Identity Crisis in Adolescence and Junevility - Assignment Example

Developmental Psychology- Childhood and Adolescence Developmental Psychology- Childhood and Adolescence Cognitive development Piagets What are the overall strengths and weaknesses of Piaget’s approach? This theory and the method used are too rigid and do not consider all factors that allow a child to grow. Factors like language and the people surrounding the child will determine the pace that the child will mature. It is also true that different children mature at a different time. Others will mature quickly and can be able to do concrete tasks at an early age while others cannot. Piaget’s method emphasizes on educational philosophy which is leaner centered and the research methods were purely based on case studies which were quite descriptive and this makes the methods quite reliable. These methods are very reliable and hence used to set the school’s curriculum (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010). The tasks Piagets used, and the questions he asked were somehow valid but not all. The answer he got does not apply to all children. He was too rigid in his research that he did not put other factors into consideration. These factors include why we are different if we all go through these stages? Why do some of the identical twins desire to have a different kind of life? All factors are not considered in the Piaget approach (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010). However, the tasks and questions used are fully valid in some instances. Piagets stages are universal, they can be applied in all countries whether a peaceful one or one which is engulfed with war. A child who is growing up in a country where there is a war, he will not mature at the same time as a child who is growing up in a country that is peaceful. Not all people from all cultures are able to reach the formal operational stage. There are those kids who will have a mental problem even after their teenage hood. They will never mature to the final stage because of some biological and psychological problems (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010). The stages of development by Piaget are used in explaining why some children never reach the final stage or the formal operational stage and why many people end up not thinking formally during their adulthood. The Piagets stages are coherent, and a child cannot belong to two distinct stages at the same period. The child has to develop one stage at a time because development is a process that takes time. It has to be systematic and therefore consistence. According to Piagets approach, children learn in their own way, and that they do necessarily require people to socialize with in order to learn. Their maturity level is what will determine their learning capability. These children have to be in a particular stage in order for them to learn some things. These kids cannot undertake some tasks unless they are in that stage (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010). Piagets approach however has contributed to the knowledge of psychological growth under constant conditions. These stages will only occur under conditions that do not change and to normal kids not just any kid (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010). Cognitive development 2- Vygotsky The overall strengths and weaknesses of Vygotsky’s approach The Vygotsky’s methods were very reliable. The example he gave about the mother trying to teach a child how to walk may be started by holding the child’s hand loosely, then letting go of one hand after which she will let go of the other hand. This is very practical in the child’s growth as it is experienced and practiced by many parents (Siegler & Eisenberg, 2010). This theory can be applied to people of all cultures and in the world. This is because the theory is more of a practical than theory. It deals with what happens and not what is bound to happen. This is what makes the theory realistic and reliable in all cultures. Even though, development is not completely socially mediated, it takes up a great percentage in a child’s life. If social life is taken away from the child, the development of the child may be slow or be constant for a while as it tries to adjust (Siegler & Eisenberg, 2010). The fact that there are no stages in the Vygotsky’s theory means that a child has the ability to grow at its own pace. One child’s growth cannot be compared to another at any given point. This is because every child is unique in its own way. Even the identical twins have something that is not common between them. That is why one would decide to be a doctor and the other one would decide to be a lawyer (Siegler & Eisenberg, 2010). Vysotsky theory has made a contribution to the psychological education in that it has brought about the issue of social life into the growth of a child. Social life is very vital and can be a great determinant in the development of a child. Piaget’s approach and Vygotsky’s theory try to explain more about the development of a child. The two theories use different approaches to try and explain this. Even thought he Piaget’s approach is used in the formation of the school curriculum, it is too rigid to really determine the development of a child. On the other hand, Vygotsky’s theory is the better approach of determining the child’s growth. It does not even have stages of growth. This is because every child has its own way of growing up depending on its surrounding (Siegler & Eisenberg, 2010). Language development Genie’s lack of language development tells us how different children can be. Every child is unique in its own way and therefore will develop differently. Genie did not know how to talk even when she was one year eight months. The father was too quick to make the conclusion. Even though, Genie took the time to know how to talk, it was just about time she started learning how to talk. When Genie was excluded from the rest of the world, this derailed her growth her growth and she was unable to learn though she could pronounce some of the words she heard. The words like “stop it” and “no more” are some of the words she heard when she was locked up in her room (Nederveen, 2010). Vygotsky’s theory would explain the slow development better in that the child should have been allowed to socialize with the rest of the family. The social life of a child will help them learn how to talk quickly. This is because they will be in a position to talk and say what they hear others say. If the child is not given this kind of social life, the child will have hard time learning just like Genie. This case study challenges Piaget’s theory in that, even if Genie reached a particular stage, was unable to talk due to lack of social life. Piaget’s theory does not recognize the need for social life. This theory simply suggests that the development of a child occurs in several stages in which a child should be able to do certain tasks when it reaches that stage. Well, it is evident that Genie was unable to talk even after reaching the final stage of this theory. This shows that this theory is not reliable and that it cannot be used to determine the development of a child or explain why the child does certain things (Nederveen, 2010). This case study is not a good case to generalize the findings to a normal population. This is because Genie did not have a problem with language development but the fact that she was kept away from the rest of the world delayed her talking. A normal child would have started to talk before Genie’s age. Maybe Genie took a longer period to develop than other kids, but the fact is that she could talk. The father should never have excluded her from the rest of the family. She would have developed her language much quickly if she was subjected to social life (Nederveen, 2010). Social development, the self and identity Not all teenagers got through an identity crisis. By the help of the people surrounding the teenagers, they will be able to identify themselves in the midst of other; this because of the traits that differentiate them from the rest of the teenagers. Teenagers have different characters that define whom they are. Like in this case Chris likes to bite. This can be changed by subjecting the child to an area where there are more adults so he can stop the habit. This is an act of bully and that he sees himself as superior to others, and that is why he bites them. Chris will not bite adults so if kept near adults, he will be able to stop this habit (Shaffer, 2009). Teenage years are very fragile years of the child. These are the years that define who the child really is. This stage needs the child to be led accordingly and in the right direction. If the child is misled, it will be very difficult for the child to change later in life. The child will be very resistance because all along he or she thought he was doing the right thing. Changing the belief and thinking of an adult is not simple. This is why a parent is needed most in the teenage years of that child. It is in this stage also that the talents and gifts of a child are recognized. If a child likes to sing it will be evident in the way he or she loves music. If the child likes to swim; it will be evident in the liking of water. All these traits are discovered in the teenage years (Shaffer, 2009). In order to solve an identity crisis, the parents ought to choose the best surrounding for the child. One will need to keep the child in an area where the teenager will not be influenced in the wrong direction. If the child is surrounded with smokers, the teenager is bound to smoke sooner than later. The teenager will not understand why he or she is denied that chance if everybody else is doing it. It is therefore very careful to choose the best surrounding for your child. One may chose the best surrounding for your teenage child, but if you do not take care of friends the teenager hangs around with, you may not achieve this successfully. The friends the teenager hangs around with will also determine whether the child will suffer an identity crisis or not (Shaffer, 2009). A person may find that a child did not have any aspirations or any goal to achieve but later in life when they are already adults, it is when they will discover that they wanted to become a particular person. Probably they wanted to be a doctor, but because they did not discover their identity early enough or simply because they lacked somebody to guide them in their early stages. It would be too late for them to study medicine bearing in mind that maybe they have a family to take care of, in addition to other responsibilities (Shaffer, 2009). As a parent, you are supposed to guide a child at least until they become adult. A parent will never stop being a parent even when the child grows into an adult. It is said that one may be a mother, but when she goes home, she will also be considered as a child by her own mother. This is the same case that is applied; be a parent at all times and your teenage child will not suffer an identity crisis at any given point. This is because the parent will always be there to guide the child in every stage of life (Shaffer, 2009). References Shaffer, D. R., & Kipp, K. (2010). Developmental psychology: Childhood and adolescence. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Siegler, R. S., DeLoache, J. S., & Eisenberg, N. (2010). How children develop. New York: Worth. Nederveen, P. J. (2010). Development theory: Deconstructions/reconstructions. Los Angeles: SAGE. Shaffer, D. R. (2009). Social and personality development. Australia: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Read More