning, and problem-solving. In this part of life, you are able to understand things, able to recognize things for a long period of time, and can recall things easily and quickly. Some of the people in this age find difficult to recall things because of the weak brain. In order to make your mental level high, you should work regularly and should do things, do different types of activities so that you can make your mental level high enough, which makes you recall things easily. (Kail, 78)
Erik Erikson introduces four periods that were very much important in the development of a human being.
Sensory Motor Period
Preoperational Period
Concrete Operational Period
Formal Operational period
The sensorySensory-motor period is a period in which you are able to recognize things. When some information is sent to you, your brain can immediately reply to that action. On the other hand, the preoperational period is the development of the symbolic thought market by irreversibility decentration and egocentrism. Concrete operational period applied to conservation when you can recognize between the amounts. And in the last Formal operational period is a period when you are aware of the world. You can do anything and know how to react in the world.
Basically, children progress in information progressing with the help of two basic things.
Attention
Memory
When a child is paying full attention to you and your behavior, then he/she can keep that particular thing or action in their mind for a long period of time. But when they are not paying any kind of attention and just watching that action at a glance, then they will find difficulty in remembering that particular action. (Kail, 67)
Another is memory. There are two types of memory.
Long term memory
Short term memory
Long-term memory is the memory when you remember things for a long period of time. This is because you pay full attention to all the actions. But on the other hand, short-term memory is for a short time because you are not paying attention to the actions which are taken place around you. (Kail, 89)
Kohlberg defines six major points
Punishment orientation
Native reward orientation
Good boy/good girl orientation
Authority orientation
Social contract orientation
Individual principles and conscience orientation
The above-mentioned points describe that when something is done by any human being, so what the results were.
After this stage, when you are well known and good enough to know that what is good for you and what is bad for you, the stage that arises is termed Adolescence.
At this age, you start growing physically and sexually. This is one of the very important ages in a human’s life and plays an important role. Everyone should be careful in this stage because this is the stage when you will make your life. At this age, everyone is ready to explore the world want to do a different kind of activities, and want to become famous within a day. But you should be very careful while spending this year of time. (Sigelman, 67)
This is the stage when you want to become someone – popular and famous one with high respect in society. In this part of life, everyone is trying to find out his/her own identity.
When there is an urge to do something which can make you famous and with the help of which you can earn money and can live a marvelous life in this urge each and everyone is also keen to know that who he/she is. (Sigelman, 67)
These questions have great importance in everyone’s life and everyone in this part or stage of life is keen to know that who is she/he? These questions can be answered properly by special training and before any type of training; the important thing is for parents that they should pay attention to their children’s personality.
In this part of life, everyone wants to know that what should I do? This is the major part of life in which you decide what to do. Which line should I choose in order to start my career? (Newman, 345)
Here the main thing is that whatever you want to do, just do it doesn’t wait for others that they will come and tell you. No, in this world, no one is free. Just do what you want and be aware of right and wrong.
In this part of life or stage, you are young, want to achieve goals and targets, and want to go higher and higher. You are young and able to do and everything you are not dependent on others. You want to achieve your targeted goals and want to become successful. You want to gain more and more and want to have that much level by which you can make yourself good enough to survive in this world.
People usually in this part of life lose hope. You should not lose hope because if you lost hope, then how you will be a successful one.
No doubt this age is full of risks, but you are young at this age and can achieve whatever you want.
This is a part of life when you are in your middle age. When you got married and started a new life again, this is when you are young and able to do everything. You are strong enough, too, and know that what is right for you and what is wrong. (Newman, 56)
When you get married, now you are with more and more responsibilities. Now it is your duty to take care of your life, and along with this now you are responsible for taking care of your partner’s life. You should take each and every step very carefully. (Bjorklund, 69)
This is the time when you are getting a little old and when you are not able to do and everything on your own. Everything is not in your own hands now. You are a little bit dependent on others.
In this stage of life, you are getting old and old day by day and becoming weak. You are not young now and cannot do everything. You depend on others and want to do rest because now you are not that young as you were before. (Bjorklund, 78)
In this part of life, you should take care of yourself because now is the time when you need others’ attention. Now you are not young everything is not in your hands you need others to help in order to do your work. Some people in this age feel shame for them that they are not able to do anything but this is not the right way. You should not feel ashamed of yourself because you are hereafter spending your whole life working for others, so now it is their turn to work for you.
People in this stage of life are weak as compared to the early stages. Their bones become weaker and weaker. They are not active.
This part of life is similar to the young baby’s part of life when a baby is unable to do anything. (Nielsen, 709)
This whole procedure is made by our God, and no one can change it. You all are here because of him and have to send your lives according to the stages which are ordered by him. (Nielsen, 500)
Erikson’s theory is one of the most important theories, from which I agree. In this theory, he described the natural phenomenon of a man that he is living in this world and is noticing everything which is happening around him. If he finds it difficult to understand, he feels depressed, and if, on the other hand, he finds anything interesting, he starts to develop more and more interest in it. Erikson’s theory is very much true because it describes man’s nature in very much detail. It is very much true that when a man is living in this world, he is focusing on everything which is around him, the place where he finds anything interesting he gets attracted to it and where he finds nothing interesting, he gets to ignore that particular activity. (McWhirter et al., 90)
Whereas on the other hand, Freud’s psychoanalytical theory describes about the man-nature that he is in this world for two main reasons that are Eros and Thanatos, which means life and death. Whatever he wishes for, whatever he thinks, whatever he feels is just for two main reasons that are to survive to live or to prevent any kind of destruction. Whatever a man does in this world is to live a happy life.
Whatever he does is just in order to earn money so that he can live a happy and prosperous life. The psychoanalytical theory states that we whatever do in this world is just in order to survive so that we can spend a luxurious life and can have more enjoyment in this life and on the other hand if we don’t consider our life seriously se will then surely loose all the excitement from our life. (McWhirter, 70)
I do not agree with this theory because we are here not for these two reasons. We are here to make other people happy, too, so that he can make himself happy.
Works Cited
Barbara M. Newman, Life-Span Development: A Case Book, 1st Edition, 2003.
Barbara M. Newman, Development through Life: A Psychosocial Approach, 9th Edition, 2006.
Barbara M. Newman, Development through Life: A Psychosocial Approach, 10th Edition, 2009, Philip R. Newman.
Carol K. Sigelman, Life-Span Human Development, 6th Edition, 2009, Casebound.
Carol K. Sigelman, Life-Span Human Development, 5th Edition, 2006.
Dana Comstock, Diversity and Development: Critical Contexts that Shape Our Lives and Relationships, 1st Edition, 2005.
David F. Bjorklund, Children’s Thinking: Cognitive Development and Individual Differences, 4th Edition, 2005, Paperbound.
Jean Mercer, Infant Development: A Multidisciplinary Introduction, 1st Edition, 1998.
Jeffries McWhirter, Benedict T. McWhirter, Ellen Hawley McWhirter, Robert J. McWhirter. A Comprehensive Response for Counselors, Teachers, Psychologists, and Human Services Professionals, 4th Edition, 2007, Paperbound, USA.
Kathy H. Trotter, Life Span: A Multimedia Introduction to Human Development CD-ROM 2.0, 1st Edition, 2007.
Linda Nielsen, Adolescence: A Contemporary View, 3rd Edition, 1996, Casebound.
Paul S. Kaplan. The Human Odyssey: Life-Span Development, 3rd Edition, 1998, Paperbound, USA.
Paul S. Kaplan, The Human Odyssey: Life-Span Development, 3rd Edition, 1998.
Peter LaFreniere, Emotional Development: A Biosocial Perspective, 1st Edition, 2000
Robert V. Kail, Cengage Advantage Books: Human Development: A Life-Span View, 4th Edition, 2007.
Robert V. Kail, Human Development: A Life-Span View, 4th Edition, 2007.
The human development refers to the process of becoming mature physically, psychologically, and socially. The development in a child occurs in relation to the interaction that the child has with the immediate environmental factors. The biological, social, or psychological context in which a child grows is referred to as human ecology (Berns, 2009, p.5).
The setting under which a child is brought up will greatly affect his development. The family and the home setting of a given child becomes the most fundamental factor that influences much of the development. Much of the child’s time during the early stages of development is spent with the family members. As the child grows and relates with other individuals outside their nuclear family, the kind of interaction so developed will also affect his development.
The extended family is the next immediate factor that will influence the development of the child. The child grows up and attends childcare and educational centers. He will be visiting healthcare centers and different other learning facilities in the neighborhood. He then meets children from within the community in different sites like a community playground. The child now interacts with a wider group of individuals from the society.
Other factors may not be in the immediate surrounding of the child but will influence his development. Various legal provisions and the condition of the parents’ workplace may have influence on a child’s development. Such external factors have often been neglected by various researchers and scholars. However, they influence the meaning that an individual makes out of the immediate settings and influence his behavior and development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p.18).
Thesis statement
The human development does not occur in isolation. The interaction between the various environmental factors like the family of an individual, their home, the school he attends, the community, and the society have significant impacts on the human development in children.
The systems of Bioecological Model of Human Development
The Bioecological model of human development consists of four basic systems that define different levels of settings affecting the development of a child. These are Microsystems, Mesosystems, Exosystem, and Macrosystem. Different interactions and relationships occur between these structures and affect the development of a child (Berns, 2009, p.18).
Microsystems
Microsystem is the fundamental structure of the Bioecological model of the human development. It encompasses the relationships and activities that are carried out in an individual’s immediate setting like the family, school, the community as well as the peer group (Berns, 2009, p.19).
The family is the first setting that a child encounters in a normal societal setup and is a major component of the Microsystem for a developing child (Lerner, 2002, p.41). The parents are supposed to take care of the child and provide the required parental love to ensure proper emotional development.
The family background (parents’ education, family size, the availability of the learning materials and other facilities at home) will affect the child’s transition into the next setting and his activities and behavior in the settings. Researches have shown that the home background of a child will greatly determine the performance of the child at school.
This was observed to be more influential, in several cases, than all the aspects related to the learning institution (Bronfenbrenner, 2005, p.203). The failure of a family to carry out its responsibility in nurturing a child will disadvantage the child at later ages and allow for other factors that impede development. The family background will determine how the other aspects of the Microsystems affect the child.
The aspects related to the school attended by a child have also been observed to have impacts on the performance of the child and the general development of the child. However, the factors that many individuals would consider more influential have been found to be less significant. The students’ population in a class, the number of learning materials available in the school, and the ability of the students to work in groups has been found to be less significant to the student’s performance (Bronfenbrenner, 2005, p.204).
The teachers’ competence in handling specific subject areas was observed to contribute significantly to the child’s performance. Such a teacher will be a role model to the children. The most influential aspect of the learning institution was found to be the characteristic behaviors of the other children in the learning institution. The family background of the other children would influence the performance of a child from a lower-class family.
A child from a middle or high-class family would, however, not be influenced negatively by the children from the poor families (Bronfenbrenner, 2005, p.204). In this context, it is evident that the peer group influence that a child may experience can have positive or negative impacts on the development of the child depending on the environment for interaction created by the individual’s seniors in the immediate setting.
Community in which a child is brought up is another immediate setting that influences the behavior of the child, his perception of life, and the general development. The activities that are carried out in the immediate neighborhood, the communal facilities that the child can access, and the cultural composition of the community affect the child’s ability to socialize (Berns, 2009, p.20).
A child will interact with the others in the community playground. A child who visits a word workshop may identify his interest and ability in carpentry that can be of economic significance to his life. The activities in the community that brings the children together help model the children into full human.
The joint participation of two or more individuals in a given activity will affect the relationship that is developed among the individuals. Those who work jointly in some activity will develop empathetic and enduring feelings for one another. The individuals tend to consider the problems of every other member as a common problem.
Media was not considered among the Microsystems that influence human development due to the non-interactive nature of the earlier forms. The modern media technology is interactive and influences a child’s development depending on the relative exposure to, and the contents of, the materials in the media.
Mesosystems
Mesosystems refer to the interactions and relationships that occur between the different aspects of the Microsystems of a developing individual (Bomstein & Lamb, 2005, p.24; Voydanoff, 2000, p.666). The interactions that are witnessed between the different aspects in an individual’s immediate setting are influential on the development of the individuals.
The parental guidance and counseling interacts with the peer group influence and collectively affects the child’s development. Lack of proper parental guidance will enable the child to be influenced by the peers into some irresponsible behavior in the society. On the other hand, a proper parental guidance enables a child to benefit from the positive impacts of peer influences. The family can interact with the community and workplace of a parent to form a Mesosystem for a developing child (Voydanoff, 2000, p.666).
In a similar context, the interaction of a child’s temperament and that of the caregiver will affect the child’s ability to socialize. The response that the caregiver gives to the child’s reactions at the early age will shape the child’s social behavior. It should be noted that the elements of the Mesosystems would influence the development of the child depending on the quantity and quality of the relationships that occur (Berns, 2009, p.20).
Exosystem
Exosystem refers to the settings that do not contain the developing child but do influence the child’s development in some way (Lerner, 2002, p.41; Bomstein & Lamb, 2005, p.24).
The child does not interact directly with such environments but they affect the primary settings of the child. The larger community, educational system, mass media, the workplace of the parents can be categorized here. The government regulations may determine the systems in the institutions that train early childcare providers and eventually affect the child (Marshall, 2004, p.165).
A parent that has workplace stress and depression will not provide the appropriate parental care to his/her child (Lerner, 2002, p.238). Such a child is forced to learn the hard way and will be emotionally retarded. The mass media or social centers in the society may affect the moral behaviors of the parents or older siblings of a child. This will then affect the child’s immediate setting and influence his development.
The society has great role in helping the parents to model their children into respectable human beings. However, it has been observed in many societies that different individuals are considered independent and self-reliant. The society thus neglects its role to support the parents in rearing their children. The effects of this negligence are seen in ‘crimes, school failure, neglected children, fractured marriages and relationships, and other trends that weaken the values we hold’ (Bronfenbrenner, 2005, p.199).
Macrosystem
Macro system is an ecological system that contains the developing individual in a larger context. It considers the different social aspects in a larger context and over a long period. It has elements that will affect the other ecological systems like the Microsystem and subsequently the Mesosystems and Exosystem (Lerner, 2002, p.41).
Factors like the economic level of a given society, the social conditions, the cultural values, and beliefs, the historical events that have occurred in the society and the political regulations that are imposed in a given society are contained here (Saraswati, 2003, p.143).
The level of the national economy will affect the standard of living by the families and eventually affects the developing child. Natural calamities that had occurred or that may occur in the society can destroy facilities and products of social and economic significance in the society (Lerner, 2002, p.41). The cultural values, beliefs, and customs may affect the parents’ attitude towards education or health care facilities.
They also affect the expectation of different individuals on the roles of other individuals in the society. As a key component of the Macrosystem, the role that an individual play in the society will also influence human development. The requirements and people’s expectations of the individual roles enable the roles to influence ‘how a person behaves in a given situation, the activities she engages in, and the relations that become established between that person and others present in the setting’ (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p.86).
The difference between the systems
The above ecological factors differ in the context of the interaction with developing child. This difference translates into a sequential relationship whereby one ecological system may develop into the other. For example, the interaction between different immediate ecological systems (Microsystems) results into an intermediate system- the Mesosystem.
Examples of the relationships and interactions for the systems
Interactions between different members of the Microsystem will affect the development of the child. For instance, the parents’ relationship with the care providers determines how they (care providers) handle the children. A child will try to practice at home what he was learnt from the teacher and others at school. Similarly, the parents’ closeness to teachers affects the students’ performance, as the two parties will have a clear focus on the child’s performance.
On the other hand, the interactions between aspects of different ecological systems also influence the development of the child. The culture of a community can interact with mass media and the peer group influence to affect negatively the behavior of a child. The effects of the elements of Exosystem reflect the interaction of different elements from variety of ecological systems.
The impacts that the relationships have on the child’s development
The development in a child will be evident if the changes that have been acquired by a child regarding his perception of life and the activities he performs can be carried forward to the other settings and at different times (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p.35).
A good relationship and interaction between the different settings will help the child reflect and adopt the changes in these settings. A good relationship between the parents of a child and the teachers at the learning institutions will enable the child to make a good transition between the family setting and that at the educational or childcare centers.
The child needs to be the center of focus for the adults involved – the parents and the care providers. The parents’ expectations of the child should be in line with the expectations of the educators. It has been observed that there is a relationship between a teacher’s experience with the older siblings of a student and the performance of the student. If the earlier siblings were high achievers in class, the teacher tends to have high expectations in the child’s performance (Berns, 2009, p.20).
Consequently, the child happens to perform highly as per the teacher’s expectation. Similarly, the different levels of learning should also meet the expectation of the child. A significant difference in the expectations of the child at the preschool level and at the kindergarten level will negatively affect the child’s social and psychological development.
Conclusion
It is therefore evident that the family is the most fundamental unit that influences the social, psychological, and biological development of a child. The experience of the child in all the different ecological settings will affect his social, psychological, and even biological development.
The child’s behavior and character will reflect the behavior that he observed from the parents, older brothers and sisters, the teachers and early childcare providers, the healthcare providers, fellow children in the community, and the older members of the society. The parental care that is given to the child has a positive effect on his development.
The parent has to provide for not only the physical needs like food, shelter, and clothing, but for the psychological and social needs like guidance and counseling as well. Besides, the interactions that do occur between the individual factors will also contribute to the kind of development witnessed in the child. The relationship that the parents of the child have with the staff at healthcare centers and at the learning institutions and their common expectation of the child will determine the development course in the child.
References
Berns, R. (2009). Child, Family, School, Community: Socialization and Support. Eighth edition. Wadsworth: Cengage Learning.
Bomstein, M. and Lamb, M. (2005). Developmental science: an advanced textbook. Fifth edition. London: Routledge.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: experiments by nature and design. Ninth edition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (2005). Making human beings human: Bioecological perspectives on human development. NY: SAGE.
Lerner, R. (2002). Concepts and theories of human development. Third edition. London: Routledge.
Freud developed theories that assist in understanding the developmental stages of individuals. He approached psychology in a three split entities such as “id”, “ego”, as well as the “super-ego.” “Id” is the primary drive with the “ego” and the “super-ego” providing a control for the drive. In addition, the “super-ego” acts as the alternate of the “id.” The super-ego ensures that an individual behaves in an efficient and socially acceptable manner. The purpose of this essay is therefore two-fold.
First of all, it seeks to establish how emotions and desires help individuals develop defense mechanisms. Secondly, it provides an explanation of the role that attachment theory plays in an individual development of the adulthood. Finally, a summary of the effect of emotions and desires on development, as well as the influence of attachment theory on development to adulthood are also provided.
Sigmund Theories
Individuals become anxious and get into trouble because individuals seek to maintain a balance among these impulses. The super-ego entity performs the task of suppressing and controlling the desires, and at the same time, protects the personality. As a result, the urges and the desires are forced into the unconscious mind in order to stop any damage of the individual. However, when the issues receive no attention, they may result into psychological disorders.
This results into a process termed as defense mechanisms. Individuals in their everyday life bury unwanted experiences and thoughts as their defense mechanisms. The common form of defense mechanism is repression. In this case, an individual locks his/her thoughts plus memories unless there is a specific need to retrieve them. Essentially, this form is applicable as an appropriate device in instances of crime.
Reaction formation is a different defense mechanism where an individual convinces him/herself that he/she does not feel in certain way by acting in a way that is completely different. Sublimation and projection create other forms of defense mechanism where individuals shift their frustrations to third parties.
Freud maintains that the individual’s emotions and desires play two roles in either helping them survive or be protected from destructions. He further maintains that, even though individuals suppress their feelings, they tend to reveal them in their dreams.
For instance, an individual enrolls in school because of the defense mechanism to search for a better survival, money/finances, and increase the possibility of getting a life partner. Furthermore, individuals demand security, safety, and health in order to fulfill their desires and emotions. In fact, the individual’s emotions and desires help in the development of the defense mechanism (Salkind, 2004, p. 53).
Attachment Theory
This theory maintains that the relation between a caregiver and infant is essential during the development stage of the infant. The attachment bond takes place between the mother and the infant. It points out that the bond plays a crucial role in preparing the infant for adult relationships. The infants are born with a bundle of emotions such as fear, irritation, sadness, and happiness.
The infant also encounters a bonding relationship with the caregiver through nonverbal communication as part of the interaction. As such, the bonding will influence the way they deal with other individuals during their lives. This is because the bonding develops a foundation for all forms of communication in individual prospect relationships (Ivey, Andrea and Ivey, 2012, p. 61).
On the other hand, Individuals who experience perplexing, worrisome, or wrecked emotional communication at some stage in their formative years are prone to emotions and feelings understanding difficulties during their adulthood. As a result, they experience difficult times in initiating and nurturing successful relationships.
In general, the bonding between mother and infant is in charge of shaping the failure or achievement of prospect close relationships; the aptitude to sustain emotional balance; the aptitude to locate satisfaction in ourselves and in groups; and the aptitude to bounce back from dissuasion, dissatisfaction, and misfortune.
The role of the attachment bonds is scientifically justified in shaping ones brain. The bonding overwhelmingly influences the infant brain. This is because the adult copes with life challenges and mishaps such as stress, dealing with stress, conversing through sentiment, sharing joy, quiet the infant, and letting off easily. It leads to a secure attachment of the nervous system of the infant.
The existence of a strong basis for attachment bond creates an opportunity where the child become self-confident, optimistic, relaxing and trusting whenever he/she faces a conflict. As a result, the adult will develop traits such as flexibility, creativity, optimism, and hopefulness as well.
The secured attachment will ensure development of abilities that ensure that individuals are safe, relate well with others, manage stress, balance emotions, encounter security and comfort, adventure the world, develop memories and expectations concerning relationships, and make their lives sensible. Conversely, when infants grow in an environment with insecure attachment, there is a higher likelihood that they will have difficulties in their adult relationships.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the individual’s emotions and desires play a crucial role in developing ones’ defense mechanism through their objectives of ensuring their survival, and, at the same time, the need to protect them from any destruction. In addition, it is essential for a caregiver to maintain an emotional-full environment in order to facilitate an efficient and proper development of an infant into adulthood. Attachment bond plays a vital role in ensuring the development of brain and nurturing communication skills.
References
Ivey, A E, Andrea, M J and Ivey, M B 2012, Theories of counseling and psychotherapy: a multicultural perspective (7th ed.), SAGE Publications, Los Angeles.
Salkind, N J 2004, An introduction to theories of human development, Sage Publications, Los Angeles.
Human development is influenced in a great way by nature, but this is not to say that nature is solely responsible for human development. Although heredity as a natural factor has a significant influence on human development, the environmental factors which are categorized as nurture have some level of influence on the general development of human beings. Nature and nurture interact in different ways to influence the development of a human being.
The genetic makeup of a person represents nature while nurture is represented by external factors such as education and general upbringing. This essay will critically discuss the view that nature is solely responsible for human development. There has been an argument by scientists that nurture is influenced in a great way by nature. The claim that nature is solely responsible for human development is not true. Human development is influenced by the interaction between nature and nurture.
The behavioral and physical characteristics of a human being are influenced by nature. Human beings grow physically as a result of natural genetic processes. The general body size and other physical characteristics are influenced by heredity.
Physical characteristics such as skin color and gender are determined by genetic factors. Psychologists are of the opinion that the early stages of human development are in most cases influenced by environmental factors. The genetic inheritance of a human being influences their development from conception to adulthood.
Human beings can inherit some exceptional talents and hereditary traits that affect their development in one way or another. Nature is associated with biological influences that are normally revealed during different stages of life. Nature is solely responsible for the physical development of humans being while nurture has a great influence on cognitive and behavioral development.
It is important to first of all discuss the influence of nurture on human development to give this discussion a new perspective. It is clear from the earlier observation that nature can not be solely responsible for human development. There are other aspects of human development that can not be provided by nature. Nature influences the physical aspects of human development through heredity while external environmental factors influence other aspects of development such intellectual and emotional development.
Some psychologists argue that nurture begins its influence from the womb. Genetic influences begin at conception, but some of them are normally revealed during the later stages of life. It is therefore very difficult to discuss human development without mentioning the nurture factor. The capacity of human beings to learn things is influenced to a great extent by environmental factors.
There are different dimensions through which the environmental factors that influence human development can be analyzed. The first category is the physical environment that involves conditions within the womb before a child is born and their physical environment after they are born. The social environment also plays a vital role in human development.
Peer pressure from friends and family, and the media content that a child is exposed to at an early age have an influence their general development. Environmental factors can be viewed from different contexts because they affect human development at different levels. Family and friends have an immediate influence on human development while there are other bigger societal factors that influence human beings at different stages of their life.
Politics and the education system are examples of macro environmental factors that have a significant influence on human development. Cultural norms and ethnic values are other examples of bigger societal contexts that influence human development. Families and communities have their own standards that have a certain level of impact on human development. At this juncture, it is evident that the genetic makeup of a person is not solely responsible for their development.
It is important to also discuss how nature affects human development in order to determine its level of influence in relation to other factors. There are different aspects of human development that need to be discussed, but many scholars pay attention to the biological aspects. The physical aspect of human development serves as a platform for development through nurture.
The cognitive abilities and behavioral characteristics of a person define who they are. Human development should be discussed from the physical, emotional, behavioral and cognitive angels in order to have a better understanding. Hereditary abilities and tendencies facilitate the maturation process after conception. The genes that human beings inherit from their parents have some coded information that determines their genetic makeup.
The physical development of human beings from the fetus level to adulthood is influenced by nature. Nature is responsible for all the physical characteristics of human beings. Examples of physical characteristics that are influenced by the genetic makeup of a person include gender, height and skin color. Heredity is responsible for all the distinguishing features in human beings. It also important to note that nature is responsible for all the hereditary traits in human beings.
Human beings inherit some traits and special talents which have a significant influence on their development. The traits that are normally inherited can be positive or negative depending on the genetic makeup of parents.
Human beings are born with both positive and negative traits but nurture plays a critical role in enhancing the positive traits and suppressing the negative ones.
The development of a human being from a fetus into an adult is a very gradual process and it takes some time for some of the genetic influences to be manifested. Language and spatial skills are influenced by genetics and therefore the relationship between nature and nurture is very complicated. The observed outcomes in human development are as a result of nature and nurture.
The factors responsible for human development influence each other in different ways which makes it difficult to categorically state that one of them is solely responsible for human development. Nature and nurture interact to influence the cognitive, behavioral and emotional development of human beings. It is evident from this discussion that both nature and nurture are critical when it comes to human development.
The upbringing of a child has a significant influence on their general behavior. Inherited traits have a certain level of influence on human behavior but environmental factors are the most responsible when it comes to enhancing human behavior. Children behave according to the way they are brought up by their parents and the people around them. The behavioral characteristics that are introduced to a growing child will always be part of them until they become adults.
The development of a child is influenced in a great way by environmental factors. Children can have some inherited talents that require nurturing for them to be developed. Hard work and proper guidance are very critical in the development of natural talents and interests. Children learn how to do things from the people around them and it is therefore true to say that the early stages of human development are influenced by nurture.
The complex relationship between nature and nurture can be understood by studying the influence of environmental factors and heredity on the characteristics of children. There are those children who inherit some disabilities from their parents and end up living exceptional lives as a result of good upbringing. An example of this is when a child who is born with some learning disabilities ends up performing well academically because of good nurturing. The nature-nurture controversy has been around for a very long time and is here to stay.
Genetic predispositions differentiate human beings from other species because of their influence on group and individual characteristics. The genetic characteristics keep on revealing themselves throughout the entre life of a human being. Nature and nurture should not be polarized in any way because their interaction explains the overall human development. The extent of influence is what generates a lot of debate when it comes to human development.
There are certain behaviors and characteristics that one can not determine whether they are influenced by nature or environmental factors. Violent acts can be linked to genetic mental disorders or environments factors such as poor parenting. Most researchers are of the opinion that certain human behaviors can neither be connected to nature nor nurture.
Nature and nurture have a combined influence on the cognitive, behavioral and emotional development in human beings. Environmental and hereditary factors interact to influence important developmental outcomes in human beings. The nature and extent of interaction is what sparks controversy. According to some research findings, the kind of environment that a child is exposed to enhances their genetic predisposition.
Nature and nurture influence human development but it has been a great challenge to determine which one of them plays a bigger role. Many researchers agree that nurture plays a greater role in human development. The argument that nature is solely responsible for human development is not true.
The intellectual and emotional capacity of human beings is influenced in a great way by nurture. People and circumstances within the environment enhance the capacity of a child to learn new things in their early stages of development. Adequate parenting and positive influence from the schooling system determine the number of things that a child is able to learn in the early stages of their life. Positive hereditary traits can not influence human development if they are not nurtured in the right way.
In conclusion, nature is not solely responsible for human development. Nature is in most cases responsible for the physical attributes of human beings but has a very little influence on the cognitive, emotional and behavioral development of human beings. Talents and other traits that are inherited from parents can only be developed through nurture.
It is important to note that behavioral and cognitive development can not be developed by nature. The physical development of human beings is influenced by nature and enhanced in most cases by nurture. Human development is influenced by the interaction between natural and environmental factors. Although nature is responsible for human development to some extent, environmental factors play the greatest role in the overall development of human beings.
