Essay Sample on Position on Core Themes

Developmental psychology is one of the most exciting fields that involves the scientific study of why and how human beings change throughout their life. There are three conflicting tenets in the development process for all of humanity; nature vs. nurture, stability vs. change, and continuity vs. discontinuity (Burman, 2008). The three conflicts make up the core themes of human development. Even so, the specific part of the tenet that influences the growth and development of human beings is debatable. This essay provides an overview of the three tenets and their impacts on human development.

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The factors that influence human development are covered in the nature vs. nurture core conflict. Nurture favors human development through influence from the environment they stay in during their growth by acquiring the skills over time. Nature, on the other hand, is in favor of change via influence from the genetic makeup of people’s bodies (Garcia Coll et al., 2014). This debate has raised many issues in human life as there is evidence to support either side of the argument. Even so, human beings are more inclined towards being nurtured than influenced by their genetic makeup. There are cases of the genetic makeup of an individual affecting their growth by predisposing them to certain conditions. Naturally, the environment impacts the development process more than their genetic makeup does.

The continuity vs. discontinuity conflict arises from stages of development. Continuity views growth as a continuous process in which succession follows a smooth transition by slowly learning what is ahead while you get there. Unlike the continuity view, discontinuity, as a view, portrays development to have stages. The transition from one level to the next in the discontinuity view involves a discrete stop-start between two adjacent groups. While there are stages of growth in the development process, it is not stepped. Change takes place in continuity where transitions are smooth, and there is no sudden succession from one stage to the next. The ordinary human being naturally goes through the continuity view. Skills and abilities are acquired over time in the life of a person.

Stability vs. change conflict is inclined toward the personality of people. In this conflict, stability portrays the character of human beings as staying the same in their entire life (Caspi et al., 2005). The changing view represents human personality as one that can be changed or modified by the interactions they have with their surroundings (Caspi et al., 2005). The personality of a person can remain the same for a very long time, but that is only possible under select conditions where it is controlled. A person grows to associate themselves with the change side of the conflict when they are in a natural environment in which a person grows without freely without external interference.

In a nutshell, nature vs. nurture, stability vs. change, and continuity vs. discontinuity are all significant conflicts that shape human development. Even so, a generalist perspective favors an identity with one side in the conflicts. Growth and development are influenced more by the environment a person grows in. Life changes transition smoothly rather than suddenly, and their interactions with their surrounding elements affect a person’s personality. As a professional, one is more likely to take a side in which growth takes to nurture, change, and continuity as their core themes.

References

Burman, E. (2008). Deconstructing developmental psychology. Routledge.Caspi, A., Roberts, B., & Shiner, R. (2005). Personality Development: Stability and Change. Annual Review of Psychology, 56(1), 453-484. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141913

Garcia Coll, C., Bearer, E., & Lerner, R. (2014). Nature and Nurture. Taylor and Francis.