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Explain the Principal Psychological Perspectives Applied to the Understanding of the Development of Individuals

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Unit 29 Assignment 1:

* P1 Explain the principal psychological perspectives applied to the understanding of the development of individuals * M1 Discuss the principal psychological perspectives applied to the understanding of the development of individuals * D1 Evaluate the principal psychological perspectives applied to the understanding of the development of individuals

There are numerous debates in regards to developmental psychology. One of the main debates to begin with is nature vs nurture; some individuals believe that we are products of our environment while others regards us while others believe that we are products of our genetics. John Locke believes that when we are born we are a “tabula rasa” a blank slate …show more content…

This theory focuses solely on children’s cognitive development so that is both a strength and a weakness as it gets an in-depth understanding of children’s cognitive processes however it cannot be generalised to adults. Another strength of this theory is the fact that it can be applied practically within the real world, especially in regards to education as it means children can be taught based upon their developmental stage. It is extremely useful in that sense as it is nomothetic so it can be applied to larger population. The theory contains both continuous and discontinuous, it is discontinuous as it contains distinct hierarchal stages. It is good in one sense as it allows professionals to see if a child is meeting the stages and if they do not action can be taken. At the same time it can be disadvantageous as professionals, such as teachers may not push a child to reach their full cognitive capabilities as they have met the criteria for their age. At the time this was quite revolutionary as children were once considered “little adults” that only has a slightly less mental and developmental capacity. Therefore they may not have learnt as effective as they could, as they may have been taught above or below their capacity. However with that said it has been suggested that his stages of

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