Developmental psychology is a logical approach whose purpose is to explain how and why human beings develop over the course of their life. It is mostly concerned with children and their entire lifespan even though it has widened to include adolescence, adult development, ageing and the entire lifespan. The changes include physical, mental, emotional, intellectual and social growth. Developmental psychology examines how nature influences human development.
Psychology counseling and pediatric in human health can benefit from (re)connecting with positive psychology ; it explores the relationship between counseling psychology and human health and growth. The article discusses the influences of counselling psychology and the history of the disciplines of positive psychology. The author discusses some of the barriers and of psychology and the misunderstanding of the practice. The approach used to focus on each concept highlights the framework, with an emphasis on posttraumatic growth. The focuses of implementing these concepts contribute to a strength-based approach. The author gives elements promoting strength-oriented processes and development to positive importance. ( Steffen, E., Vossler, A., & Joseph, S.2015)
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Developmental psychology is essential to understanding how human grows and develop in different stages of life. Children that do not sit up on their own by nine months, for example, may not be developing properly and may have complications. Realising a problem early enough will help the parents and doctors get the child back to normal development. Motherhood: Variations by Children's Developmental Stages article presents an investigation of children’s developing and how mothers affect their children. This article demonstrates how stress plays a major role in the development. Throughout the article it breaks down the developmental stages and how children experiment with risk-taking behaviours . The article provides clear data of mothers dealing with various aspects of living , demographics and stages of variables. The article provides results from the data collected and how mothers report behaviours and the level of conflict between mothers and child.
A developmental psychologist normally specialises in certain ages during people’s growth. One may focus on childhood development or the old age stage . One specialising in children development will determine whether the child has any developmental disability. On the other hand, a development psychologist may specialise in older people to try and find ways that make it easier for the old people to live more comfortably and independently. The following theories provide useful insight into individuals and society Psychoanalytic Theories:
Psychoanalytic Theories
This theory originated from Sigmund Freud. Through his clinical work with patients suffering from psychological illness, Freud came to suppose that childhood experiences and unconscious needs influenced behaviour . Based on his interpretation, he developed a theory that described development in terms of a series of psychosexual stages. According to Freud, conflicts that occur during each of these stages can have a lifetime influence on personality and presentation.
Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Developmental Theory
Eric Erikson focuses on psychosocial development as a driving force in development. He believes that social interaction and experience plays a decisive role in human development. His eight-stage theory of human development described this process from infancy through death. This theory is presented in the article of an evaluation of ethnicity research in developmental psychology; this article presents an overview of ethnicity and the meaning that relates to developmental psychology. The Eric Erikson indicates studies of DP’s separately, and the adoption to social ecology. The article highlights the history of ethnicity surrounding DP. This is a helpful article because it focuses on the dense views ethnic groups and ethnic ( Gjerde, P. F. 2014)
According to Erikson, the self-image identity is constantly changing due to new experiences and information required on daily interactions in humans. As people face each new stage of development, there is a new challenge that can help further develop or hinder the development of identity.
Learning Theories
Behaviourists believe that psychology needs to focus only on observable and quantifiable behaviours in order to become a more scientific discipline. According to the behavioural perspective, ( Ivan Pavlov 1849–1936) all human behaviour can be described in terms of environmental influences.
Jean Piaget's Cognitive Developmental Theory
This theory explains the development of thought processes and mental states. It evaluates how the thought processes influence the way human understands and interact with the world. The Developmental Change in Social Responsibility during Adolescence explains the hypothesis and stages of development and the experience in cognitive and autonomy development (Lerner and Steinberg, 2004 ). The article provides a study of change in social responsibility and focuses on different methods used to understand adolescence. The article shares the values and the data collected in each group with a concentration on models and growth curves. The article gives an overview of the evidence in each study and how the article suggests further studies and a closer look at social responsibility values
Conclusion
This essay has shown how developmental psychology would help people both young and old in the society. It is believed that a good knowledge of the way humans develop would help humans better understand themselves and the people around them. In conclusion development psychology is beneficial to the society at large.
References
Gjerde, P. F. (2014). An evaluation of ethnicity research in developmental psychology: Critiques and recommendations. Human Development, 57 (4), 176-205. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000362768
Glicksman, S., PhD. (2013). The role of developmental psychology in the lives of individuals with severe and profound intellectual disability. International Journal of Child Health and Human Development, 6 (4), 438. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1625518798?accountid=32521
Luthar, S. S., & Ciciolla, L. (2016). What It Feels Like to Be a Mother: Variations by Children's Developmental Stages. Developmental Psychology, 52 (1), 143-154.
Steffen, E., Vossler, A., & Joseph, S. (2015). From shared roots to fruitful collaboration: How counselling psychology can benefit from (re)connecting with positive psychology. Counselling Psychology Review, 30 (3), 1-11 .
Wray-Lake, L., Syvertsen, A. K., & Flanagan, C. A. (2016). Developmental Change in Social Responsibility during Adolescence: An Ecological Perspective. Developmental Psychology, 52 (1), 130-142.
