Ecological Models of Human Development, Research Paper Example

Describe the major biological (including neurobiological), psychological, social, and developmental factors that should be considered in an assessment of the case.

The psychological factors that should be taken into account concern the circumstances of her sexual abuse and how this might contribute to her emotional states.  Sociological factors include the situation that she is going through with her parent’s difficult marriage and divorce, and how that might affect her.  Developmental factors include her difficulty in school, and her lack of abilities in regards to associating with the other children.

Apply at least 3 dynamic systems theory concepts/terms that are helpful in assessing the case. Place each concept in bold-face type.

Variability

 This includes changes and inconsistencies in the individual’s behavioral and developmental patterns.

Diversity

 The underlying characteristics of these individuals is important to consider, and their impact on their early development.

Context

 This idea demonstrates the importance of context, or situation, in understanding an individual’s development. Apply at least 3 concepts/terms from the ecological perspective that are helpful in assessing the case. Place each concept in bold-face type.

Environment

The location that a person grows up in and the health of their surroundings has an impact on their development.

Relationships

The people that are associated with throughout a person’s life can have an impact on their development.

Society

The social class or structure that a person belongs to has an impact on the way that they develop.

Discuss at least 1 strength and 1 limitation of each of the theories (ie, dynamic systems and ecological) for understanding this particular case. Avoid a general discussion of strengths and weaknesses.

Dynamic systems

The strength and weakness of this system both lie in its reliance on mathematics.  “Mathematics is the language of dynamical systems, which is both a strength and a weakness for the psychological sciences” (Bertenthal 2).  Its strength is that these applications can have strong and lasting impacts on the ideas of development, however, the weakness is that this reliance on preexisting mathematical understanding makes it inaccessible to some.

Ecological Systems

The strength of ecological systems is in their ability to empathetically understand human and cultural systems, however, this is reliant on the idea of reason and human nature.  “Systems analysts assume that all systems are similar” (Siporin 520).  In this way, the diversity or complexity of these systems makes it difficult for these ideas to be accurate in a non-general way.  The reliance of these ideas on human rationality is an example of this.

References

Bertenthal, B.I. (2005). Dynamical Systems. Data Analytic Techniques for Dynamical Systems. Mahwah: Erlbaum, 1-22.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1994). Ecological Models of Human Development. International Encyclopedia of Education, Oxford: Elsevier, 3(2), 37-43.

Rose, L. T., Fischer, K. W. (2006). Dynamic systems theory. In R. A. Shweder, Chicago companion to the child. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1-6.

Siporin, M. (1980). Ecological Systems Theory in Social Work. Western Michigan University, 7(4), 507-532.

Smith, L.B. (2003). Development as a Dynamic System. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Elsevier, 7(8), 343-348.

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