Discussion Assignment Instructions
Directions: You must respond to the 2 replies below of at least 100 words each. To encourage an atmosphere of a conversational discussion, citations and references are not required for the reply posts.
However, any sources cited must have been published within the last five years unless the student is citing classic or historical theoretical information or research. Acceptable sources include course materials, scholarly peer-reviewed sources, and/or the Bible, in current APA format, with at least 1 of the sources being from course materials or scholarly, peer-reviewed articles or texts. Each reply must be labeled in order to know which classmate you are responding to.
Classmate One: I found the materials in Modules 1 and 2 to be very interesting and thought-provoking. It has been a very long time since I took my undergraduate developmental psychology course (around 1993). That is a long way back to remember the specifics of a course. Still, I can distinctly recall when learning about developmental theories with split approaches (nature versus nurture), such as the Five Factor Theory (FFT) view of personality (nature side) and Vygotsky’s views (nurture side), wondering why someone would limit their thinking to just one side or the other. I recall having to defend a “side” with real-life examples (I am probably showing my age here). It has always seemed to me that both nature and nurture interact to influence an individual’s development through their lifetime.
I do not recall learning about the relational developmental systems (RDS) based model of development in 1993, but I am very excited to expand my understanding of human development through that lens this semester. The discussion regarding the bi-directional relation between development and evolution was most intriguing about RDS in our readings thus far. Specifically, Lerner (2018) discussed Robert Lickliter’s view that not only does development influence the features of an individual that emerge across ontogeny, but it also influences evolution. Lickliter, as cited by Lerner (2018, p.33), notes that there is research to suggest “that cells can transmit information to daughter cells through non-DNA, epigenetic means.” Therefore, an organism’s physical and behavioral characteristics develop from the interactions among genes, cells, and the physical and social environments in which the organism exists. From my understanding of the readings, this is foundational to RDS. Lerner et al. (2015) suggest the RDS-based approach to human development aims to produce impactful, evidence-based research that addresses and ideally eliminates challenges to healthy development for diverse children, families, and communities.
References
Lerner, R. M. (2018). Concepts and theories of human development (4th ed.). Routledge.
Lerner, R. M., Johnson, S. K., Buckingham, M. H., Lerner, R. M., Johnson, S. K., & Buckingham, M. H. (2015). Relational Developmental Systems‐Based Theories and the Study of Children and Families: Lerner and Spanier (1978) Revisited. Journal of Family Theory & Review., 7(2), 83–104.
Classmate two: Developmental psychology looks at growth and development across the lifespan, while focusing on areas such as social, cognitive, and physical changes that can occur. Developmental psychologist and science are the individuals responsible for making advances through questions and research (Lerner, 2018). Developmental science offers the ability to empirically add to or substantiate theories and ideas that can help us better understand and aid in understanding growth and development (Lerner, 2018). These are tools that can help make great strides in helping professions such as medicine, counseling, psychology, etc.
I find that I always enjoy reading about early philosophers and their contribution to science. It is the ability to go back to the beginning and see how the field has grown and how many of the ideas of early philosophers paved the way for research today. I think the most surprising thing I discover when reading about development is the vast amount of contribution and theory out there.
Plato was a major contributor to developmental science as we know it because he created a solid line between mind and body, offering insight into not only what humans are like, but also considering how nature-nurture plays into human development (Lerner, 2018). Sproul (2000) described Plato’s work as attempting to find a way to combine “being and becoming” and “change and permanence” (p. 33). A lot of the work I do as a therapist involves working with clients, which a lot of these early philosophers were trying to do the same. Think of how different the science of development would be if we did not have so many avenues of seeing and understanding the person and body as a whole. Without the early philosophers, science would likely not have rooted itself in understanding the age-old questions surrounding the understanding of mind, body, and spirit.
References
Lerner, R. M. (2018). Concepts and theories of human development. Routledge. New York.
Sproul, R. C. (2000). The consequences of ideas. Crossway. Illinois.
