Developmental Profile

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A human being begins life as a single cell. This cell changes throughout its life time to develop into a unique individual. Human development is the scientific study of the patterns associated with this change in accordance with the internal and external conditions of its existence (Papalia, Olds & Feldman, 2009). In exploring human development, there are three key areas that need to be addressed. These comprise of physical development, cognitive development and finally psychosocial development. Within each of these areas, it is apparent that most address three key issues. Firstly, is the development process continuous or a series of discontinuous stages? Secondly is there one path of development characteristics or does the individual take an active or passive role resulting in several possible paths and directions? Thirdly how do the genetic or environmental factors influence development? “Theorists such as Erikson and Piaget assume that developmental change occurs in distinct, discontinuous stages and all individuals follow the same sequence and order”(Hoffnung, Seifert, Smith, Hine, Ward & Quinn, 2010, p.34). While Brofenbrenner’s, ecological systems theory emphasises the broad range of situations and contexts in which development occurs making it a continuous process guided by the individual (Hoffnung,et al., 2010, p.35). The purpose of this paper is to present a developmental profile of a 17 year old middle class white girl living in Brisbane, Australia. This person will be referred to as Jane. She is very slight in her build weighing 50kg and standing 170cm tall. Jane is currently studying a science degree at university, with the intention of studying medicine. She lives at home with her parents who have been happily marr... ... middle of paper ... ...nce Ltd. Papalia, D. E., Olds, S. W., & Feldman, R. D. (2010). Human development (4th ed.). NY: McGraw Hill. Reiss, D. (1995, August 1). Implications for development. Journal of Marriage and Family, 57(3), 543-560. Rogoff, B. (1991). Apprenticeship in thinking: Cognitive development in social context. NY: Oxford University Press. Rosenthal, D. A., Gurney, R. M., & Moore, S. M. (1981). From trust on intimacy: A new inventory for examining Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 10(6), 525-537. Rutter Michael, & Rutter Marjorie. (1993). Developing minds: Challenge and continuity across the life span. NY: Basic Books. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Wertsch, J. V. (1985). Cultural, communication and cognition: Vygotskian perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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