Psychological Development of Individual - Essay Example

Psychological Development Name Institution PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT Psychological development determines how and why different characteristics of human functioning aspects develop and change in the lifespan of an individual. I will consider two main aspects that determine the psychological development in human. The two aspects are; biological factors that interact with the environment to influence the course of development and the distinct gradual continuous stages that influence psychological development of an individual (Oates, 2005). Heredity factors and the environment both influence aspects of development. In my opinion, they both work hand in hand in the current society as they interact continuously and influence the psychological development of people. The way an individual is nurtured and nature in which he is in both influence the psychological development in human. The development stages which people under go also influence psychological development. I observed in my sister’s children that behavior at a given stage gets determined by the set of characteristics that surround it. Behavior at each stage is different in terms of experience and exposure, and these are the various stages that influence psychological development in people. All children go through the same distinct stages in the same order (Moshman, 2004). Environmental factors do not influence the order of the stages, but it affects the speed of progress of an individual in a particular stage. The environmental factors determine how long an individual takes in a stage. There are also the stages which I call sensitive or critical periods and stages. These are the stages in which specific events must occur for normal development. When an individual fails to undergo normal development in certain stages then he or she must be abnormal. Psychological development increases with age and experience. The more old a person is the more developed he is psychologically. This is because an older person has passed through various experiences and growth stages hence more developed. As I saw my sister’s children grow up and considering the capacity of new born, I found that all infants are born with sensory systems functioning. The infants could sense pain and heat and they cry to get attention. Infants also have the capacity of vision they are able to identify the people they get used to. At this stage, the newborns have poor visual acuity the sense of sight is not accurate, but it improves gradually as the infant grows. At this stage, there is also some evidence of facial preference where the baby tends to like specific people, which he is close to. When it comes to hearing the newborns turn towards the source of sound and in most cases they show preference for their mother’s voice. I observed they start to discern rhythm of language and by the time they are six months old, they are able to discriminate between voice intonations indicating approval and disapproval. The infants begin to respond to the different sounds they hear, and they try to echo the voices as they struggle to speak (Oates, 2005). I also observed that the infants also have the capacity to taste and smell. A short period after birth they could discriminate between tastes showing preference for sweet tasting liquids and they turn away if the liquid is bitter. The infants also differentiate among odors. They turn their heads away from noxious odors. Infants have the capacity of learning and memory. Newborns learn basic responses from birth, and they are able to interpret and understand some sign language. By the age of three months, my sister’s youngest child had good memories he could remember and know the faces and smell they are close and used to. There is then the personality and social aspect of development. This explains the issue of temperament in individuals. The levels of temper in people vary, and this is significantly influenced by the environment where a person is nurtured in. This trait is in most cases inherited from the parents and it defines the personality and social development of an individual. The continuity of temperament gets really affected by the environment of an individual. Some children are brought up in stressful environments hence they have short tempers, and they gets easily angered. There is also the early social behavior. There is the positive behavior like smiling which appears at an early age and it helps strengthen the bond between the parent and the child. The cuddling and hugging of the child and the parent also improves the bond between them. Stranger anxiety in children appears when they are seven or eight months old. At this age, the child starts to feel anxious in the company of strangers. There is then the separation anxiety peak which happens when the child is fourteen to eighteen months old. At this age, the child can be comfortable with a stranger. The two types of anxiety are both linked to memory development and growth of autonomy in child development. As the memory of the child develops, he begins to remember the people he is close with and the strangers. The stranger anxiety is the main reason why babies reject strangers (Oates, 2005). In personality and social development there is the aspect of attachment where the newborns seek identity so that they can find security in the presence of such individuals. In most cases, the child tends to be close with the mother and nannies, and they become secure in their presence. Attachment in infants can be accessed through the eccentric condition process. A number of activities in the infant are evident when principal caregiver leaves and enters the house. If the frequency in which the child leaves or enters the room is high, then it implies that the level of attachment is high. On the other hand if the child spends more time inside the room than the time he spends outside then it means that the child is really attached to the person (Simeonsson, 2001). Adolescence is a stage of transition from childhood to Adulthood. People undergo this stage from the 14-20 years old. This is the stage where a person reaches puberty. This is a stage where one attains sexual maturation. Rapid growth occurs in the body and this causes the breast in ladies to enlarge, and their heaps to broaden. On the male gender, the shoulders broaden and their voices deepen. Both of them have hair growing on the pubic areas and the armpits. At the end of ovulation, the girls experience their first menstrual period which happens eighteen months after growth peak. The boys experience their first ejaculation around two years after rapid growth begins. This is the most challenging stage in the development process. This is so because it is the stage in which a person undergoes the most changes. The changes have various psychological effects to the victim, and this is the reason why people especially ladies at this age get advised and educated on what to expect and how to cope with the situation (Oates, 2005). Puberty has various psychological on the victims. It significantly affects adolescents’ body image, self-esteem, mood and relationships. Because there are many hormones involved in the process the moods especially in women, gets greatly affected. It affects their self esteem as they are undergoing changes they don’t have control over. It is during this stage that people become active sexually, and they are curious to try out new things. Most of them are eager to have sex and to try out other new things. The various changes that occur on peoples’ faces at this age cause them to have a problem with self esteem. Some develop pimples on the face, and this diminishes their confidence levels. The main tasks people experience in adolescence is developing a sense of identity. It is in this stage that the young people experience identity crisis as everyone undergoes the active process of self-definition. Identity confusion is also a common outcome of identity crisis. It is an unsuccessful outcome to identity crisis where an individual lacks steady ethical logic or a collection of intrinsic values for assessing self importance in key areas of life (Simeonsson, 2001). Psychological development is affected by both biological hereditary factors and the sequence of distinct stages that one undergoes in life. The stages happen in the same order to every individual the only difference are the time period in the stage. In some cases, the environment in which one gets natured in influences the duration of the development process (Moshman, 2004). References M., R. (2003). Handbook of Psychology, Developmental Psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Moshman, D. (2004). Adolescent Psychological Development: Rationality, Morality, and Identity. New York: Routeledge. Oates, J. (2005). Psychological Development and Early Childhood. Nottingam: Wiley. Simeonsson, R. (2001). Psychological and Developmental Assessment: Children with Disabilities and Chronic Conditions. Carolina: Guilford Press. Read More