Human development across preschool through high school interviews

¶ … psychology interview project. In this project a total of 4 students from different levels will be interviewed. These students will be from preschool, elementary school, middle school, and high school. A total of 5 questions will be asked from them and all 4 students will be asked the same questions. At the end there will be a summary given regarding each student based on the answers given by them for those 5 questions.

The growth stage that the humans go through from their time of conception up to their time of death is known as human development. The basic purpose of the scientific study of human development is to understand why and how people change during their lives. All areas such as emotional, physical, intellectual, perceptual, personality and social development are a part of the human growth (Cherry). It is not just psychology but the scientific study of development is of great significance to health care, sociology as well as education. There are a variety of subjects that the study of human development is significant for such as sociology, biology, psychology, anthropology, history and education (Cherry).

Questions (20 Questions To Ask)

1)

What is your favorite place in the world and why?

2)

What is the one wish you have?

3)

What is the biggest thing you have ever created?

4)

What is the one thing you would like to learn and why?

5)

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Answers/Summaries

Preschool Interview Answers:

1)

My favorite place in the whole world is my room because it has all my toys

2)

I wish I can fly

3)

A play doo house with my dad

4)

I want to learn to whistle

5)

I want to become a police lady so I can help people

Summary

The above mentioned answers were given by a 3 years old girl Nicole who is in pre-school. From the answers given by her we can clearly see that she seems to be a child that is in her preoperational stage development. In this developmental stage the children are very egocentric and think that the world is seen by the people exactly as they see it. However, we can clearly see from the answers given by Nicole that she doesn't recall the information given by her recently (Slavin, 2012). The answer that she gave to 2nd question was that she wanted to fly but in the reply to last question she said that she wanted to be a police officer. Upon questioning her family members it was noted that Nicole had never before shown any interest in being a police officer. She has never asked for police toys or played the role of a police officer during her playtime. However, it was noted that she might have come up with the idea of being a police officer because of her family as, her dad and mom loves to watch police shows and 2 of her uncles are in policemen who often share their work stories with the family. Therefore, it is possible that she had heard her family talk about this profession and people belonging to it which led her to reply to the last question in such manner. In Slavin's opinion (Slavin, 2012), "With the progression of child through his/her childhood, the way that he/she thinks becomes more abstract and less concrete." This can clearly be seen from the interview answers given by Nicole that mostly the things that she is saying are the ones that other people in her family say rather than speaking her own mind.

Elementary School Interview Answers:

1)

Florida because I love being at the beach and the pool.

2)

I would like everyone to be happy with one another.

3)

For my science class I had to make a volcano. My sister and I did it together and it was a lot of fun.

4)

I would love to learn how to be better in my math class so I can be smarter.

5)

I love to write and read stories so I want to be a writer.

Summary

It can be seen from the answers given by Kate, who is a 10 years old girl that the Piaget's concrete operational stage of development is supported by her responses. According to Piaget's concrete operational stage of development a child becomes able enough to use logical reasoning at this stage however, it is only in the familiar situations that these skills are made use of (Slavin, 2012). Concrete and logical reasoning is demonstrated by the children at this elementary and preadolescent age when the children are between 7-11 years of age. Egocentric thinking of the children at this stage decreases and they become more aware of the external events (Piaget Stages).They start understanding that the feelings and thoughts of people are unique and that everyone doesn't share or believe same things. However, at this stage it is still hard for most of the children to think hypothetically or abstractly (Claus). Take the example of two drinking glasses, both of which have the same amount of water in them however, one is 3 inches in height while the other on is 6 inches in height. Put these glasses in front of a child and ask him which glass he feels can hold more amount of liquid the tall one or the short one. The correct response to this question is that they both have equal quantities of water in them however; if a child couldn't come up with this response it shows an absence of concrete operational thought (Claus). But if a child is able to answer that both the glasses have equal quantities of liquid in them it shows that he is able to do conservation as, he has mentally manipulated the liquid in the glasses and figured out that the volume is the same even if it looks different. In the concrete stage like the preoperational stage the children are noticed to have difficulty with abstract thinking (Slavin, 2012).The final answer given by Kate supports the four identity statuses and the stage of moratorium by James Marcia as an interest in the future occupation can be seen without any real commitment.

Middle School Interview Answers:

1)

I would love to go to Paris and see the sights.

2)

I wish to be successful in my life and the best that I feel I can be.

3)

I haven't built any projects.

4)

I would like to learn how to prepare for high school and what expectations will be there for me.

5)

I want to be a biologist because biology is my favorite subject and I love science courses.

Summary

These above mentioned answers were given by a 16 years old high school student Jessica. The responses clearly show a much high stage of development as compared to the answers given by previous students. She answered the questions in a fluent, clear and detailed manner. According to the fifth stage of Erickson's psychosocial development the adolescents usually start deciding their careers and accordingly start planning their studies (Slavin, 2012), this can clearly be seen through the 2nd answer in which she mentions her future study plans and how she wants to get into the Saint Johns University to become a pharmacologist. In the last answer she again mentioned the career she wants to have and her reasons for wanting it. It can clearly be seen from the answers given by Jessica that she is planning to achieve accomplishments in the future and gain occupational opportunities with the help of those accomplishments. A status of identity achievement is developed by majority of the children in their late adolescent. However, the identity status seems to have a link with the emotional development of these adolescents (Slavin, 2012).

Conclusion

After studying the responses given by the children at various developmental stages it is evident that the understanding regarding the developmental changes that take place in children belonging to various age groups needs to be widened. With the help of these responses it can further be seen that adaptations in emotions, language, behaviors, morals, values along with the changes in social, personal and cognitive development can be avoided and are usually predicted in case of the childhood development psychology.

"References"

1)

Cherry, K. (n.d.). What Is Development? Retrieved January 28, 2015, from http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentecourse

2)

20 Question to Ask Kids. (n.d.). Retrieved January 28, 2015, from http://www.minds-in-bloom.com/2010/01/20-question-to-ask-kids.html

3)

Slavin. (2012). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice (10th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education.

4)

Piaget Stages of Development. (n.d.). Retrieved January 28, 2015, from http://www.webmd.com/children/piaget-stages-of-development

5)

Clause, C. (n.d.). Piaget's Concrete Operational Stage of Development: Definition, Examples & Quiz. Retrieved January 28, 2015, from http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/piagets-concrete-operational-stage-of-development-definition-examples-quiz.html

6)

Eblin, J. (n.d.). Self-Esteem Activities for High School. Retrieved January 28, 2015, from http://www.ehow.com/list_6558159_self-esteem-activities-high-school.html