Child Development: Psychological Factors and Theories Coursework

The development of a child depends on several factors that have been the subject matter of psychology through the centuries. There are diverse ways in which the development of a child can be looked at therefore the theoretical bases of the topic differ considerably. Various factors such as the psychological environment, the influence of the parents, family, society, etc influence the development of a child. The theories that deal with the basic questions regarding this can contribute to the various aspects of the development limiting our understanding to the basic elements which can be effectively implemented and thus they have a practical value as well.

There are primarily four theories that deal with the development of a child and they are Psychodynamic, Behavioral, Cognitive, and Contextual theories each with its strengths and limitations. Remarkably, all the child development theories contribute to the understanding of various stages and processes in child development. However, the contribution of the psychodynamic theories in the general awareness of the child development stages and processes and their scope for practical and scientific application make these preferable to other theories.

Though all the four theoretical approaches are useful in understanding the child development, psychodynamic theories seem to include more fundamental elements of the developmental stages and they analyze the process of child development more scientifically. Therefore in my opinion psychodynamic theories seem to be more effective in explaining the child development and its specifications. The details of these theoretical approaches and the strengths they possess in comparison with the other theoretical approaches will effectively prove my selection of them to be correct.

In understanding child development stages and processes, it is important to analyze the psychodynamic theories in detail which will also prove the advantages of this approach compared to others in explaining child development. The psychodynamic theories include a group of psychological approaches initiated by Freud with his psychoanalytic theories and the contribution of the other theorists of the group also makes these theories prominent to others. “The term ‘psychodynamic’ refers to systems that use motives, drives, and related covert variables to explain behavior. Psychodynamic career counseling refers to counseling approaches that are guided by attempts to understand, make meaning of, and utilize individual motives, purposes and drives to facilitate career exploration.” (Watkins et al, 79-116).

The theory has been effective in explaining the various aspects of child development through its various concepts such as the conscious, the preconscious, and the unconscious, the id, the ego, and the superego conflict, conflict, anxiety, defense mechanisms, psychosexual stages of development, Oedipus complex etc with the support and contributions of Carl Jung’s Analytical Psychology, Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology, Object-Relations Theories of D. W. Winnicott and Melanie Klein and the psychological explanation of Erik Erikson.

Among the several various factors that contribute to the popularity of this scientific explanation to the development of a child, the psychological and scientific approach of the theory is proved to be of great importance. “Psychoanalytic theories offer a rich portrayal of personality growth that emphasizes the complex emotional—and sometimes irrational—forces within each person.” (Child Development, 2).

There are also several other factors to these theoretical approaches which contribute to its greater status among the theories of child development. One of such factors of “Freud’s Psychoanalysis is that there is recent supporting evidence for his idea of the tripartite personality… A further strength of Freud’s Psychoanalysis is that there are practical applications particularly in terms of psychoanalysis.” (Psychodynamic Explanations of Personality Development). Thus, all these strengths and practical values of the psychodynamic theories, significantly, explain the advantage of this approach to the awareness of child development.

Works Cited

Watkins, C. E, and Savickas, M. L. ‘Psychodynamic Career Counselling’, in Walsh, W.B. and Osipow, S.H. (Eds) Career Counseling: contemporay topics in vocational psychology, Hillsdale, New Jersey, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1990, pp. 79-116.

Psychodynamic Explanations of Personality Development. 2004. Web.

Child Development. msn encarta. P.2. 2007. Web.