LESSON 2 Developing the Whole Person.pdf

Personal Development: LESSON 2 DEVELOPING THE WHOLE PERSON Human Development: The process of where people change and grow throughout their lives. Humans have a need to develop holistically to survive the needs and demands they will encounter in life. Holistic Development: emphasizes the comprehensi...

Personal Development: LESSON 2 DEVELOPING THE WHOLE PERSON Human Development: The process of where people change and grow throughout their lives. Humans have a need to develop holistically to survive the needs and demands they will encounter in life. Holistic Development: emphasizes the comprehensive growth of a person, ensuring that all aspects of their being are nurtured and recognizes that each part of an individual’s life influences the others, and therefore, development should be balanced across all areas. Five Areas of Personal Development Physiological: - Physical changes in body as well as the senses and changes in skills related to movement. - Maturation occurs during puberty stage for both men and women with its notable changes in height, body mass, and even body hair growth. Cognitive : - Characterized by a person’s ability to think and reason out. - Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory: The goal of the theory is to explain the mechanisms and processes by which the infant, and then the child, develops into an individual who can reason and think using hypotheses.  - Piaget (1896-1980) observed his children (and their process of making sense of the world around them) and eventually developed a four- stage model of how the mind processes new information encountered. Examples: Sensorimotor- a. An infant understands that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible, showing the concept of object permanence. b. An infant who is learning to coordinate sensory experiences with physical actions, such as grasping and manipulating objects. Remember the set age and task of Piaget’s model. Preoperational- a. A toddler can engage in pretend play, using objects to represent other things and begin to develop language skills.; b. The child cannot understand that the height is the same despite different appearances. Concrete Operational- a. A child understands that a quantity of liquid remains the same despite being poured into differently shaped containers. b. A child can perform operations such as addition and subtraction but struggles with abstract thinking and hypothetical situations. Formal Operational- a. An adolescent can think about and discuss abstract scenarios and principles. b. A teenager develops the ability to think abstractly and use hypothetical reasoning. Key terms: Schema: one’s existing ideas; Piaget defines it as the mental representation of an associated set of perceptions, ideas, and/or actions. Piaget considered schemata (plural form of schema) to be the basic building blocks of thinking (Woolfolk, 1987); and can be discrete and specific or sequential and elaborate. Assimilation: the adjustment of a schema by adding information similar to what is already known. These pre-existing schemas can either be innate (such as reflexes) or previously acquired (Piaget, 1976). The process of applying the schemas we already possess to understand something new.  Accommodation: the adaptation in which a child or adult develops new schema or modifies existing ones to accommodate new information different from what was already known. The process of changing an existing schema or creating a new one because new information doesn’t fit the schemas one already has. Correcting and changing your mental representations to fit that new information. Equilibrium: a key concept that describes the process of maintaining a balance between assimilation and accommodation. The state of cognitive stability where a person's existing schemas (mental frameworks) adequately explain their experiences. When new information cannot be easily integrated into existing schemas, it creates disequilibrium, prompting a need for accommodation to restore balance. Example: A young child may develop a schema for a dog. They know a dog walks on four legs, is hairy, and has a tail. When the child goes to the zoo for the first time and sees a tiger, they may initially think the tiger is a dog as well. From the child’s perspective, the tiger fits their schema for a dog. (Assimilation- as the child applied the schemas he already possesses to understand something new which is the tiger.) The child’s parents may explain that this is a tiger, a wild animal. It is not a dog because it doesn’t bark, it doesn’t live in people's houses, and it hunts for its food. ( Accommodation- The child creates a new schema, correcting and changing his mental representations of dog to fit that new information of tiger) After learning the differences between a tiger and a dog, the child will modify their existing dog schema and create a new tiger schema. (Equilibrium- if when the child re-encounters a tiger and will identify it as tiger not as a dog, therefore that the existing knowledge base is working.) Emotional: - Process through which individuals experience and manage their emotions, develop a sense of self, form relationships, and navigate social environments. - Emotion according to McLaren (2010), a physiological experience (a  state of awareness) that gives you information about the world, while feelings is your conscious awareness of the emotion itself or reactions to emotions and said to be subjective (as they are) influence by personal experience, beliefs, and memories (Hampton, 2014). Social: - our inborn capacity to relate to others, to connect, and to feel belongingness. Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development: his theory extends across the entire lifespan, proposing that individuals face a series of eight developmental stages, each characterized by a specific conflict crucial for personal growth.The stages span from infancy to late adulthood and focus on developing virtues like hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, love, care and wisdom through resolving crises related to trust, autonomy, initiative, industry, identity, intimacy, generativity and integrity. Focus on the adolescence stage: People who successfully resolve conflicts of identity develop a sense of community and works well with others and contribute to society. Role Confusion Erikson maintains that identity confused youths try to establish their identities by over-identifying with an assortment of heroes, cliques or crowds. Their identity is derived from these heroes, not of their own accomplishments. The successes of these heroes boost their sense of self, but their failings can be a psychological threat to the person who derives their identity from others. Adolescents who are unclear about their identity, Erikson argues, are not their fault, but can be traced to a generation of adults, some of who are unclear about their own values and cannot provide guidance. People who unsuccessfully resolve their conflicts act in a scornful and hostile way towards the community and form associations with others who act in this way. The implicit thinking is “Why should I respect society when society doesn’t respect me?” Each stage involves a specific psychosocial struggle that must be resolved to move on to the next stage. The success or failure of these struggles contributes to the development of an individual's personality and sense of self. Erikson’s psychosocial development theory provides a valuable framework for understanding the complex interplay between psychological growth and social influences across the lifespan Spiritual: - Defined as discovering oneself beyond the ego known as the soul, spirit, or the “inner essence” that is often disregarded or taken for granted. It is experiencing a glimpse of the “inner guide” of one’s belief and values for discovering meaning in life. Your Holistic Development is important especially as an adolescent as it will help you to handle the demands and challenges of daily life with ease and strength. Vital for you to succeed as you reach adulthood. Connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors - In various situations, we have the ability to choose how we will respond, whether our actions are appropriate or not. Often, our thoughts can trigger our feelings, which in turn drive our behavior. When faced with different circumstances, we first generate thoughts. These thoughts then influence our emotions, which subsequently  impact our actions. - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a therapeutic approach that helps people understand and change their patterns of thinking and behavior that contribute to emotional difficulties or mental health issues. - Developed by Aaron Beck, CBT combines cognitive therapy (which focuses on changing negative thought patterns) with behavioral therapy (which focuses on changing unhelpful behaviors). In cognitive-behavioral therapy, we explore the interconnectedness of our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. A thought initiates a feeling, which in turn influences a behavior, leading back to further thoughts, creating a continuous cycle. For instance, if you perceive yourself as a failure, this belief can generate feelings of defeat and worthlessness. These emotions may result in the neglect of valuable opportunities, thereby reinforcing the original thought of failure, perpetuating the cycle. By learning to modify these thoughts—through cognitive challenges—or by positively influencing our emotions through self-talk, or by altering our behaviors with coping strategies, we can impact the entire cycle.