Category: Psychology 2075

Purpose of The Research

The aim of the study was to explore early metacognition through two developmental measures  declarative and procedural. Another goal of the study was to explore associations between executive function and motivation.

Research Methods Used

Metacognition was estimated using a metacognitive knowledge interview and a metacognitive skills observational ranking during a problem-solving puzzle assignment. Executive function was assessed with the Head Toes Knees Shoulder (HTKS) measure. The data obtained were systematized, interpreted and analyzed to obtain confirmation of the hypotheses put forward

Context of Research

Participants were 77 children ages 3 to 5 who were recruited from six classrooms at a College Lab School. All children passed two tests with a difference of 3-5 days (Marulis & Nelson, 2021). The first session focused on metacognitive processes and motivation. It included a metacognitive knowledge interview and a special Wedgits test developed for their research. The second session was aimed at studying executive function. The test process was videotaped to allow authors to carefully analyze childrens metacognitive skills using the MetaSCoPE observational tool. A language test was also conducted to distinguish metacognition from language skills.

Research Findings

The study reveals extensive evidence of metacognition even in children as young as three years. Declarative metacognitive knowledge of 3 to 5-year-old children was associated with their procedural metacognitive skills. The authors found evidence for declarative metacognitive knowledge, as the children scored nearly half of the possible points. Impressive results were also seen in procedural metacognitive skills in a video of 34 examples in 4 minutes related to building a conversation about problem-solving.

Conclusion

The researchers have proved that procedural and declarative metacognition is related to one another and to executive function and motivation, though to varying degrees. Metacognition positively predicts executive function and motivation. Metacognitive knowledge predicts executive function, and metacognitive skills predict motivation.

Credibility and reliability

The findings contribute to psychology and education by validating previous findings that metacognition develops far earlier than previously thought, as well as explaining and giving models for measuring early metacognition, executive function, and motivation. The limitations are that the study is based on a cross-sectional design, while a longitudinal design would provide more proper results.

Reflection

Metacognition is essential for learning and academic success. The research is valuable and professional. The findings advance psychology and education by supporting prior discoveries that metacognition develops far younger than previously thought, as well as explaining and providing models for evaluating early metacognition, executive function, and motivation.

Reference

Marulis, L. M., & Nelson, L. J. (2021). Metacognitive processes and associations to executive function and motivation during a problem-solving task in 35 year olds. Metacognition and Learning, 16(1), 207-231. Web.

It is important to achieve personal excellence since a lot of people are unable to extract the maximum from life in terms of happiness, satisfaction and a sense of achievement. The prime reason for such a situation being that personal potency is not recognized and claimed by people. Hence it becomes essential to build and draw upon ones emotional and internal resources in successfully working towards goals and objectives. Motivation can be successfully generated by going back and retrieving the applicable personal values. One ought to discover him or herself by thinking differently about the happenings in ones life in order to highlight the positive aspects and remove the negativities in life. By practicing effective excellence and relaxation skills one can enhance the confidence level to create a positive and buoyant state of mind. Such a mental state enables one to use his or her potential talent and energies to the maximum in accomplishing the given goals. This paper will examine the different ways in which a person working as a human service worker can develop and maintain personal excellence in terms of ethics, job performance and personal attributes.

In setting an agenda for personal excellence it is first essential to set forth an ethical model of leadership to assist professionals to increase in terms of virtue and demonstrate effective leadership skills. In attempting to develop ones personal excellence it is imperative that ethical virtues must be developed to enhance professional leadership competencies as required in the modern world. Theoretically the personal excellence model in regard to ethics primarily concerns the science of virtue. A realistic attempt towards personal excellence has to be based on the study of human nature which implies the study of virtue and ethics. Virtue is a characteristic of the heart and the mind and assists in achieving personal excellence and professional efficiency. Personal excellence is all about virtue ethics since it inspires trust and is a dynamic force that improves upon our ability to take positive action. Humility and nobility are virtues of the heart and are pillars that identify the true leadership qualities of a person. Humility is all about living a truthful life in accepting ones strengths and weaknesses and then improving upon the strengths and removing the weaknesses. Humility can blossom if a leader can deal with people as per the tenets of continuity, collegiality and inclusion.

Practical wisdom is an ethical virtue that has to be always practiced in maintaining personal excellence. One has to have courage, control over self and the ability to do justice, that are virtues and the foundation of leadership which test the will and mental aptitude of people. Maintaining caution in this regard increases the capability to take decisions in the right direction and gives courage in standing up to ones principles and values against all worldly pressures. A person is not blessed with leadership qualities from birth but has to be trained to have a strong character. Temperament can assist in the imbibing of some ethical virtues but with the growth of ethics and virtues a character is formed so that temperament stops dominating us. The real hurdle in maintaining personal excellence is lack of a strong character which wears out the moral energy in us and thus unable to become strong leaders.

Personal excellence is achieved through the authority that is generated from a strong character. It becomes a vicious circle when low levels of self control and authority results in the misuse of power, which further erodes authority and discipline, which in turn blocks the channel to personal excellence. To enhance ones ethical virtues one has to recognize the inherent desire and beauty and imbibe the virtuous habits spontaneously and practice them as a matter of routine by giving particular attention to reason. By practicing ethical values people can have a sense of maturity in terms of behaviour, emotions and judgment. The distinctive marks of maturity are being natural, experiencing happiness and confidence, psychological firmness and reliability. A major characteristic of people who practice personal excellence is that they are neither contemptuous nor detracting but exhibit qualities of being realistic. In showing such pragmatism they are able to have noble objectives of the soul despite being inundated with any number of weaknesses. This pattern of behaviour does not imply that one is showing weakness but reveals transcendence by way of practicing ethical practices.

An ethical trait of strong leaders is to strive to become excellent in whatever they do. Personal excellence does not aim at self improvement only; it is a combination of the virtues that one adopts for one self. It is important to be excellent first and then to be effective. Personal excellence involves living by virtue ethics instead of living by rules based on ethics.

Manz (2006) has defined personal excellence as recognizing not only the importance of human influence in the determination of what we are and what we do, but also the complex nature of leadership, that is, influence is not an isolated event, but a process involving many parts (Manz, 2006, p.113). The current literature about personal excellence through leadership commonly focuses on the influence that people have over others, implying that it is the influence that leaders exert on followers. While making attempts to understand and to improve our personal excellence it is required to first appreciate that excellence is not only an outward procedure but that we can lead ourselves to attain such a condition. The greatest source for improving ourselves comes from within and not from external sources.

Personal excellence implies self leadership which is largely defined as the the process of influencing oneself to establish the self-direction and self-motivation needed to perform (Manz, 2006, p. 125). Research has amply demonstrated that in different circumstance that vary from the airline industry to the domain of education, practicing efficient self leadership by workers and managers can result in a stream of advantages that includes higher levels of job satisfaction, effectiveness and psychological understanding. Maintaining personal excellence involves leading one self by utilizing both intellectual and behavioural procedures. Techniques of intellectual excellence involve the assessment and adaptation of self dialogue, values and notions, psychological imageries and the thinking pattern.

It must be noted that effectiveness of self leadership techniques cannot be based on egotistic or autonomous employee behaviours without giving due regard to the group or society. Instead, personal excellence requires a synchronized attempt amongst employees and the groups or society as a whole. Implied from this viewpoint is the stability and trade off amongst self leadership of the employee and the self leadership of the group and society as a cooperative effort. Hence for attaining self leadership there needs to be equilibrium between highlighting on the consistency of a group or organization and emphasizing on values and identities of every single employee. Therefore self leadership does not necessitate independent behaviour without giving attention to the issues facing the group or organization. It also does not demand that the identities and values of all employees should be completely ignored in favour of the interests of the company or institution. Instead, the presence of an effective perception of self leadership encourages employees to discover their respective personal identities and means of contributing to the company or group in synergizing to improve performance. Thus, attempts by employees to imbibe self leadership qualities offers substantial scope for enabling the search for employee effectiveness and excellence to higher levels. In essence, employees that lead themselves both in terms of behaviour and effectiveness can provide the best plans in bringing about employee and organizational efficiency (Vasilash, 2009).

An essential requirement for personal excellence is the ability to prevent problems and to have skills for problem solving. One must have analytical ability to tackle problems by using approaches that effectively use logic and which are sequential and systematic. Discrepancies and contradictions should be observed in the available information and complicated problems and tasks be approached by breaking down all components and dealing with each one minutely. All possible reasons for the complexity in life or at work must be identified by using systematic procedures to ascertain the cause of the problem. In work situations, diagnostic information gathering is required to ascertain the information required to understand the prevailing situations. The required information has to be identified in clarifying situations and making decisions. The source of such information has also to be identified and people have to be sought who can clarify about the problem situations. A prudent and skilful employee will ask several questions to clarify the situation. An employee who believes in personal excellence will evaluate different options and consider the consequences and repercussions, will choose efficient options and implement solutions within a time period that is reasonable and justified (Gallozi, 2009).

In terms of personal attributes a person who seeks to achieve personal excellence must have an orientation for learning and be excited at the prospects of gathering additional information, learning better techniques and superior procedures. One must recognize and get energized by opportunities that enable learning while addressing challenges and problems. It is helpful in radiating possibility by taking interest in gathering information through whatever means possible to improve ones results in life. If one is flexible in being open to varied ways of doing things and ready to alter his or her favoured method for the same, it is possible to effectively take charge of changes happening in the given environment. Such a person can realize the advantage of switching over to options that may not have been put forth by his own perspectives. It is then possible to switch over to another strategy if the initial one does not bear the desired results.

If one is thorough in his approach, the completion and accuracy of his work can be guaranteed. Taking initiative by doing something before the situation demands, taking such an action is very helpful in asserting oneself in the opinion of others. One who aims at achieving personal excellence ascertains the desired goals and communicates effectively to others, pursues the goals with commitment despite any hurdles and frustrations. He exerts extraordinary efforts and time to achieve the given goals and objectives and displays a solid sense of commitment in getting the required work done and in getting over difficult situations.

To achieve personal excellence it is imperative to build communication and relationship skills. Concerted relationships and networking play a very important role in developing, maintaining and strengthening partnerships with team members and others within the organization so as get support, help and information as and when required. A person who strives to achieve personal excellence will identify and build relationships with people who can assist, cooperate and provide support whenever required. He is farsighted in providing help, information and encouragement to his people in building a future foundation of responsiveness. Such people are appreciative and have a high sense of gratitude for those who provide help and support. In being true leaders they evince keen interest in the opinion expressed by others and show respect for their beliefs and viewpoints. They also give recognition to others perceptions and business concerns. To be effective one must have effective communication skills in expressing oneself clearly and in a manner that assists others in understanding and ensuring that the required information has been meaningfully conveyed to the concerned people (McCreary, 2009).

In seeking personal excellence it is essential to provide for the occurrence of mistakes since they are believed to be the seeds of evolution and change. It has been correctly written by Passuello,

that the journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. And its within this single step that lessons are learned, directions are given, and mistakes have already been made a thousand times over. It is in fact this single step that provides us with an opportunity to learn from all those who came before us and to lay down the seeds of personal evolution and change. Learning from anothers experience could be the most important factor towards achieving any kind of success in life (Passuello, 2008).

It is important to be very careful while comparing oneself with others. We know everything about ourselves including our successes, our failures, our weaknesses and our strengths. About others we know only what is revealed to us as chosen by them which is not enough to conclude about a person. We must have a meaningful approach to judge ourselves and our abilities, and it is always helpful to feel good and be ready to face the challenges that come our way. Lot of people are unable to bear the uncertainties of life and give up at a time when success may be very near. The idea is to never give up but to keep trying by changing strategies with the objective in mind.

Personal excellence implies personal growth in several ways. The first prerequisite is to have goals since one cannot achieve excellence unless it is known what a person is going after. If one does not have a sense of direction, life becomes without any motive and one ends up in being a viewer only of what is happening around him or her. It is hence important to develop ones goals and dreams in life for which a systematic plan has to be made. People can do away with the struggles of life if they can stay committed in pursuing their goals and dreams on a daily basis. Essentially, personal excellence boils down to the ability to remain committed to improving ones self on a daily basis. The required time has to be given to improve ones self. In adapting one self to this kind of attitude a lot of stress is taken away and one can relax in knowing that he or she is working towards his or her goals on a daily basis. It will not be long before the given goals will be accomplished and then, one is free to take further steps in setting a bigger goal.

If we can do something everyday that adds value to our life we are moving towards personal excellence. It is better to start with small objectives so that one can steadily move up in setting higher personal goals as the previous ones are achieved. The fundamental basis of personal excellence is consistent progress, preferably in all aspects of life. If one can remain focussed with no pressure being exerted to complete everything in one attempt, it is possible to achieve great things in life. Ultimately the bottom line lies in the fact that personal excellence implies commitment to one self. This commitment entails that one is focussed on a daily basis to the string of activities that lead towards his or her goals without providing any ground for getting stressed.

References

1. Gallozzi Chuck, Personal Excellence.
2. Manz Charles and Neck Christopher P, Mastering Self-Leadership: Empowering Yourself For Personal Excellence, 2006, Prentice Hall p. 113, 123-129
3. McCreary Randy, Unlocking a Key to Personal Excellence, 2009, Canada Free Press
4. Passuello Luciano, 66 Best Personal Excellence Tips, 2008, Litemind
5. Vasilash Gary, Achieving EXCELLENCE.

The frustration-aggression theory implies that frustration (a feeling of being prevented from achieving a particular goal) increases the possibility of an individual responding aggressively to the environmental factors (Aronson, Wilson, Akert, & Sommers, 2016). One of the factors relates to the close attachment to an individuals goal or the object of desire; this means that if the goal is closer, the higher are the expectations, and thus the more probable is the aggression. The personal background is another factor that can influence the occurrence of frustration. For instance, if an individual is impulsive by nature or was raised in an unpleasant environment, it is highly likely that he or she will be much more prone to developing frustration and consequently aggression.

Frustration-aggression theory is different from hostile or instrumental aggression theories. Hostile aggression takes place when individual experiences extreme anger, which is targeted at inflicting injury and pain (Aronson et al., 2016). The instrumental aggression theory postulates that there is an intention to hurt another person as a means to some goal instead of just inflicting pain (Aronson et al., 2016). If to choose one theory that is the most valid, the frustration-aggression theory holds more ground since it digs deeper into the exploration of an individuals attachment to an objective and explains the relationship between this attachment and emotional stability.

Both genetic and environmental factors can influence the occurrence of aggression among people. According to Pavlov, Chistiakov, and Chekhonin (2012), genetic predisposition to aggression is affected by the polymorphic genetic variants in the serotoninergic system that has an impact on the levels of serotonin, its production, and degradation (p. 62). Environmental factors also have an impact on aggression; violence in the household, lack of attention to a childs needs, and overall surroundings (including the company) determine whether an individual will be prone to aggression. While genetic predisposition cannot be overturned, the environmental influence makes a tremendous difference. Nurturing a person and taking care of him or her during the upbringing can play a significant role in balancing the mental background. If for example, a persons parents disregard the importance of nurturing and pay no attention to genetically predisposed to the aggressive child, such a predisposition would decrease his or her quality of life in the future.

Unit 7.2: Conformity

The Asch Conformity Experiment studied the power of social influence and illustrated that there are some great limits as to how people conform to social pressures (Aronson et al., 2016). In the experiment, the responses of only one participant were measured: when other confederates gave wrong answers to obvious questions, the test showed that the real participant conformed to the prevailing opinion. Milgrams experiment tested the willingness of study participants to obey the orders of authority even if these orders imply conflict with their conscience (Aronson et al., 2016). It was found that a significant number of participants were willing to obey. It is different from Aschs experiment because it studied the power of the authoritys influence (obedience) rather than the influence of a social group (conformity). As both experiments have support in real life, the power of social influence illustrated by Asch occurs more often in day-to-day activities. For example, in a group setting where everybody drinks beer at the party, one individual that does not like drinking will usually conform to social behavior and have alcoholic drinks to fit in.

References

Aronson, E., Wilson, T., Akert, R., & Sommers, S. (2016). Social psychology (9th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Pavlov, K., Chistiakov, D., & Chekhonin, V. (2012). Genetic determinants of aggression and impulsivity in humans. Journal of Applied Genetics, 53(1), 61-82.

Freuds Scientific Legacy: The Unconscious

Freuds scientific legacy has ramifications for a wide variety of psychological fields. A series of postulates about (1) unconscious cognitive, affective, and motivational processes; (2) ambivalence and the tendency for affective and motivational dynamics to operate in parallel and produce compromise solutions; (3) the origins of personality and social dispositions in childhood; (4) mental representations of the self, others, and relationships; and (5) developmental dynamics are central to contemporary psychodynamic theory (Westen, 1995, p. 333). The paper will discuss the first and most central postulate; most of mental life, including ideas, feelings, and intentions, is unconscious, which implies that individuals might act or acquire symptoms that are unexplainable to them.

Essentially, the notion of the unconscious was not new to Freud. Western states that the concept was circulating in the intellectual air he breathed in the nineteenth century, particularly in Germany. As early as the beginning of that century, German idealist thinkers proposed a world of the unconscious, filling it with mystical aspects subsequently adopted by Jung, such as the concept that a single Will is inherent in all living things and manifests itself in unconscious motivations. (Westen, 1995). According to Kupfersmid (2019), Freud also promoted the theory that the interaction of numerous unconscious elements (multidetermined) was frequently crucial in developing a range of psychological disorders. Even though its nature has been intensely contested, the notion of a dynamic unconscious remains one of the essential grounds of psychoanalytic theory and the practice of psychodynamic counselling to this day (Yakeley, 2018). As a result, psychoanalytic formulations that reflect the unconscious meaning of the patients disease may intuitively make sense to clinicians and their patients, resulting in a shared lexicon of constructive discourse.

Adlerian Psychotherapy and the Use of Early Recollections

The use of early recollections, briefly ERs, is one of Alfred Adlers most valuable contributions to psychology, and it is Adlers gift to Adlerian psychotherapy and supervision. Shifron (2020) suggests that ERs are an effective and rapid metaphor for discovering an individuals strengths, creative talents, and tactics for achieving feelings of belonging and developing a sense of social engagement. Furthermore, ERs are individuals most innovative methods of describing their current emotional state in each of the three primary life tasks: personal relationships with family, career, and friends.

The usage of ERs is a precise and rapid way to learn how individuals view their significance and belonging on each of the activities (Shifron, 2020). Finding qualities in each ER should assist every Adlerian therapist and supervisor. ERs enable patients to realize they have the knowledge and techniques they need to move toward constructive experiences and turn unsuccessful strategies into beneficial ones (Lavon & Shifron, 2018). Shifron (2020) acknowledges that ER reconstruction aims to shift the patients perception of the event and related sensations, assuming that every ER is an appropriate metaphor for the patients current life circumstances. Thus, Adlerian counsellors use the clients ERs in the treatment process to discover the patients tactics and assess the lifestyles. Working with ERs in psychotherapy allows patients to generate fresh ideas and find new methods to deal with lifes challenges (Shifron, 2020). The purpose of Adlerian psychotherapy is to help patients comprehend that they are entirely responsible and have the capacity to select their perceptions, behaviors, and decisions. In the Adlerian tradition, learning how to deal with ERs cannot be accomplished only via reading papers; it takes experience and supervision.

Jungs Theory of Psychological Types

The theory of psychological types was developed by Carl G. Jung. He proposed the presence of eight distinct types of a persistent general attitude, defining attitude as the minds propensity to behave in a specific pattern and direction in a predefined manner (Hernández-Hernández et al., 2017). Jung proposes four functions: thinking, feeling, sensing, and intuition. The functions concern how individuals interact with their immediate surroundings and how information is derived from the environment (Hernández-Hernández et al., 2017). When each attitude is coupled with a separate function, eight psychological types are produced: extraverted thinking, feeling, sensing, and intuition, as well as introverted thinking, feeling, sensing, and intuition. Hernández-Hernández et al. (2017) argue that a vast number of specialists have adopted the theory from many fields of psychology since its inception. Additionally, it has proved to be beneficial in the therapeutic setting, as well as clinically effective for giving a framework for understanding individual variances in behavior.

Clients in counselling may benefit from applying Jungs theory of psychological types because it identifies and describes personal behavioral characteristics. According to Jung, each individual employs one of the above four functions more than the others, and the four functions work in tandem with extraverted or introverted attitudes (King & Mason, 2020). Consequently, each function may be expressed in an extraverted or introverted manner. King & Mason (2020) state that Jung used an attitude-based characterization of introversion and extraversion centered on the relationship between energy, action, and reflection. Hence, extroverts gain energy from the activity and lose energy from reflection, and introverts lose energy from action and gain energy from thinking.

References

Hernández-Hernández, M. E., Roca Chiapas, J. M. D. L., & García y Barragán, L. F. (2017). Measurement of the Jungian psychological types in Mexican university students. Acta de Investigación Psicológica, 7(1), 2635-2643. Web.

King, S. P., & Mason, B. A. (2020). MyersBriggs type indicator. The Wiley Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences, 315319. Web.

Kupfersmid, J. (2019). Freuds clinical theories then and now. Psychodynamic psychiatry, 47(1), 81-97. Web.

Lavon, I., & Shifron. R. (2018). Adlers use of early recollections: Evidence in neuroscience research. In P. Prina, C. Shelley, K. John, & A. Millar (Eds.), UK Adlerian year book (pp. 119132). The Adlerian Society UK and Institute of Individual Psychology (ASIIP). Web.

Shifron, R. (2020). The miracle of early recollections in Adlerian psychotherapy and supervision. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 76(1), 110127.

Westen, D. (1998). The scientific legacy of Sigmund Freud: Toward a psychodynamically informed psychological science. Psychological Bulletin, 124(3), 333371. Web.

Yakeley, J. (2018). Psychoanalysis in modern mental health practice. The Lancet Psychiatry, 5(5), 443450. Web.

Harmony Between Professional Values and Spiritual Beliefs

From the ACA code of ethics, there are two values that were previously not in harmony with my spiritual beliefs. The first one is A.4.b personal values that instructs counselors to refrain from imposing their own beliefs and values onto the clients (American Counseling Association [ACA], 2014). The second one is A.11.b values within termination and referral, which states that referring clients to other counselors solely due to the conflict of personal beliefs is unethical (ACA, 2014). The reason why these values previously conflicted with my spiritual beliefs was my poor understanding of how to behave around clients whose ethical or religious beliefs conflict with mine.

A hypothetical situation could involve a conservative client coming to talk about their child coming out as a member of an LGBTQ+ community. Their stance might be highly negative towards the community and their child. The conflict for me would be not to refer them to another practicing counselor due to my own ethical beliefs on this issue. Similarly, I initially worried I would struggle not imposing my personal views on the subject and refrain from judging my client. Likewise, my ethical beliefs concerning abortion, the right to die, and sexual relations outside of marriage might directly conflict with those of the clients. Thus, it is my job to consider whether my worldview directly opposes the clients, and how I am to provide support and beneficial advice. In particular, even if I believe that their beliefs are causing harm to their family members, there is a need to be impartial and fair.

For instance, a situation could involve a client preventing their child from getting an abortion or sending them to conversion therapy because these actions conflict with the clients beliefs. The client could come for me for support to reconcile with their childs sexual orientation or their decision to abort an unwanted pregnancy. My spiritual beliefs tell me that any person has the right to autonomy to make the decisions regarding morality and life that he or she sees fit. Therefore, the clients obstruction of another persons freedom conflicts with my views. I would feel compelled to prevent them from inducing harm; however, I realize it is not my place as a counselor to make such suggestions.

Integrating Professional Values and Spiritual Beliefs

I have realized that if I continue with the counseling profession, I have to follow the ethical guidelines regarding the potential conflict of values. After undertaking this program and familiarizing myself further with the code of ethics, I have worked to harmonize the professional values with my spiritual beliefs. A stepping stone in my development was realizing that I do not have to compromise my ethical and religious beliefs to assist my clients. Further research into philosophy and psychology concerning conflict resolution helped me in reconciling my views. Jungian psychology suggests that instead of perceiving a situation as either/or, the counselors should accept the both/and paradigm (Graham et al., 2015). This acceptance requires recognizing that both realities, mine and my clients, have the right to exist simultaneously. Transcending rather than denying the possibility of both outlooks requires moral courage to face the pain of conflict.

What helped me achieve this transcendence was challenging the idea that the clients beliefs are wrong. I realized that personal views emerge from a complex myriad of upbringing, cultural values, and experiences. This realization will help me treat the client more empathetically and focus on their hurt and emotional needs rather than their beliefs. The client might be struggling to reconcile their own worldview with the issue at hand, and it will be my job to help them through the emotional pain. Responding to the emotional side of the situation will allow me to stay focused and address the clients needs instead of concentrating on the morality of ones opinions.

The Daniel 2.20 text helped me to change my thinking about the judgment of other people. Daniel remains faithful to his God while serving the king of Babylon. The books central question is the conflict between his religious beliefs and his service to the king. Daniel decides neither to renounce God nor to withdraw from his king, which calls for a shift in judgment. Instead, he brings God into his work by firmly stating his beliefs and using them to advise the king on the kingdoms impending demise. Daniels humility helped him advance his career instead of being punished, which is something to which I will aim. The book persuaded me that there is no need to right all the wrongs but rather work on ensuring that one stays true to ones faith and beliefs. Within any workplace, one can encounter unfairness and evil, but these forces do not necessarily represent the only reality of a situation. The book of Daniel taught me to preserve the morality in work and showed me how to navigate challenging work environments when values come into conflict.

Conflict Between Professional Values and Spiritual Beliefs

Another conflict that remains unresolved is challenging my own religious beliefs. Through constant interaction with individuals with opposing views, I realize that some of my own previous opinions might be not what I truly believe. The issue is especially challenging in cases when other people offer reliable and convincing evidence to support the points of view that are different from those that I have had. For example, while I may oppose consensual euthanasia, there is substantial evidence in support of the method because people are suffering from extreme emotional and physical pain that could not be alleviated by any existing treatment or intervention. Cases like these are challenging because there are things that are outside the principles of the Christian religion and there is no guidance to which one can refer to make decisions. In addition, reconciling my religious and spiritual beliefs with the new knowledge that I have acquired from interacting with clients will be challenging. Challenging my belief system might affect my counseling and conflict resolution approaches, but I am open to new experiences and explorations that could help me advance both spiritually and professionally.

Actions to Work Through the Conflicts

Both my spiritual beliefs and the professional code of ethics call for equal treatment of all people. Practicing empathy, respect, and acceptance should be the guiding principles in counseling. Therefore, I should take the time to ground myself and extend compassion onto the client as I attempt to see the situation from his or her point of view. When facing such a conflict, behavioral psychology instructs to relax and ground oneself in the present moment. Conscious muscle relaxation will alleviate the anxiety symptoms that generally arise when faced with conflict. It is impossible to feel relaxed and tense simultaneously, just as one cannot be empathetic and judgmental at the same time (Graham et al., 2015). Therefore, choosing to relax and remain empathetic will help me not impose my views on the client. Additionally, I will actively attempt to stay mindful and refrain from discussing religious topics with my clients. Defending my spiritual beliefs during a session with a client might not be the right place. Maintaining the both/and perspective throughout the session will ensure that I provide the necessary emotional assistance. Not compromising my faith while simultaneously not imposing it on the client will ultimately help me to become a better professional.

References

American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA Code of Ethics. Alexandria, VA.

Graham, J., Meindl, P., Koleva, S., Iyer, R., & Johnson, K. M. (2015). When Values and Behavior Conflict: Moral Pluralism and Intrapersonal Moral Hypocrisy. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 9(3), 158170. Web.

Introduction

Based on Carl Rogers, fully functioning individuals are connected with their personal and profound wishes and feelings. Schultz and Schultz (2008) show that owing to the link between an individual and the self, Rogers expresses that one recognizes their feelings and places profound trust in their character. Consequently, unrestricted positive esteem serves a serious part when the individual is an individual that is fully functioning (Schultz and Schultz, 2008). Thus, according to the concept, or thought, it means that a person that is fully functioning is conscious of every involvement since each is trickled through to their personality. Since no experience is denied or distorted, the individual lacks defensiveness since there is nothing to threaten the self-concept or to defend against (Schultz and Schultz, 2008). Being in touch with the inner self is significant since it opens the person to positive feelings like tenderness and courage and negative emotions like pain and fear (Schultz and Schultz, 2008). With this, people are more emotional in that they accept a more comprehensive range of emotions, positive and negative, and feel them more intensely.

Moreover, a fully functioning person lives richly and entirely in every moment. In other words, every experience is potentially new and fresh and cannot be anticipated or predicted. Therefore, an individual fully participates in the moments instead of merely observing them (Schultz and Schultz, 2008). Rogers shows that trust is crucial between the person and their organism. With this, Rogers means that fully functioning individuals trust their reactions instead of relying on the opinions of others for guidance; hence, no reliance on others intellectual judgment or social code (Schultz and Schultz, 2008). These people behave in a manner that feels right to them, which they use as their guide to act in a way that satisfies them. Rogers intended that for a fully functioning person, it meant not disregarding others or their own intelligence; he expressed the self-concept of a fully working person corresponding to every acknowledged information (Schultz and Schultz, 2008). Nothing threatens a fully functioning person since they perceive every piece of information, assess it, and weigh them accurately (Schultz and Schultz, 2008). Therefore, every decision about every behavior results from carefully considering experiential data.

People who are fully functioning regulate their options and do not experience inhibited or reserved, whose outcomes are in their intellect of control. Knowing the future depends on their decisions, Rogers shows these people rely on their actions rather than the surrounding people, events, or situations (Schultz and Schultz, 2008). People who are fully functioning are not bound by others and only conduct themselves in one manner. Due to their creativity, they live constructively and adapt to the environment as it changes around them (Schultz and Schultz, 2008). The failure to count on liberty from pressure, refuge, or certainty makes these individuals elastic and pursue new encounters and involvements. Lastly, fully functioning people encounter difficulties since their conditions are continuously tested. However, they maintain growth, strive for, and use every potential to counter the challenges and complications life brings (Schultz and Schultz, 2008).

Synopsis of Healthy Adult Personality: Gordon Allports Concept

Consistent with Gordon Allport, a persons healthy character is altered from a toddlers bodily supremacy to a grown-ups developed mental organism. With maturity, the grown-ups motivation is disconnected from infancy and is concerned with the future (Schultz and Schultz, 2008). In other words, healthy mature people are guided by the present while their future is based on their intentions. Once safety and fondness desires have been met in infantile, egocentrism progresses reasonably. Schultz and Schultz (2008) show that with adulthood, a characters nature is nurtured out of infancy but no more set on or subject to childhood drives. Allport supposed that healthy individuals perform on cognizant and coherent levels since they are mindful of and regulate the controlling forces.

The well-being of grown-ups forthcoming and modern outlook is prospective, not regressive, to infancy fights and ordeals as with neurotics. Schultz and Schultz (2008) show the opening in well-being character and psychosis helped Allport reveal that the fixation exposed an infants involvements and struggles while the strong individual performs inversely and on an advanced level. Consequently, for a passionately developed, steady, and strong grown-up character, Allport defined the subsequent measures. First, a developed grown-up spreads their logic of identity to others and actions outside themselves, and second, they relay affectionately to others by displaying empathy, confidence, and acceptance (Schultz and Schultz, 2008). Schultz and Schultz (2008) show the third, a mature grown-up self-acceptance assists them realize expressive refuge, and fourth, they can embrace an accurate awareness of life, commit to some work type, and establish private abilities. Fifth, the developed grown-up advances a logic of wit and self-symbolization by realizing intuition into the identity. Sixth subscribes to a unifying life philosophy responsible for guiding their personality toward future goals (Schultz and Schultz, 2008). Achieving the measures is central to defining a working independent and expressively healthy sovereign of infantile motivations.

Rogers and Allports Concept: An Autobiographys Application

Rogers demonstrations are that people that are fully functioning have authority over the decisions they make. In the autobiography, the author shows in section three that she secretly worked as a personal assistant to her English professor without her mothers knowledge by following her dream to be a writer. The decision to regulate her writing empowered her to make 200 pesos for each accomplished duty. Furthermore, functioning as an author needs ingenuity, which Rogers illustrates as one of the features of a person that is fully functioning. However, in section four, the author shows that since she knew her decision to work abroad would be opposed by her family, she secretly quit teaching and went out of the country to Taiwan.

According to Allport, a mature, healthy person is always future-oriented, and the decision made in sections three, four, and five shows the author is constantly thinking of what the future holds for her. That is why she dreams of working in Canada; she is willing to deal with the challenges encountered in the sections as she aims forward. The trials encountered performing out of the Philippines, Taiwan, and Hong Kong in segment four, and in Japan in segment five bring into line with Rogers drawing that people who are fully functioning encounter struggle since they are continually tried.

Conclusion

In section six, the author shows that her motivation comes from focusing on the future despite the challenges faced. Her past is less significant than her future and staying focused on the present is critical. Rogers shows being in contact with the inner self contributes to the positive feelings a person experiences in life. To the author, while she encounters challenges in her professional and marital life, maintaining the connection with her inner self is critical since it will help her push forward toward her goal. Allport shows the future and contemporary outlook of healthy adults is forward. The author must maintain her focus and ensure she achieves her desire to work in Canada.

Reference

Schultz, D. E., & Schultz, S. E. (2008). Theories of personality. (9th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Human cognitive processes include sensation, perception, attention, imagination, memory, thinking, and speech. Identifying the cognitive processes underlying social decision making has major implications for understanding human nature (Chen & Fischbacher, 2020, p. 422). Response time is a natural type of data for studying cognitive processes, the time that elapses from the moment information is perceived to the response. In other words, it is the ability to detect, process, and respond to a stimulus. Reaction time is always important when measuring ability. This factor can be decisive and central to the results of cognitive tests. Low information processing speed is not in itself a learning or attention problem. It is not related to intelligence, however, it affects all stages of learning.

However, this factor can be inaccurate, as the tested person may guess the correct answer quickly without thinking about the required time. A large number of factors can affect reaction time. For example, a person may be distracted and show a lower score, even though they are capable of more. Additionally, a slow response can indicate that the reaction is delayed and that the person has decided to think more carefully about their answer.

The accuracy of task solving can also be a measure of cognitive processes. As well as response time, many factors influence the accuracy of a solution. For example, a person may take more time than they have been given to think about their answer. Also, some people may misunderstand a question that does not imply mental disability.

The conclusion from the above is that people can use reaction time and accuracy to measure cognitive processes. However, examiners must consider all factors affecting reaction time and precision to get the most accurate result possible. Only by assessing all aspects can one determine if a person is abnormal.

Reference

Chen, F., & Fischbacher, U. (2020). Cognitive processes underlying distributional preferences: a response time study. Experimental Economics, 23(2), 421-446.

Factors affecting human behaviour

Numerous factors contribute to human behaviour in the event of fire outbreak. Some of these factors include characteristics of occupants, features of the affected building, and fire dynamics (Bruck 2001). Moreover, environmental factors might also contribute to human behaviour during fire outbreaks. The occupant characteristics play a significant role in determining the human behaviour in the event of a fire outbreak. The occupant characteristics that contribute to the human behaviour include ones mobility and age. Children and the old people encounter challenges when evacuating a building in the event of a fire outbreak. While the old people are incapable of leaving the building swiftly, children tend to panic and crowd together, especially if the building has numerous storeys. On the other hand, men are always composed and they can fight a fire for a long time compared to women who panic and leave the building immediately (Bryan 2008).

The condition of an occupant during a fire outbreak can also contribute to ones behaviour. For instance, if a person is sick during the outbreak, one may be incapable of responding swiftly and appropriately. Decision-making styles and personality of every occupant contribute to human behaviour in the event of fire outbreak. Some occupants emulate their colleagues while others take the initiative to direct others during fire outbreaks. The role that an occupant plays in a building contributes to ones behaviour in the event of a fire outbreak. For example, in case of a fire outbreak in a restaurant, it would be hard for a client to try to extinguish it. However, the owner or manager of the restaurant would try to extinguish it before evacuating the building (Bryan 2008).

Lo et al. (2001) posit, The building characteristics also affect the way people behave in the event of a fire outbreak (p.145). It is hard to expect the occupants in a skating rink, a church, or a cinema hall to react the same in case of a fire outbreak even though all these buildings act as meeting places. Each of the buildings offers a specific challenge. Another building characteristic that contribute to human behaviour in the event of fire is the space design (Lo et al. 2001). The occupants face challenges in evacuating a building with complex spaces. It becomes hard for people to locate the exit doors or alternative exits if the main exits are closed. The events taking place within a building affect the way people behave in the event of a fire outbreak. People in a casino floor would react differently from those in swimming pools or in guest rooms. The buildings fire safety characteristics also contribute to human behaviour in the event of fire. Buildings with fire alarms alert the occupants in the event of a fire outbreak, thus giving them an opportunity to respond in advance before it spreads into the entire building. On the other hand, occupants in buildings without fire alarms tend to panic for the fire catches them unawares (Proulx 1997). It becomes hard for such occupants to locate the exit doors leading to some crowding in one place and eventually fatalities.

The fire dynamics influence human behaviour in the event of a fire outbreak. During fire outbreak, individuals make out varied cues from the fire; hence, their explanation of the circumstances changes swiftly, thus affecting their behaviour. For instance, when the occupants perceive a smell of smoke, they would respond differently from when they see the fire (Proulx 1997). For instance, in a disco club in Gothenburg, Sweden, people dismissed smoke from a building and thus they did not evacuate the club immediately. A majority of them associated the smell to dry ice while others claimed that it was emanating from the smoke machine (Proulx 1997). Eventually, many people ended up losing their lives because the fire engulfed them before leaving the building. The smoke made it hard for them to see the fire; moreover, most of them ignored the smoke even after one of the disc jockeys warned them of a fire outbreak.

Improving human behaviours towards the threat of fire

One way of improving human behaviour in the event of fire outbreak is by training people how to respond. The United Kingdom government has put in place regulations that require institutions to train their staff on how to deal with fire outbreaks. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, Part 1 section 4 stipulates that individuals that own or manage business premises have the duty to install fire alarms, conduct regular fire risk assessments, install fire-fighting equipments, and above all, train their staff on how to react in the event of an outbreak (Shields & Boyce 2000). The regulations require employers to equip their employees with adequate fire safety skills immediately after recruitment and take them through regular refresher training whenever there are changes on fire safety strategies.

Another method that can help in improving human behaviour in the event of fire outbreak is installing voice communication gadgets in all buildings. Such gadgets would help in directing the occupants on the routes to take when leaving the building. One of the reasons why people initially failed to install such gadgets was the belief that the installations would instil panic in people on informing them about a fire outbreak (Shields & Boyce 2000), but on the contrary, informing people about fire outbreak would help in avoiding cases of dysfunctional behaviours. Studies have proved that informing occupants about fire outbreaks through voice communication helps them to make informed decisions and react immediately (Shields & Boyce 2000).

Prior to evacuating a building under fire, the occupants go through two pre-movement phases, viz. the awareness and the egress phases. The decision to leave a building comes after the occupants are aware of fire outbreak, which can be through fire bells, smell, smoke, or even information from colleagues (Shields & Boyce 2000). In most cases, people do not make up their mind to leave the building immediately; instead, they take time to confirm from their colleagues or the management of the building. Hence, the awareness phase involves collecting as much evidence as possible about fire outbreak before making the decision to evacuate the building. In a bid to improve human behaviour in this phase, it is imperative to have clear information about the fire size, position, and fighting equipments already available in the building among others (Shields & Boyce 2000). The information would help the occupants to understand the magnitude of the danger they are in, and thus make an informed decision and avoid dysfunctional behaviours. The awareness phase contributes to the action taken by the occupants in the subsequent stages of the evacuation process. For instance, once the occupants learn that they cannot handle the fire, they would opt to evacuate the building immediately.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) uses the theory of occupant behaviour to explain why people behave differently in the event of fire. According to the institute, people take different actions after perceiving certain cues and after interpreting the situation (Kuligowski 2009). Moreover, numerous factors control the different phases of an evacuation process. The factors include if an individual perceives the cues, the interpretations an individual makes, and the actions an individual takes. These factors and the phases of the evacuation process depend on the occupants. The NIST identifies four phases of the pre-evacuation process, viz. the perception phase, the interpretation phase, the decision-making phase, and the action phase. The perception phase entails receiving different cues like smoke, flame, and heat. Different people would interpret this phase differently.

The interpretation phase entails interpreting the perceived cues. In this phase, different genders would interpret the perceived cues differently. For instance, women would evaluate the dangers that the cues pose to their children while men might be the focus on salvaging the property. Such interpretations explain why different genders behave differently in the event of a fire outbreak. The third phase of the pre-evacuation process is the decision-making process (Kuligowski 2009), which comes after the occupants interpret the nature of the situation. In this phase, women might make the decision to save their children or evacuate the building immediately while men might decide to confront the situation based on the nature and size of fire. After making their decisions, the occupants would enter into the fourth phase that entails implementing the decisions made.

In the attempt to avoid chances of people being trapped in the building, there is a need for a proper egress procedure in every building. A strong and viable egress procedure would facilitate in improving human behaviour in the event of fire outbreak. In most cases, people tend to run for elevators in time of fire outbreaks. Eventually, people end up being trapped in the elevators due to electric failure (Bukowski & Kuligowski 2004). Therefore, to avoid such cases, buildings ought to have a mechanism that locks all the elevators in the event of fire outbreak. This move would leave all the occupants with the option of using the stairs only to evacuate the building. Besides, buildings ought to have proper means of egress (MOE) that comprise corridors leading to the exit, the exit (in most cases a stair), and exit discharge (a door leading to the outside) (Bukowski & Kuligowski 2004). Such a means would ensure that people do not panic in the event of fire outbreak; besides, it would save people from the overhead of looking for alternative means to leave a building. Prior to evacuation, the occupants should have clear information about the means of egress, which can be done through voice communication gadgets installed within the building. Moreover, on-site managers can facilitate in enlightening the occupants about the established egress procedure (Bukowski & Kuligowski 2004).

Relationship among human behaviours, fire, and injuries

According to Barillo and Goode (1996), there are significant correlations among human behaviour, fire, and injuries. For individuals with limited knowledge on how to respond in the event of fire outbreak, their behaviours lead to most of them suffering from injuries. A study by Barillo and Goode showed that in the event of fire outbreak, some people tend to panic, which prompts them to run towards the exits while others run for the elevators. In most cases, many people spot a single exit and in the process of trying to escape through the exit, stampede ensues thus leading to numerous fatalities as well as injuries (Barillo & Goode 1996). For instance, during the incidence at Beverly Hills Super Club, many people were injured due to stampede that ensued as people struggled to exit the building using the same exit. Panic makes it hard for people to think straight or take time to assess the nature of the danger. Consequently, they do not take time to look for alternative exits even after identifying that the nearest exit is overcrowded (Barillo & Goode 1996).

Kobes et al. (2010) posit that the most significant feature of buildings safety with respect to fire is the possibility of safe escape. Inclusion of fire safety facilities facilitate in controlling fire in case of an outbreak. Kobes et al. (2010) assert that understanding how people react in the event of fire outbreak and during the pre-evacuation stage facilitate in putting up the appropriate fire safety precautions. Their study found that psychonomics play significant role in determining how occupants respond to fire outbreaks. Therefore, they recommend a scientific study in the field of fire safety to ensure that all buildings are equipped with the requisite safety designs.

The actions taken by individuals during fire outbreaks lead to injuries. For instance, some people opt to confront the fire instead of evacuating the building; regrettably, they might do this with limited fire fighting equipments like fireproof clothes and extinguishers. In the process, they end up suffering from burns (Bryan 2008). Others decide to salvage their property rather than leaving the building immediately. Such people subject themselves to risks of deaths or injuries. As they try to retrieve their property, the fire overwhelms some and if lucky, they suffer from minor burns, but if unlucky, they end up losing their lives. Another human behaviour that contributes to injuries during fire outbreak is alcoholism (Bryan 2008). Alcoholism impairs an individuals ability to make a proper decision. Besides, it makes one weak and unable to move quickly. In the event of fire outbreak, a person that is under the influence of alcohol is unable to identify the exit and if one does, the person is incapable of evacuating the building swiftly (Istre et al. 2001). In the process of evacuating the building, an individual ends up suffering from burns or knocking oneself against the stairs or walls of the building.

Numerous researchers have focused on group size as one of the factors that contribute to injuries during fire outbreaks. According to the researches, some people tend to move in groups in the event of fire outbreaks; therefore, such people cannot leave a building before they ensure that all their group members are around (Istre et al. 2001). For instance, a family may decline to evacuate a building until it finds all its members. In such a case, it might be hard to evacuate the affected people leading to injuries and deaths.

History of the concept of human behaviour

Increase in human error led to the study of human factors. The study sought to use human behaviour and characteristics to improve the efficiency of machine systems. The study of human error began in the nuclear power industry by the establishment of judgment systems like success likelihood index methodology (SLIM). Human beings play a vital role in both emergency response and accident causation (Bellamy 1994). The desire to extend this study and offer systems that can relate human factors with quantitative risk evaluation led to the introduction of human behaviour in different fields like fire and safety. Eventually, countries like the United Kingdom came up with standards that outlined the factors that affect human behaviour.

BS7974 and BS9999 are examples of the United Kingdom standards that discuss some of the factors affecting human behaviour when evacuating in the event of fire. The standards give the most relevant fire protection systems that every building ought to install (Christian 2007). Other standards that discus some of the factors that affect human behaviour during evacuation in the event of fire outbreak include the International Fire Engineering Guidelines and BS 5588-0. International Fire Engineering Guidelines offer guidelines on how engineers ought to design their building to facilitate human movement in the event of fire outbreak (Christian 2007). The standards put into consideration the factors that affect human behaviour during evacuation. These factors include the architectural design of a building as well as the presence of fire alarms and other mechanisms of notifying the occupants in the event of an outbreak (Christian 2007).

Another regulation that addresses the factors that contribute to human behaviour in the event of fire is BS 5588-0. This regulation focuses on the factors that contribute to human behaviour in the event of fire outbreak. It leverages these factors to help in designing of various architectural structures (Christian 2007). One of the challenges of this regulation is that it is inflexible, thus making it hard to adjust to the changing architectural designs. Nevertheless, the regulation facilitates in construction of buildings and establishment of means of egress based on human behaviour.

Reference List

Barillo, D & Goode, R 1996, Fire Fatality Study: Demographics of Fire Victims, Burns, vol. 22 no. 2, pp. 85-88.

Bellamy, L 1994, The influence of human factors science on safety in the offshore industry, Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, vol. 7 no. 4, pp. 370-375.

Bruck, D 2001, The Who, What, Where and Why of Waking to Fire Alarms: A Review, Fire Safety Journal, vol. 36 no. 7, pp. 623-639.

Bryan, J 2008, Human Behaviour and Fire: Fire Protection Handbook, 20th Edition, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA.

Bukowski, R & Kuligowski, E 2004, The Basis for Egress Provisions in the U.S. Building Codes, InterFlam, Edinburgh, UK.

Christian, S 2007, A Guide to Fire Safety Engineering, Pims Digital, Essex.

Istre, G, McCoy, M, Osborn, L, Barnard, J & Bolton, A 2001, Deaths and Injuries in House Fires, New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 322 no. 25, pp. 1911-1916.

Kobes, M, Helsloot, I, De Vries, B & Post, J 2010, Building safety and human behaviour in fire: A literature review, Fire Safety Journal, vol. 45 no. 1, pp. 1-11.

Kuligowski, E 2009, The process of human behaviour in fires, National Institute of Standards and Technology Technical Note, vol. 1632, pp. 5-9.

Lo, S, Lam, K, Yuen, K & Fang, Z 2001, A Pre-evacuation Behavioural Study for the People in a High-rise Residential Building under Fire Situations, International Journal on Engineering Performance-Based Fire Codes, vol. 2 no. 4, pp. 143-152.

Proulx, G 1997, Misconceptions about Human Behaviour in Fire Emergencies, National Emergency Training Center, Emmitsburg, MD.

Shields, T & Boyce, K 2000, A Study of evacuation from large retails stores, Fire Safety Journal, vol. 35 no. 1, pp. 25-49.

Introduction

Human development is the continuous change in humans over their lifespan from birth to death in psychological, cognitive, and physical aspects. The psychological part of human development comprises social relationships, personality, and emotions. Physical development entails growth and changes in the brain and body, health and wellness, the senses, and motor skills. Lastly, the cognitive domain consists of learning, language, creativity, reasoning, thinking, memory, and attention development. The lifespan of human beings is categorized into infancy and toddlerhood, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Human services is a knowledge discipline aimed at satisfying human needs over an applied information base, concentrating on problem remediation and prevention and upholding a commitment to enhancing the quality of life of individuals. A direct human services employee works in families with infants, adolescents, children, and adults still living at home. Knowledge of human development is important in enabling human services to identify ways to provide appropriate support.

Infancy and Toddlerhood

This stage occurs in the first two years after birth and is responsible for significant change and growth in the body and brain function. At this stage, a newborn with poor vision yet acute hearing learns how to talk and walk within a short period. Infants mostly communicate by crying when they are hungry or uncomfortable (Berk, 2017). Moreover, the caregivers role changes from managing sleep schedules and feeding to consistently guiding and ensuring safety for a very energetic, active, mobile child. Additionally, an infant is completely reliant on their caregiver to satisfy their needs, including safety, food, love, nurturing, and warmth. Therefore, the quality of care provided by the caregiver influences the development of trust between the infant and the caregiver (Berk, 2017). Thus, gaining accurate information on the infancy and toddlerhood stages enables the social worker to understand the appropriate support they can provide to care for the baby. Thus, babies at this stage are entirely dependent on their caregivers. Thus, a social worker will know that a child is not supposed to be left near water, stairs, electric outlets, or in a vehicle alone.

Childhood

Early Childhood (2-5 Years)

In early childhood, the child is occupied with language learning, starting to understand the physical worlds workings, and acquiring a sense of self and independence. Children start by undertaking primary actions such as potty training on their own and making easy choices on what satisfies them (Sanders & Morawska, 2019). Being allowed to decide on what they prefer in clothing selection and food enables a child to gain a sense of autonomy.

Moreover, they ask a lot of questions, their imagination is heightened, and they can distinguish between fiction and fact. As much as knowledge at this age does not come easily, a child at this stage will portray an interesting understanding of space, distance, size, and time (Sanders & Morawska, 2019). Accurate knowledge at this level of development allows the human services to understand that the child has begun to understand the world, engage in social interactions, and seek independence. As a result, the social worker can encourage the child to play with others, enabling them to make their own choices, engage in problem-solving, cooperate and build on their skills. Moreover, the social workers can encourage the children to try and participate in new things as this will help problem-solving skills, which will develop the childs confidence.

Middle Childhood

The middle childhood stage is comprised of children from 6-11 years. A majority of the experiences that children undergo at this stage are strongly associated with their engagement in the early school grades. Children start developing social interaction skills and take pride in their achievements and abilities. This results from the fact that the children now recognize and learn their abilities by comparing themselves to the accomplishments of others and gaining competence (Harms, 2020). Therefore, school becomes the most crucial part of a childs development in this period by making comparisons in test scores, sports, or any other form of identification. A social worker can encourage a child to be friendly to others and invite others to their home to provide their child with playmates, enhancing social interaction skills. Moreover, children can be supported to get involved or participate in challenging activities. This can be done by introducing them to activities such as sports, quiz tests, and community activities that would provide the opportunity to expand the development of new friendships and accomplishments.

Adolescence

The adolescence stage is accompanied by remarkable physical change and sexual maturation. Cognitive change also occurs at this stage since the adolescents start to reason, think or come up with new possibilities and recognize speculative ideas like freedom, love, and fear (Berk, 2018). However, adolescents feel like they are invincible and unbeatable, which increases the risk of getting or acquiring sexually transmitted diseases like HIV & AIDs, which can have adverse and lifelong effects, and dying from reckless accidents. The main development in puberty is adolescents identifying their own identity by fighting to acquire more independence from their guardians. As a result, understanding what young adults need or experience will enable human services to provide the appropriate support in ensuring that they introduce or involve teens in activities that foster independence. Moreover, human services learn that teens think themselves invincible, which can lead to poor life choices. Thus, they can guide these individuals into engaging in safe sex and give them information on the effects of drug and alcohol abuse and carelessness in vehicles. Additionally, human services give adolescents the freedom and support needed to explore their world.

Adulthood

Early Adulthood

The early adulthood stage comprises or includes the late teens, twenties, and thirties. At this stage, individuals are at a high risk of involving themselves in substance abuse as well as violent crimes. Moreover, individuals in this period put their focus on work and love (Osher et al., 2018). As a result, they use most of their time and energy in making decisions that will enable them to gain full adult status in others views. Additionally, young adults direct their attention to forming intimate solid relationships with other individuals as they try to avoid isolation and loneliness. Thus, understanding young adults enables human services to develop ways to ensure that they can efficiently participate in making decisions on all their life aspects. Additionally, a social worker would be able to ensure that the set expectations are directed toward self-esteem and competence improvement. Finally, human services will be able to identify ways to make young adults encounter diverse opportunities essential to their career development.

Middle Adulthood (The Late Thirties to Mid-Sixties)

At this stage, physiological aging is more evident, and many individuals are at their highest productivity in work and love. Adults period work to gain skills or expertise in diverse fields to understand and identify problems and generate solutions more efficiently than the other stages. Moreover, they find themselves in a position where they are required to be caring for their children and their aging guardians or parents while reviewing their commitments, goals, or even mortality (Shaffer et al., 2019). Additionally, middle adults try to establish and create things that will be able to outlive them, such as having children or developing situations that can be advantageous to other individuals. Appropriate information on the middle or mature adults allows the human services to provide the necessary support for the individuals in ensuring that they are able to, have careers and create strong relationships. As a result, social workers can generate means to support and help mature adults have fulfilling lives by ensuring that adults can engage in their interests and have optimum control of their lives.

Late adulthood

This stage of development consists of adults 65 years and above. Adults between 65-74 years also identified may still be active, married, and healthy. Those between 75-84 years start to experience health problems and challenges in undertaking their daily activities, while adults over 85 years become weak and require long-term care (Berk, 2018). Furthermore, the best way to acknowledge these adults differences lies in going past chronological age and assessing if an individual is undergoing optimal, normal, or impaired aging. Moreover, adults at this age tend to look back on their lives to establish if they are contented with or regret how they led their lives. Therefore, being informed on the happenings of late adulthood, such as retiring, and reflecting on past achievements, enables a social worker from human services to know how to best support the aging adult. With this information, human services can ensure that adults understand that retirement should be an opportunity to develop new activities such as relations and hobbies instead of isolating themselves in loneliness.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the paper has portrayed the importance of acquiring knowledge on human development in enabling human services to identify ways to provide the appropriate support. To begin with, infants and toddlers depend on their caregivers and thus cannot be left alone in dangerous places. Secondly, in childhood, children focus more on gaining independence, developing social interaction skills, and taking pride in their accomplishments. As a result, human services will need to encourage the children to be friendly with others and engage in sports, quiz tests, and community activities to increase their achievements and make more friends.

Thirdly, adolescents start to anticipate freedom and independence but are reckless with their decisions. With this information, human services will have to engage the teens in activities that encourage independence and provide them with information on the consequences of poor choices. Lastly, adults spend most of their energy and time in love and improving their careers. Moreover, in late adulthood, individuals try to mirror their lifes course to determine whether they are contented with it or regret it. This makes human services ensure that they can support adults to effectively participate in making decisions on all their life aspects and establish new relationships.

References

Berk, L. (2017). Exploring lifespan development. Pearson.

Berk, L. (2018). Development through the lifespan (7th ed.). Pearson.

Harms, L. (2020). Understanding human development (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press, USA.

Osher, D., Cantor, P., Berg, J., Steyer, L., & Rose, T. (2018). Drivers of human development: How relationships and context shape learning and development1. Applied Developmental Science, 24(1), 6-36.

Sanders, M., & Morawska, A. (2019). Handbook of parenting and child development across the lifespan. Springer.

Shaffer, D., Kipp, K., Wood, E., Willoughby, T., Roberts, K., Krettenauer, T., & Lee, J. (2019). Developmental psychology (5th ed.). Nelson Cengage Adapted.

Introduction

Kohlbergs Theory of Moral Development is an important framework for understanding the personality of an individual. It assumes that people move through the three levels of moral development during their life. At the same time, the moral understanding of every person is associated with cognitive development (Gibbs, 2019).

Discussion

Kohlberg outlined the three levels of moral reasoning such as pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional (Gibbs, 2019). These stages of morality are characterized by specific features typical for people during different periods of their lives. For instance, during the pre-conventional stage, they do not have a personal code of morality, while the second phase is characterized by the acquisition of social norms regulating good and wrong actions (Gibbs, 2019). Finally, the last stage is characterized by a better understanding of fundamental ethical principles (Gibbs, 2019). In such a way, this division helps to trace the evolution of ethics and morality within an individual.

The theory has its own advantages and disadvantages linked to the proposed classification. Thus, Kohlberg introduced a more detailed, robust, and well-thought-out classification and determination of moral reasoning compared to other frameworks (Gibbs, 2019). For this reason, it became easier to analyze specific actions and motivations. At the same time, the theory has several weaknesses, such as the disregard for cultural issues. The theory considers cultural norms typical for a particular society and vital for developing representations of good and bad actions (Gibbs, 2019).

Conclusion

However, it lacks an understanding of how the same norms can be used in terms of another culture. Additionally, the theory is criticized for the absence of an empirical basis necessary to support the credibility of a certain assumption (Gibbs, 2019). In such a way, Kohlbergs idea of Moral development has its strengths and weaknesses that should be considered.

Reference

Gibbs, J. (2019). Moral development and reality: Beyond the theories of Kohlberg, Hoffman, and Haidt (4^th ed.). Oxford University Press.