(Name of Professor)
- Chapter 8
This chapter of the book provides an insight about Developmental Psychology which is a field of study about age-based changes in experiences and behavior. Our cognitive ability, behavior and social interaction skills and the kind of our learning experiences evolve in various stages of learning and development from infancy until our lifetime. Our behavioral and cognitive development is influenced equally by genetics and our environment. My experience supports this insight because I know some people who are inherently intelligent with parents who are also smart and intellectually conversant. On the other hand, I also believe that my learning experiences are also influenced by my environment where I learn to become more decisive and confident because I am able to socially interact with my peers, giving me the opportunity to develop and discover my own talents and skills when I am with them. My social, emotional and cognitive development and learning experiences are due to the influence of the people around me as well as from my environment. My early life experiences contribute significantly on how I am able to develop my emotion or feelings, my cognitive and social ability in becoming the person of who I am now.
- Chapter 9
This chapter discusses about the basic needs of an individual which is clearly represented by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Our basic needs for survival such as foods, clothing and shelter are important for survival but there are other needs that we need to address that tends to motivate us such as the need for love from others, self esteem and personal growth and fulfillment. In my experience I need to feed myself to meet my biological needs. I also need to interact with others in order to experience the sense of belongingness and affection from my peers. I am likewise motivated to study hard in order to achieve self fulfillment as a rewarding experience that allows me to gain my self confidence and self satisfaction.
- Chapter 10
This chapter tackles gender formation and how an individual is able to perceive oneself as a female or male. The environment plays an important role in the gender development of a person but family provides the strongest influence especially during the early years of the life of an individual. The perception of a person of his gender begins in the home and it is reinforced further by peers and one’s social interaction with others. I grow up in a family that gave me the perception from the very beginning that I belong to the female gender and this is further strengthened when I started to play dolls with other girls and wearing girl’s clothes. Interacting with others of the same sex is an influencing factor to further reinforce my own gender perception. There are some individuals who manifest abnormal sexual orientation owing to a misplaced gender role development in their early years when for instance a boy interacts mostly with girls and play dolls and other activities that are associated with a girl’s role. Adopting this kind of gender role and activities makes one develops an abnormal sexuality perception as a result.
- Chapter 11
This chapter discusses about the development of different types of personalities owing to one’s life experiences as a result of stress. The development of the four types of personalities (Type A-D) is influenced by the kind of experiences and stress that tend to influence the development of the behavior and personality. These past experiences may be referred as stressors of life, whether negative or positive, that may influence the personality development of a person. In my experience, whenever I experience a negative stress such as being behind my scheduled tasks, I have the tendency to feel anxious and unhappy and even have sleepless night thinking how I could cope up. On one hand, whenever I experience a positive stress, such as taking the role of a leader in a group project, it tends to take me to an inspiring level where although I am pressured to perform the role of a leader, it also motivates me to perform better with an outstanding output.
