Culture and environment role in the development of individuals
Culture and environment play an instrumental role in the development of individuals in multiple ways. Different societies have varied cultural values that offer yardsticks and parameters for behavioral development, an individual’s belief, and how an individual should behave as dictated by the cultural norms and values in place. Contravention of the existing cultural norms and prescriptions equates to non-conformism, an aspect that is jeered. Thus, culture dictates how an individual should behave and relate with others, and such an issue influences the development of the social, emotional, and psychological view that an individual undertakes. As evident, culture has ideas about what is right or wrong, valued, say, and the correct emotions to employed in different situations, among other vital concepts.
On the other hand, the environment (nurture) shapes up the development of an individual in an equally varied manner. It shapes the behavior, individual perception, relationship, and other social aspects that relate to the individual. The environment has factors that could foster or inhibit development among individuals. Thus, for a holistic development to be attained, there must be a right environment that takes into consideration the social, cognitive, psychological, and emotional growth of the individual (Lumen, 2020). Aspects of hindered development arise when an individual lacks the right environment that could effectively promote development.
Cohort effects are the variations over time that manifests itself through one or more characteristics among the groups of individuals that belong to the same age bracket or within a historical period and have some shared experience among them (Lumen, 2019). The shared experience could also manifest through years of specific exposure, historical experience, collective identity, and other mutual social, behavioral, economic, and political experiences.
The nine stages of human development include; prenatal development, infancy and toddlerhood, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood, late adulthood, and death and dying (Lumen, 2020). Based on the characteristics of different stages of development, I believe that I am currently in the early adulthood since I am in my twenties, an age bracket that perfectly aligns to the dictates of the early adulthood stage. On the other hand, relying on personal knowledge in explaining human development due to the cognitive blinders, biases, and drawing conclusions based on our experiences or what other people have told us (Research Methods, 2020). Such aspects block objectivity in different ways.