Major Themes In Human Development Essay

Major Themes in Human Development
1. We are whole persons throughout the life span.
Biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes work together to make us whole persons. The biological process helps change an individual’s physical nature. The cognitive process denotes the thoughts, intelligence, and language of an individual. Lastly, the socioemotional process contains changes in relationships with other people, emotions, and personality. All three of these processes go hand in hand with each other (Santrock, 2012, p. 13).

2. Human Development proceeds in multiple directions.
As we make decisions from day to day, it has an influence on who we become. Everyone takes different paths throughout their life. Usually the paths they take

Continuity is more unnoticeable changes. I believe that the changes are stage-like. A child says their first word and walks around a certain age. Puberty happens when a child is close to their teenage years. Although it can be a gradual or distinct change, everything a person goes through has stages (Santrock, 2012, pp. 19-20).

4. There is much plasticity in development.
Plasticity is the capacity of change. As a child, plasticity should be easy. Children learn about different subjects in schools, along with different ways to learn. Although intellectual skills are usually fixed around the age of thirty, older adults are still able to improve the skills through training. Plasticity is more of a contemporary element. The older a person gets, the less likely chance of change (Santrock, 2012, p. 7).

5. Nature and nurture truly interact in development.
Humans are influenced by both nature and nurture. Nature is biological inheritance, and nurture is environmental experiences. Both nature and nurture are important in development. Although people grow and develop with biological inheritances, the environmental experiences can depress or boost the growth. If a person lives in a harsh environment, it is likely that their growth is slower than an individual with a more gentle and kind environment. Researchers believe that the more simple growth and development is genetically programmed into people (Santrock, 2012, p.