In terms of biology, some researchers attributed estrogen to the discrepancy between males and females involving major depressive disorders (MDD) development. However, this does not mean cultural and social factors do not play a role in male/female discrepancies of MDD. Cultural factors and social driven stressors such as child rearing and domestic abuse, stressors that females are more exposed to than males can aggravate estrogen interaction with stress system; and this may explain the reason why the effects of MDD are more pronounced in females than males (Shansky, 2014).
In summary, although males and females are biologically different and such differences tend to start in fetal development period, social and environmental factors (e.g., the type of rearing, nurturing, nutrition, and cultural expectations) have impacts on the development of the individual regardless of his/her sex (Papalia et al., 2012)
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Johnny (because is 4 years old) is at the preoperational stage, in that he thinks in a symbolical terms. Such symbolic thinking, a according to Piaget, enables Johnny to think about things that are not physically present. For example, Johnny has the ability to reflect on the lion he saw in the zoo the other day, and ask his mother questions concerning the elephant. Moreover, under the Piagetian theory, Johnny is said to be centric---that is he his unable to think simultaneously about several things. This phenomenon can be demonstrated by Johnny’ lack of conservation ability, the inability to understand that two entities that are equal in terms of measurement will remain equal unless another entity has been added to or removed from it. Still more, according to Piaget, Johnny’s moral reasoning is at a rudimentary stage due to the Johnny’s egocentric mindset, which restricts his ability to think holistically of given issues (Papalia, 2012).
Unlike Johnny however, Sara because she is 8 years old, is described to be at the concrete stage under the Piagetian theory ---stage characterized by logical thinking and mental operations. Such a logical thinking can be captured by the ability of Sara to categorize objects along the lines of shape, color and size; and her ability to arrange objects in a serial manner i.e., from the heaviest to the lightest. Furthermore, Sara