Three Majors Issues of Developmental Psychology

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Matthew Rigsby Dr. Karuso Developmental Psych Tu/Th 9:25 11 March 2013 Major Issues: Development and Growth Since the beginning of time, humankind has been constantly striving to solve the mystery of development. Not until very recently has there been a field of study opened up to this broad field. Three major issues that still are being argued over today are: Nature vs. Nurture, Continuity vs. Stages, and Stability vs. Change. Every psychologist that majors in the field has a differing opinion on each issue, and that in turn affects the public's view on each subject and how they see development as a whole. However, since there is not one crystal clear answer to any of these three questions, the more opinions the better! That is what the field of psychology is really about, it being such a young field of study. Maybe someday, the ultimate truth will surface, but for now, there are only a plethora of opinions. The issue between genetic inheritance and experience is controversial because of the many cases of exceptions. Take, for example, two children shunned by his parents and society at a very young age and this made them very shy. A psychologist could not argue that these children will have problems, socially and mentally. However, through whatever type of therapies or experiences, one of the children was cured and could return to society. The other child remained reclusive and mentally ill through the same efforts. The cured child used the experiences learned later in his/her life to develop enough to be able to function. This is an exception to the notion that nature is the ultimate cause of a person's personality. The fact of the matter is, is that both genetic inheritance and the experiences throughout someone's life are extremely important and work hand to hand to shape that person's traits, goals, values, and morals. With regards to development, the
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