Psychology: Growth and Development Case Study Assignment (Case Study Sample)

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
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Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u 1.0 Growth and development PAGEREF _Toc454835711 \h 22.0 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc454835712 \h 23.0 Erickson’s Development in Childhood PAGEREF _Toc454835713 \h 34.0 Mason’s Childhood Development PAGEREF _Toc454835714 \h 45.0 Mason’s Adolescence Development PAGEREF _Toc454835715 \h 56.0 Erickson’s Development in Adolescence PAGEREF _Toc454835716 \h 77.0 Section Two PAGEREF _Toc454835717 \h 87.1 Challenges in Adulthood PAGEREF _Toc454835718 \h 88.0 Section Three PAGEREF _Toc454835719 \h 98.1 Impact of Multicultural Aspects of Parenting Issues PAGEREF _Toc454835720 \h 99.0 Section Four PAGEREF _Toc454835721 \h 109.1 Recommendations PAGEREF _Toc454835722 \h 1010.0 Section Five PAGEREF _Toc454835723 \h 1110.1 Ethical concerns PAGEREF _Toc454835724 \h 11References PAGEREF _Toc454835725 \h 12
1.0 Growth and development
2.0 Introduction
Life is considered a process that takes place in various stages. Individuals do not remain in the same stage for the whole life. But rather, they undergo growth developments which transform them from one stage to the other. The beginning of growth is immediately after birth and death end the development process (Newman, & Newman, 2014). There are four basic types of growth and development which are; mental, physical, emotional and social growth and developments (Pitman et al., 2011). Different schools of thoughts or developmental frameworks have been advanced by various scholars to explain the various stages of growth and development. Sigmund Freud, Erick Erikson, and other psychologists are among the common figures as far as developmental psychology is concerned. This paper will analyze the developmental characters of Mason Jr. in the Boyhood movie while basing on the Erik Erickson’s points of view on the psychosocial stages of growth and development.
According to Erickson, there are eight stages of growth and development (Newman, & Newman, 2014). Erickson identifies that for each of the eight stages of development, there is a conflict which needs to be addressed for development to be complete. As earlier noted, there should be developmental milestones achieved at every level of development. Erickson suggests that infancy is the first stage and takes a period of one year from birth. Early childhood then sets in from one year to the time the child turns six. Late childhood, which is the third stage, takes place between six and twelve years, while adolescence lasts up to 20 years from twelve years of age. Adulthood is divided into three stages starts from twenty years until the time one ceases to live. Death is the final stage of life and is a stage that everyone experiences.
3.0 Erickson’s Development in Childhood
In the movie, Mason is in his childhood stage of development as the film starts. As time goes by, Mason advances from early childhood to late childhood until he is an adolescent. As per Erikson’s arguments, there are some things that should be noticed as an individual grows. In early childhood and the late childhood, the physical growth and development are expected to take place at a faster rate as compared to that of the former phase. Mental development continues to take place and is manifested with short spans of attention, asking questions and recognition of some words and letters. Schooling starts at this stage because reading and writing skills can easily mastered. Erickson reinstates the importance of good parenting and the impact that a child’s developmental environment can have on their behaviors, particularly in a social context. It’s especially for the fact that children will learn most of obstructing concepts and ideas such as honesty and morality at this point (Pitman et al., 2014).
Concerning mental development, Mason should have self-awareness and the impact they have on other persons. Impatient is evident at this level as children tend to get frustrations when they try out things that are beyond their capacity. When children advance into late adulthood, they obtain distinct personality and find a lot of independence. As compared to early childhood, a child replaces fear and frustrations with abilities to cope. Social development is another aspect that changes. According to Erik, children advance from self-centeredness to a more sociable form of life. They tend to have needs of shelter, food, security and love (Newman, & Newman, 2014). Activities that children have will also go directly towards groups that individual work in. In this stage, the young ones tend to conform more to the group opinions.
Erickson suggests that the conflicts that one faces at this stage are that of inferiority versus industry. A child gets confused as whether they are industrious or not, or whether they are superior or inferior to others. Mason is expected to have some other forms of conflicts manifesting regarding initiatives versus guilt and autonomy against doubt and shame.
4.0 Mason’s Childhood Development
Following what transpires in the movie, Mason’s development conforms to Erickson’s points of view about childhood in some aspects. The physical development for both Mason and his elder sister is well. Their mental development is as par Erickson’s perspectives as Mason starts schooling in his childhood. According to Erickson, it is in this phase that a child learns the skills of reading and writing, and this is what Mason goes through when enrolled in a school. Mason seems to have compromised aspects of his emotional life, especially from the shaky relationship of his parents. Though Erickson suggests that at this stage, children are likely to be frustrated and will get hungry easily, it can be seen that the temperament that Mason develops is especially from the environment that he is exposed to. Mason is easily annoyed by small issues. The need for love and care manifests as the children get concerned when they overhear Mason Sr. telling their mother Olivia that he has no enough time to take care of them.
According to Erickson, social development continues and should be achieved to a greater level. Some of the events that show Mason’s development in the social aspect of life is the point when Mason and his step-siblings share moments together and play video games with a lot of ease. The concept of group preference, rather than self-centeredness is what makes the boy and Samantha easily mingle with their step siblings.
There are some developmental tasks that Mason needs to mediate at this stage. One of the conflicts that need mediation in this step is initiative set against guilt, where a child needs to find justification for the things they do. This conflict seems not to be fully solved as evidenced at the point when the boy watches Olivia and the tutor flirt. Mason has not fully realized his identity and therefore, this task not fully achieved. It’s evident in many of the struggles he makes through schools, parents, and his girlfriend. Studies have shown that people who have their identities right will find it less difficult to cooperate with others (Harmening, 2014).
5.0 Mason’s Adolescence Development
The biological or physical growth and development aspects of Mason’s life are okay. At this stage, his stature and voice have improved as can be seen from the movie and the changes in his voice. In adolescence, though the growth spurts have ceased, masculine development together with the formation of shape is expected. Another aspect that shows a positive development in physical life is his sexual life. Attraction to the opposite sex is one thing that implies a positive development. Mason befriends Sheena while in High School and gets a lot of attention from girls.
Mason seems to face a lot of challenges so that some of the tasks and conflicts are not well arbitrated. Lack of proper parental care and lack of a stable family are some of the factors that led to the poor development of Mason’s life. In most cases, as studies have shown, incidences of bullying are rampant especially in cases when the bullied have a problem cooperating with others in a positive way (Pitman et al., 2011). The incidences where Mason was bullied are clear indications of the problems he has in his social life.
Mason’s mental and emotional development is problematic. Mason must have had traumatic issues from the experiences he receives from his parents. In the first place, Olivia and Mason Sr. have a shaky relationship that ends up in divorce. Though Mason was young at this point, he feels the impact of poor parental relations, and this ultimately affects his adolescence. When Olivia enters into another marriage, the same challenges are experienced, which are more harmful than the first matrimony. Bill is controlled by alcoholism and is abusive to children. Childhood and adolescent maltreatment are among the factors that contribute to more of defiant cases in juveniles (Harmening, 2014).
Traumatic exposures that Mason receives, maltreatment both from Bill and his peers and the poor relationships that Olivia goes through are among the factors that contributed to the lack of conciliations of some tasks at this stage manifested in Mason's behavior and indulgences. By his fifteenth birthday, Mason had started using substances. According to research, some of the reasons for substance abuse include stress and anxiety, peer pressure, as a means of escaping psychological problems, and copying from parents or hereditary influences. All this have an implication that Mason's development, especially in the adolescents, has been negatively influenced by poor parenting, abuse, and poor environmental factors. The abuse and poor treatment he gets from school, poor social relationships,...