Views of Human DevelopmentBy: Jocelyn B. CameroViews of Human Developmentthese paradigms of human development, while obviously lacking in scholastic rigor, provide us with a conceptual framework for understanding ourselves and others.

discuss several aspects of human development

Darwin's Theory of EvolutionCharles Darwin (1809-1882) believed that young untrained infants share many characteristics with their nonhuman ancestors and that observing child development might provide insights into the evolutionary history of the human species.Freud's Psychoanalytic TheorySigmund Freud (1856-1939) challenged prevailing notions of human nature and human development by proposing that we are driven by motives and emotions on which we are largely unaware and that we are shaped by our earliest experiences in life. Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development Erik Erikson (1902- ) revised Freud's theory by placing more emphasis on social influences, emphasizing the ego, expressing a more positive view of human nature, and applying the theory across the entire life span.Piaget's Cognitive Developmental TheoryJean Piaget (1896-1980) viewed intelligence as a process that helps an organism adapt to its environment and proposed four major periods of cognitive development.BehaviourismJohn B. Watson believed that conclusions about human development and functioning should be based on observations of overt behavior rather than on speculations about unconscious motives or cognitive processes that remain unobservable.Skinner's Operant Conditioning TheoryB. F. Skinner believed that the essence of human development is the continual acquisition of new habits of behaviour and that these learned behaviors are controlled by external stimuli (reinforcers and punishers)Bandura's Social CognitiveTheoryAlbert Bandura claimed that humans are cognitive beings whose active processing of information from the environment plays a major role in learning and human development.Vygotsky's Cognitive TheoryLev Vygotsky insisted that children's minds are shaped by the particular social and historical context in which they live and by their interactions with adults.Information Processing TheoryThe information processing approach to human development emphasizes the fundamental mental processes involved in attention, perception, memory, and decision-making by using a computer analogy.Biobehavioral TheoriesThese theories look to investigate the extent to which genetic and environmental differences among people or animals are responsible for differences in their traits.Bowlby's Attachment TheoryJohn Bowlby believed that many infant behaviors that promote emotional attachments have evolved because they make it more likely that the infant will be cared for by adults and will therefore survive.Cross-Cultural TheoriesThis perspective looks to find the typical rather than the unique and look for the underlying similarities among cultures in order to define universal occurrences.Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory of DevelopmentUrie Bronfenbrenner emphasized that the developing person is embedded in a series of environmental systems that interact with one another and with the individual to influence development.Contextual TheoriesThese perspectives hold that development arises from the ongoing interrelationships between the changing organism and a changing world. Changes in the person produce changes in his or her environment, changes in the environment produce changes in the person, and this interchange goes on continuously.Risk and Resiliency TheoriesThese theories investigate the survival of individuals (resiliency) that are faced with adversity (risk).Socialization Across CultureAn exchange with another culture may lead up to psychological growth and a better understanding of who we are, what we value, and where we might want to go. an exchange with persons from other cultures can cause psychological disturbance, it, at the same time, offers a vehicle for personal growth. cross-culture encounter and the anxiety accompanying the process are regarded as the functional elements that get individuals prepared to achieve self-transcendence and self-renewal. Several cross-cultural adaptational models have been developed to address various psychological stages an individual undergoes when immersed in a different culture over a long period of time.

Bennetts Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMLS)}seeks to explain process of how people make sense of cultural differences, and to "diagnose stages of development for individuals or groups (Bennett, 1993: 24)

}The central concepts in the DMIS theory are ethnocentrism and ethnorelativism. Bennett (1993) defines ethnocentrism as the assumption "that the worldview of one's own culture is central to all reality" , and ethnorelativism as the understanding that cultures are relative to one another within a cultural context

}The model presents six stages that fall into one of those two domains. Three of these stages are identified as ethnocentric Denial, Defense, and Minimization, and three others Acceptance, Adaptation, and Integration are categorized as ethnorelative.

}the graphic illustrates the main change along the line of intercultural competence occurs from ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism. In other words, from an understanding of your own culture as being superior to an understanding of your own culture as equal in value and complexity to any other culture.

Cross Cultural Theory: Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity

Denial: When in this first stage, individuals refuse all interaction with other cultures and show no interest in discovering cultural differences. They may also act agressively during cross cultural situations.

}Defense: In this stage, individuals consider all other cultures to be inferior to their own culture and will constantly criticise behaviour or thoughts by someone from another culture.

}Minimization: When this stage is reached, individuals will start believing that all cultures share commom values. They will also minise any cultural dfferences by correcting people to match their expectations.

}Acceptance: At this stage, individuals may still judge other cultures negatively but they will tend to recognise that cultures are different and they may become curious about cultural differences

}Adaptation: During this stage individuals gain the ability to adapt their behaviour more easily and effectively by intentionally changing their own behaviour or communication style.

}Integration: This stage tends to only be achieved by long term expatriates living and working abroad or Global Nomads. In this stage, individuals instinctively change their behaviour and communication style when interacting with other cultures.