Discuss the extent to which human beings are determined by t
What was obvious in setting up this argument were the conflicts and complementary aspects of the several perspectives reviewed. In the first instance psychoanalytical perspectives underpinning attachment theory is seen to conflict with the humanistic perspective, for example, the coexisting stage theories of Erikson and Piaget. Within the psychoanalytic perspective conflict exists when comparing Freud's original woks with current thinking in Bowlby's attachment theory. In contrast the cognitive and psychometric perspectives underpin current works in understanding studies of functioning in adult life. In this argument it is proposed that development during the lifespan is the result of many interacting influences, both internal and external (Wood, Littleton & Oates, 2002, p8). It is not doubted that early developmental experiences have (some) deterministic effects on our psychology. It can be argued that in many areas of development there may be certain developmental routes along which individuals may travel (Wood, Littleton & Oates, 2002, p21), but to conclude these are deterministic is debatable against the probabilistic theory (Wood, et al, 2002, p21) that argues that outcomes are more or less likely to occur than being subject
In addition to Piaget, another major influence in the area of human development was Erik Erikson (Miell, et al, 2002, p54 & Wood, et al, 2002, p39-41, 42, 43) whose eight stages of psychosocial development, encompassing the entire life span from infancy through old age, inspired an interest in the continuation of development past childhood. Bowlby's views on the nature of attachment revolutionised thinking about social development embedded within the sociocultural perspective. Indeed psychological development is seen as occurring during adulthood as well as childhood and adolescence. What Freud saw as significant was the degree to which those needs were either met or frustrated by the parents: extremes at either end, frustration of gratification, resulted in fixation that stunted development. The concept of developmental contextualism is especially important in this argument; that there are multiple levels of influence; supporting the argument that the individual's psychological growth is not simply predicated by early life developmental experiences. It was chiefly due to Erikson's work that developmental psychology expanded its view, taking on what is referred to within the field as the lifespan approach (Wood, et al, 2002, p41),Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the first theorist to link childhood experience with adult behaviour, proposed what is perhaps the most widely known but least understood theory of childhood development. Whilst Bowlby's ideas centralised around the primary attachment relationships (Wood, et al, 2002, p29) it should be borne in mind that earned secure adult attachment theory (p29) suggests that development may not be conditional upon establishing a specific internal working model during early experiences. In contrast, later developmental psychologists expanded on Freud's work, and proposed new schemes of development. The interplay of nature and nurture, rather than the importance of one over the other, however, has gained a greater emphasis in the work of more recent figures, notably the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (Wood, et al, 2002, p52), whose theory of cognitive development in children has been a model for much subsequent work in the field. Attachment theory highlights two explicit assumptions; individuals have a specific style of approach that is a consistent characteristic of them as individuals (Wood, et al, 2002, p36), and these styles have their origins in previous relationships. Bowlby's favouring of ethological data and dissatisfaction with the conflicts with psychoanalytic theory led him to consider the dynamic aspects of the infant-mother tie - how infants use cues to elicit care giving, and whether mothers respond to such cues. Erikson's theory of development is also based on his belief that biology, or genetics, requires that individuals pass through these stages. Initially, developmental psychologists focused primarily on childhood development, believing that with adulthood came a kind of personality stasis. Piaget's first contribution was to define intelligence as a process of volitional, cognitive endeavour a person undertakes to make sense of the world.
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Acceptance Essays
