Reference no: EM13945380

The below assignment has been written by another student. Please read it very carefully and reply to it by providing at least 250 meaningful words, APA format, at least one in-text cite and from at least one academic resource. Textbook-Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2015). The life span: Human development for helping professionals (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Thanks (Shana) Human growth and development theories have been supported by many researchers throughout time. These theories support research that shows how humans grow, develop, and learn during their lifespans. Erik Erickson and Anna Freud studied the psychoanalytic theory which focuses on attitudes and feelings toward ourselves and others.

This theory was broken down into eight psychosocial stages. The first five resemble the key elements in Freud's psychosexual stages but the last three deal with adult life stages. More people like this model because it addresses the fears and attitudes we have out ourselves and others as well as takes into account cultural differences in behavioral development.

Another theory that has been widely researched is Jean Piaget's cognitive development theory which states that a child's understanding and reasoning skills emerge naturally and in stages and that the parents best way to assist is by letting them have the freedom to explore their own environments. Piaget breaks down his development into four stages that people go through starting at birth. During these stages we learn how to think logically and make concrete decisions.

The four stages are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. One of the earliest researchers being Sigmund Freud who broke down his theory into 5 stages, called Freud's Psychosexual Stages of Development. These theories explore the human personality development from birth through adulthood. This model shows how individuals foster the growth of their ego and superego as we grow in life. He states we are born with a basic concept of whom we are, our id, that enables us to know what basic instincts we need to survive. As we maneuver through the five stages of psychosexual development we begin to develop our ego that supports the cognitive and physical skills.

The ego is the portion of us that balances out our id and superego. During the superego stage we develop a basic concept of what society deems as right and wrong moral principles. Although, Freud's research is widely used it has not been supported by empirical support. Spiritual development has a strong connection to a person overall well-being. Being in touch with our spiritual side allows us to evaluate things from a different perspective as well as it guides us in the everyday decisions we make regarding life. I think it is almost impossible to continue doing research on how we grow and go through life phases as individuals without incorporating the impact that religion and spiritual guidance have on us.

Train up a child in the way he should go:

and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6King James Version (KJV) As we continue to study human growth and development we have to always remember that the children are our future. We have to train them in a way that allows them to explore while still holding them accountable for their everyday actions.

They just like adults will make mistakes but we have to give them the knowledge needed to make informed choices.