Essay Example on Development: Constancy & Change Across Life

Development is the process that one experiences change and continuity throughout their lives. This concept explores the constancies and changes which emerge in their feelings, physical growth, and how they think. For example, an adolescent experiences various changes in and on their bodies as they grow. Also, individuals thinking changes as they develop, but at times, continuity dominates over the bodily changes. Some of the changes and continuity which occurs in a persons' life cannot be termed as psychological development. For example, changes which arise from weather such as wearing warmer clothing and stays indoors due to cold weather (Blossfeld & Von Maurice, 2011). Therefore, behavior which is triggered by the external forces and does not have any lasting impact on an individuals' feelings, behavior and their mode of thinking cannot be termed as psychological development.

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Consequently, the psychological development is determined by age where an individual's behavior and their way of thinking changes as one grows old. The personal identity tends to change due to age development as ones' character undergoes through the patterns of stability, growth change throughout their lives. For example, one experiences change in weight and height more rapidly during their adolescent years, but it slows during their middle ages. Also, as one age, they tend to relate differently with their peers, co-workers and family members since they believe that every individual has a unique lifestyle. Language use is more developed in older individuals than in children and teenager since one has been exposed to lots of worldly things which changes their behavior (Huppert, 2009). Therefore, language use and ability, thinking and strategies for recalling information changes as ages hence making age a significant factor in developmental psychology.

Nutritional status also affects development and growth among persons since an individuals' body requires an appropriate nutrient supply for its healthy growth. The need for various nutrients varies depending on the phase of development. For example, young ones require high amounts of nutrients since they experience faster growth than adults. Also, in most countries where there is malnutrition, people are underweight, and they encounter more top cases in stunting. Children who are malnourished experience a slower grower rate due to the absence of vital nutrients in their diets. Hormones present in a person body are referred to as growth supporting substances since they regulate growth and development (Blossfeld & Von Maurice, 2011). For example, hormone testosterone facilitates growth in men, thus affecting their bodily characteristics. Some foods tend to affect hormonal production in a persons' body, thus affecting their growth rate. Therefore, checking on the nutritional levels in ones' diet helps in promoting their growth and development.

Issues in the Field of Developmental Psychology

The issues which are in developmental psychology are Nature versus Nurture, continuity versus discontinuity and early experiences versus late experiences. Nature versus Nurture is among the oldest arguments in psychology and physiology. Some of the philosophers and great thinkers indicate that some ideas might be inborn while other states that mind happens to be a blank slate at birth but with experience one acquires knowledge. The integration between nature and Nurture leads to development among humans. For example, some of the developmental aspects such as adolescent are biological, but they might be affected by environmental factors (Burman, 2016). Therefore, nature and Nurture tends to be the vital issues which affect development and growth among individuals.

Furthermore, development occurs as children continue to grow old while some of the skills only emerge at a specific point of growth, thus being referred to as continuity versus discontinuity. For example, the psychoanalytic theories are influenced by Sigmund Freud work, which stated that development occurs in various psychosexual stages (Burman, 2016). Also, learning methods indicates how the environment affects the behavior of people. Some of the learning theories include social learning, classical and operant conditioning. Therefore, in every stage, the behavior of individuals tends to be shaped by the way people interact with the environment hence leading to continuous and discontinuous changes.

Developmental psychology also includes importance in early experiences versus those occurring later in life. Both the events which occur in peoples' lives during their early childhood stages and in later life tend to affect their development. For example, a child's personality is usually developed during their early stages, thus making those who experience abusive or deprived childhoods face challenges while growing (Burman, 2016). Also, some of the researchers indicate that most individuals who experienced a less perfect life end up developing normally and becoming responsible adults.

Research Methods Used to Study Development

Researchers use the longitudinal study in observing the same individuals over a given period. The researchers focus on a persons' consistency and inconsistency and their developmental sequences. Longitudinal studies are helpful since they allow the researchers to acquire accurate information on the various circumstances and occurrences which happen in a participants' life. Also, this method prevents biasness which might be experienced whenever an individual tries to recall the events which occurred during their earlier life stages. The longitudinal approach represents every socioeconomic level in the society, thus drawing obsolete conclusions regarding growth in that study area. Additionally, the longitudinal method is time-consuming and expensive as it takes many years when trying to find answers to the research questions (Blossfeld & Von Maurice, 2011). During the research, some individual who is used as the sample might move away or drop out of the study, thus making the researchers not to achieve their set goals and objectives.

The cross-sectional research method is used when comparing individuals of multiple age groups or cohorts concerning the psychological variables. Some of the variables which are used in this study are the cognitive ability, emotional development, self-esteem, parenting styles and the relationships at specific points. For example, children who are aged three and those with age six can be compared depending on their ability to differentiate between the apparent and real emotions (Blossfeld & Von Maurice, 2011). Therefore, the cross-sectional studies are essential in providing descriptions about the age-related trends within a short period. This makes the method to become convenient since the findings which are generated are up-to-date by the time when research is completed. Cross-sectional methods might be disadvantageous since they do not provide data concerning the individual differences since comparisons are only limited to the means of age groups. Therefore, the cohort effects tend to affect persons who are in a particular age differently.

Developmental studies use the micro genetic designs as they include in-depth investigations regarding changes which are experienced in particular behaviors as they are happening. The researchers tend to capture the change processes as they observe how they occur within the microcosm. This method is useful when studying the cognitive developments among certain groups of people. The technique is disadvantageous to the researchers as they spend much time when trying to analyze the individual behavior to confirm changes which occur among them (Blossfeld & Von Maurice, 2011). Therefore, the micro genetic designs are beneficial since they inform persons on various developmental processes as they emerge in people or students.

References

Blossfeld, H. P., & Von Maurice, J. (2011). 2 Education as a lifelong process. Zeitschrift fur Erziehungswissenschaft, 14(2), 33-68. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/TREVOR/Downloads/Lifespan_Development_in_an_Educational_Context_Edi...(Pg_33--68).pdf

Burman, E. (2016). Deconstructing developmental psychology. Routledge. Retrieved from https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/psychology/development-psychology/introduction-to-developmental-psychology/issues-in-developmental-psychology

Huppert, F. A. (2009). Psychological wellbeing: Evidence regarding its causes and consequences. Applied Psychology: Health and WellBeing, 1(2), 137-164. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227739103_Psychological_Well-Being_Evidence_Regarding_Its_Causes_and_Consequences