Table of Contents
Human development entails the development model, geared towards the needs of human beings and enhances humane values and gives respect to the whole human existence. Human development, therefore, refers to the process of human beings realizing their potential and leading lives that are of self-respect and achievement. This paper discusses the four themes of Multiculturalism, Biology and Sociology, Feminist Perspectives and Positive Psychology and how these new theories are different from the older theories of Freud, Erikson, Piaget, Vygotsky and Bandura.
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism involves the preservation of various cultures in a united society. It is a perception that cultural, racial, and ethnic differences, especially those from minority groups, require special acknowledgment within the dominant cultural setup (Paschen & Dihsmaier, 2014). Multiculturalism is evident in human resource department. Human resource aims at the development and implementation of strategies and tools during quality delivery within the organizations. On the other hand, the practices differ across nations and are dependent on the social setup, type of government and supervisory framework. Therefore, for the companies to remain competitive in the market, they have to understand the human resource management practices and the global cultural diversity. According to Matsumoto and Juang (2016), multicultural expectations have made the thoughts and struggles of people yield effectiveness, efficiency and productivity in management. When members, from different cultural setup, are working together, they always see situations differently; thus resulting to conflicts and differences. Eventually, this makes it hard for the goals to be achieved. Therefore, there is need for regular trainings as a way of helping people understand their cultural differences and this can aid the smoothening of differences within the organization.
Biology and Sociology
The theme illustrates the essence of inseparable methods through which all forms of life are interrelated. The theme is based on the integration of social and biological living systems and the ecological systems of which they are part. Therefore, in the society, individuals interact freely with their working environment and this is important for sustainability.
Feminist Perspectives
The arguments about social transformations in the 1970s, introduced human development clearly as a concept, addressed the spheres of knowledge, morality, and law though not wholly. Feminism refers to the awareness of the oppression and mistreatment of women in the society and the sensible actions by men and women to change the situation. Since each person views societal aspects and institutions differently, there is need for feminist perspective to be embraced in human rights (Modood, 2013). Also, the initial authors of human rights were mainly the Western-educated males, and their perspectives do not exhaustively represent the majority of people.
A major obstacle to equity and access is common in the traditional male-dominated societies. In a society that is dominated by male gender, there is laxity when making facilities and opportunities equally accessible to all. A young girl brought up in a male-dominated society has high chances of growing up believing that she is inferior to her male counterparts (Paschen & Dihsmaier, 2014). Eventually, this is likely to affect her future life negatively to the extent that she might not have the morale of performing well in her exams or being financially independent.
Positive Psychology
Positive psychology refers to various aspects that make life more worth living. Happiness in life is attributed to social ties of a couple, families and wide work networks. Happiness is likely to rise with increased financial income (Paschen & Dihsmaier, 2014). A repeated positive thought and activity is likely to rewire one’s brain and strengthen brain regions that are responsible for the stimulation of positive feelings. It is important to wire children’s brain through various methods that will help them see the positive, have positive emotional experiences, yearn for deep concentration (as in when playing) and have an intrinsic accomplishment feeling.
How the New Theories Differ From the Older Theories on Human Development
Freud’s perspective on his understanding of women has limitations, and this yielded to the modern theories of human development. Freud also argued that for one to be healthy, there was the essence of work and love. However, this does not sufficiently make one develop positive psychology. It is noted that various cultures do not have similar timings, contrary to Erikson’s theory. The theory is addressed by multiculturalism where diversity is embraced in the society.
Piaget ignores the important impacts of the cultural and social group of a child. Therefore, this validates the essence of multiculturalism theme. The theme also underrates the cognitive ability of the child from the experiment. Vygotsky approach is allowing teachers to find the suitable “zone” for a child to perform successfully with appropriate support. However, he does not sufficiently associate culture with education, which is likely to leave the learners in a state of doing what the teachers say and not what they do. Bandura does not focus on the physical and mental development of a child. According to Modood (2013), he does not successfully consider the diversity of a society where what one views as a reward, another views it as a punishment.
We can do it today.
Conclusively, the modern themes on human development have attempted to fill the gaps evident in the early theories. There is the essence of multiculturalism in the society as a way of improving the working relationship in an organization. Individuals are capable of interacting with the environment for sustainability. The theme of feminism is constantly being embraced globally. A child who constantly thinks positively is likely to develop optimistic feelings.
- Matsumoto, D. & Juang, L. (2016). Culture and psychology. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
- Modood, T. (2013). Multiculturalism. Hoboken: Wiley.
- Paschen, M. & Dihsmaier, E. (2014). The psychology of human leadership: how to develop charisma and authority. Heidelberg New York: Springer.