The Reciprocal Self and the Developmental Theory (Essay Sample)

The Reciprocal Self and the Developmental Theory
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The Reciprocal Self and the Developmental Theory
What stood out for me is that human development spans across a person's lifespan. These life stages include infancy, childhood, teenage, young and middle adulthood, and old age. This lifespan development is drawn based on a biblical framework of rationality that defines the purpose of human development to be reciprocating self (Balswick et al., 2005). Reciprocating self implies being fully and securely connected to others and God.
These ideas are in opposition to my current view on human development. I have always thought that humans develop up to middle adulthood, after which they stop developing. While I understand that human development continues from infancy to adulthood, I did not know it continues to old age. In addition, I considered human development to be the physical and biological growth involving the advancement in the physical posture and body organs. Surprisingly, human development encompasses various aspects, which fully and securely connect one to others and God. My understanding of human development is shaped by my observations on how an individual grows from infancy to adulthood.
While my view on human development is different, the author has expounded my opinion on this concept. I, therefore, agree with the author that human development is a reciprocating elf. As we develop across the life stages, we are confronted by various developmental issues, including tensions, concerns, worries, and crises in the context of change. These issues are more pronounced at developmental transition points such as learning to talk and walk, starting to eat without assistance, going to school, getting married, changes in body features at puberty, getting employed, and many more. Considering this, we can only negotiate these developmental issues by being self in reciprocating relationships. God gives us this ability because He has created human beings for relationships.
This topic has shaped my view on human development and helped me better understand the Christian appl