Development Psychology - Essay Example

? Development Psychology Development Psychology In this paper, I seek to describe development psychology and how it affects or has affected my life. Development psychology refers to the scientific study of changes occurring in human beings over their lifetime. The concept was initially developed to explain changes in infants and children, but it was later expanded to include adolescence and adult development (Shaffer, & Kipp, K. (2010). This field examines such areas of psychology as psychoanalytical theory, cognitive development, child development and Constructivism (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010). This paper will explain why I chose these subtopics of development psychology and how each one of them is relevant and contributes to my life. The first subtopic I select is child development. It refers to the psychological, biological and emotional changes that are experienced by human beings between birth and adolescence. An individual often develops from being dependent to being autonomous. It also includes the study of genetics and prenatal development because child development is often strongly influenced by genetic factors and prenatal care. Child development may occur due to the influence of the environment or as a result of genetic influence (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010). In most cases, development changes of a child are due an interaction of the two factors. Child development is important to us because it enables us to understand the factors that affect the development of our children, hence act in an appropriate manner to bring them up in a good manner so that they may develop normally. The contributors of this topic include Urie Bronfenbrenner and Piaget. Urie came up with human ecology theory to explain four types of nested environment systems which affect child development. These are: micro-system, exosytem, macrosystem and mesosystem. Each system consists of rules, norms and roles that can effectively guide and powerfully shape development. Microsystem is the immediate environment that surrounds an individual while the mesosystem is a combination of two Microsystems. The exosystem is an interaction of two or more environments while a macrosystem is a broader system which includes the culture, socio-economic status and morals of individuals in a society. Piaget is another contributor of child development who explained what he termed as object permanence which explains that children of 7-9 months are able to understand that objects exist even if they cannot see them. Another field of development psychology which is cognitive development advanced by Jean Piaget. This is a comprehensive theory that explains the development of human intelligence. It is concerned with the nature of knowledge and how individuals acquire it gradually, construct, and use it. Piaget contents that cognitive development is a progressive reorganization of mental processes due to biological influences and environmental factors affecting individuals (Upton & Upton, 2011). This sub-topic of development psychology is important to human beings because it enables us to understand the biological and environmental factors that guide our acquisition and use of knowledge. It therefore improves our learning processes and enables us to use knowledge appropriately to improve our lives. Its contributor is Jean Piaget. He was the psychologist who is responsible for the development of human intelligence using the cognitive development theory. He claims that even language is part of contingent and cognitive development. Cognitive development affects me as a student because it determines my acquisition and use of knowledge in my education and learning. The knowledge I gain in class enables me to succeed in my education and makes me become more intelligent in any learning process. Another field of development psychology is constructivism which explains learning as a process in which involves an active construction of knowledge. Individuals are often perceived to be making sense for themselves and make sense out of new information by selecting, analyzing, organizing and integrating information with some other kinds of knowledge in the context of social interactions in the society where individuals often interact. This topic is related to cognitive development but it relates specifically to social relations. It enables individuals to learn how they may use knowledge to enhance good relationships and interactions in the society (Hurlock, 1981). At school, this theory enables me to use the knowledge I gain to interact with my fellow students and share experiences with them so that I may succeed in my class work and all aspects of my life. It gives me an opportunity to learn about myself and how I can use the knowledge I gain to relate with others in my daily interactions with them. The last subtopic of development psychology that I am interested in learning is psychoanalytical theory. This theory explains that children’s experiences and unconscious desires often influence their behaviour. The theory describes development in terms of psychosexual stages. Each of these stages is often characterized by conflicts which result in lifelong influence on personality and behaviour of individuals (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010). The importance of this theory is that it enables individuals to control the conflicts that arise in each psychosexual stage of development in such a way that they do not result in undesirable behaviour and personality. Psychoanalytical theory gives us the knowledge that can be used to shape the character of each individual. The theory was developed by Freud Sigmund through his clinical work with patients who were suffering from mental illness. The theory enables me to develop a good behaviour both at school and at home. This is because it helps me to understand my psychosexual stages of development and learn how to control the conflicts that arise in each psychosexual stage. It is clear that none of us human beings understand ourselves fully. We all know that there are biological processes taking place in our bodies, but less do we understand about our psychological development (Upton & Upton, 2011). It is important for us to understand ourselves in all dimensions including our psychological and physiological developments so that we may appreciate and deal with the problems that we face as we grow from childhood to adulthood. Therefore, it has become important for me to understand development psychology and to study it well so as to be able to use its knowledge to explain myself and others in terms of psychological, physiological, moral and emotional development (Hurlock, 1981). That is the reason why I have chosen the topic of development psychology in this coursework. I hope to gain more development psychology knowledge and be able to apply it in all aspects of my life and the lives of those people in my life. References list Hurlock, E. B. (1981). Developmental psychology: A life-span approach. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill. Shaffer, D. R., & Kipp, K. (2010). Developmental psychology: Childhood and adolescence. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Upton, D., & Upton, P. (2011). Psychology express: Development psychology. Harlow: Prentice Hall. Read More