In sociology, there are two major theories that explain human development in the society. The evolution theory and the cognitive theory of development by Piaget are the two major theories that explain human development in the society. These theories help students in identifying and understanding the stages they undergo throughout their life and identify some of the challenges that come through and proper ways to solve them. The evolution theory focusses on how and why different complex life forms are diverse and how and when they came into existence. On the other hand, the Piaget’s theories of cognitive development describe in detail the development and reorganization of the human brain and mental processing to enable one to adapt in the environment they live in (i.e. environmental experience) or through the normal biological maturation. For example, a film by the name White Oleander, with the staring character, Astrid whose life development can be explained by the two developmental theories. The paper will help students understand and acknowledge the lifestyles, thinking patterns, behaviors, and habits according to the two theories.
Application of Human Developmental Theories to the Individual Characters
The evolution theory and the cognitive development theory can best describe the characters of the film actors in the White Oleander movie. A social worker can advise the movie character, Astrid, who is seen to have a good beginning and promising life about being equipped with the knowledge of the development of human life. From the cognitive theory of development perspective, the social worker needs to understand and comprehend the character’s circumstances and environment so as to be able to judge and classify them. This also applies to Astrid who needs to comprehend how characters develop and how they put the life-situation of other characters at stake in the course of life development according to the cognitive developmental theory (Demetriou, A., Shayer, M., & Efklides, A. 2016). However, if the movie characters like Astrid, were clients of the social worker in real life, there could have been several challenges that could arise while rendering their services. For example, the family of the main character, Astrid has become too hostile and full of crimes such as murder. The situation of this case study will deem difficult to intervene.
How Cultural Diversity Factors can be used to Intervene
In this kind of environment, there are some cultural diversity factors can be applied by the social worker so as to be able to deal with the situation. For example, the social worker should consider the age of the characters (Barrouillet, P. 2015). According to cultural views, old and young characters have different have different specific needs which can be of social importance. Another factor is the religious practices of the characters. For example, in this case study, Astrid who is a baptized Christian, went to stay with her foster mother who is also a Christian. Religious practices help a social worker know the value systems and beliefs of their clients. The characters’ cultural views about sexual preferences such as traditional relationships, homosexuality, and transgender need to be considered. Astrid, the main character in the movie is the youngest among her fellow characters. At that time, she is only 15 years old. According to the cognitive developmental theory, the other characters are in a formal operational phase, which is a development stage in life that starts at adolescence stage to adulthood (Morss, J. R. 2017).
Newman and Newman Life Development Perspective
According to this life stage model, every individual faces a developmental task in his/her life which helps in promoting their adaptation to their environment (Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. 2017). These developmental tasks help identify the areas of success such as emotional, physical, social-concept maturity, cognitive, and social development. Interacting with different environments helps one to gain new knowledge and strengths in the new places. Psychosocial crisis, according to Newman, is a concept that describes a stage in early adolescence (i.e. 12-18 years), with several features such physical body changes, increase in emotional and cognitive maturity, and peer pressure. These characteristics make the adolescents try to fit in their environment, which results to a psychosocial crisis. The core pathology in adolescent characters grows simply due to inefficiency and solutions that are not positively balanced in every life stage. The core pathologies act as an orientation factor in their behavior.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Cognitive Theory of Development and the Evolution Theory
The theories of cognitive development have been supported for a very long time by enough literature from the Piaget’s theories. The concepts from the Piaget’s have motivated the studies in this field and also the massive comprehension of the discipline. The cognitive development theories have been considered and supported for a long time despite the criticisms. However, the cognitive development theories provide us with just a compound description of human development without an elaborate explanation. The theories also focused more on children failures hence disregarding the capabilities of these children (Morss, J. R. 2017). Finally, the concepts of the life phases are unclear hence creating several overlaps in the course of development.
The major strength of the evolution theory is that it has established a foundation for unfolding the complex patterns in causality in psychological and behavioral phenomena. The theories of natural and sexual selection have provided psychologists with important heuristic values to the adaptive issues in survival. However, in some cases, there is a lack of the necessary genetic information and trade-offs have been factors which constrain the evolution theories.
Conclusion
The theory of cognitive development and the theory of evolution provide very important concepts that can be utilized by psychologists and students in understanding the different developmental stages in life, i.e. childhood, adolescent stage, and adulthood. Life and developmental changes such as physical, emotional, social, mental, and cognitive changes are also described by these theories. Social workers should highly embrace child observation instead of intrusive approaches. This will make the workers more responsible and helps to increase their understanding of the situation at hand and increase public awareness. By acquiring this information, the social worker can be able to professionally guide their clients and inform them about the different life stages, challenges that come about, and how to cope.
References
Barrouillet, P. (2015). Theories of cognitive development: From Piaget to today.
Demetriou, A., Shayer, M., & Efklides, A. (2016). Neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive development: Implications and applications for education. Routledge.
Morss, J. R. (2017). The biologizing of childhood: Developmental psychology and the Darwinian myth. Routledge.
Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2017). Development through life: A psychosocial approach. Cengage Learning.
