Perspectives Case
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Developmental psychology is one of the most well-known research specialties in the psychology field. The definition of this branch of psychology is “the study of how humans grow, develop, and change throughout a lifespan” (Wood and Wood, 2006, p.120). Charles Darwin began this urge to understand the components of evolution and from his ideas emerged the study of humans throughout a lifetime. There have been many psychologists and researchers that have developed theories within this branch of psychology. John Locke had the assumption that all people are born with a clean slate and Jean Rousseau also gave the idea that everyone is instinctively good (Wood and Wood, 2006). Throughout this paper two development theories will be examined as well as the ongoing debate of nature versus nurture.
The goal in the science of human development is to understand how and why people everywhere develop, change, or remain the same of a period of time (Berger, 2008). When thinking of human development as a science it is important to remember that with any science comes theories, analysis, and critical thinking. This type of science is not limited to a specific group of people the science of human development prides itself on diversity. The third and final element in the science of human development is transformations. This science includes all changes throughout a lifetime; every human has a beginning and an end (Berger, 2008).
Within the world of development there are five principles that help researchers understand the connections between one moment in life and another. These five principals are; multidirectional, multicontextual, multicultural, multidisciplinary, and plasticity. The multidirectional principle happens when changes occur in all directions and predictable growth is evident (Berger, 2008). Multicontextual tells one that humans are embedded in many contexts including family, historical, and economic (Berger, 2008). Multicultural tells one that many cultures affect the way a person develops throughout his or her life. Multidisciplinary is what makes up the insights and data portion of this science (Berger, 2008). These fields include psychology, biology, religion, history, medicine, education, and economics. The final principal is plasticity and it tells one that any individual can be altered at any point in his or her life. Within this principle lies and important concept; “Change is ongoing and is never random or easy” (Berger, 2008).
To better understand the development of a human throughout a life span one must look deep inside the theories that make development what it is. The first theory that will be examined is psychoanalysis. By definition this theory is “the term Sigmund Freud used for both his therapy of personality and his therapy for the treatment of psychological disorders; the unconscious is the primary focus of psychoanalytic theory” (Wood and Wood, 2006, p.9). The simplest way to remember this theory is for one to think of mental health as an iceberg. The visible and also smallest part of an iceberg represents the conscious mental health experience of a person. The second potion of the iceberg hidden underwater is the unconscious. This portion of mental health contains wishes and desires that one may not openly express. Freud maintained that people do not consciously manage their thoughts, feelings, and behavior but rather they are determined by unconscious forces (Heffner, 2004).
Another portion of this theory was the theory of personality that includes the id,