From a Chinese-American middle-class family, Lucy is a quiet and timid 12-year-old child who exhibits a strong sense of autonomy. She is responsible in various aspects such as, cleaning-up after herself, taking care of her younger brother, Jonathan, finishing her homework before she enjoys her free-time activities, and saving up her allowance. While she is comfortable interacting with people she has formed intimate relationships with, e.g. her family members and close friends, she is aloof among strangers and struggles to engage with them, often avoiding the situation at whole. In an attempt to understand Lucy’s state of development in terms of her observed behavior and personality, I utilize Erik Erickson’s Human Development Stage Theory, Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Development Stage Theory, and John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth’s Attachment Theory to analyze Lucy.
According to Erik Erickson’s Human Development Stage Theory, there are a total of eight age-distinct stages of development an individual experiences within a given lifespan (Kalat, 2008). As a twelve-year-old child, Lucy is on the border between the preadolescent stage and the adolescent stage. During preadolescence, children experience a conflict between industry and inferiority, i.e. “Am I successful or worthless?” (Kalat, 2008). Based on Lucy’s personality …show more content…
170). Since Lucy lacks confidence and fears exploring beyond her social box, it is important to help her gain confidence in order to further or strengthen her development of personal identity –even if this entails Lucy going unpunished for dangerous, risky behaviors. The ideal support would be to help Lucy widen her social sphere through familiar channels of environment and relationships, which requires time, energy, and commitment from family members and close
According to Erik Erickson’s Human Development Stage Theory, there are a total of eight age-distinct stages of development an individual experiences within a given lifespan (Kalat, 2008). As a twelve-year-old child, Lucy is on the border between the preadolescent stage and the adolescent stage. During preadolescence, children experience a conflict between industry and inferiority, i.e. “Am I successful or worthless?” (Kalat, 2008). Based on Lucy’s personality …show more content…
170). Since Lucy lacks confidence and fears exploring beyond her social box, it is important to help her gain confidence in order to further or strengthen her development of personal identity –even if this entails Lucy going unpunished for dangerous, risky behaviors. The ideal support would be to help Lucy widen her social sphere through familiar channels of environment and relationships, which requires time, energy, and commitment from family members and close