MYSELF AS AN OPPOSITE OF VICTOR AND TARZAN

I bet you all know who Tarzan is and what's his story. To summarize, Tarzan is a man who literally grew up in a jungle. He lost his parents while he was still a baby due to plane crash. Tarzan was found by a female ape who nurtured him as if she was his mother. Tarzan adapted some characteristics of the apes for his behavior is affected by his environment. All along, Tarzan knew that he belongs to the jungle and his family was the animals. Not until he met an animal researcher named Jane who came to study about apes and gorillas with his father. Jane helped and took care of Tarzan. She even taught him how to live as a human being until they eventually fell in love with each other at the end of the movie.

    On the other hand, Victor of Aveyron is a real life case of a boy who grew up in a jungle. It happened at around 18th century. Victor lived in the forest alone since he was a kid. There’s no known reason why is he in the jungle. Victor was rescued and delivered to deaf facilitation in Paris, France because he was suspected to be deaf mute. He has undergone a lot of tests and evaluations because he has no cognitive ability, he does not speak and he does not even recognize temperatures, but the doctors conclude that he is healthy. He was then taken care by Dr. Jean Mark Itard and a caregiver and later on, Victor was able to develop his emotions and other human characteristics.

    Me as a normal human being differs from the both of them for I was born and raised by my parents and grew up in a city. I have been able to study and learn. I have a fully developed skills and I never experienced being abandoned or live in a jungle with animals. I am beyond grateful for what I have and what I have become. I can’t imagine how hard Victor and Tarzan has been through. Sometimes I might be discontented with my life, but God never fails to remind me on how lucky and blessed I am.

    In the cases of Victor and Tarzan, we are able to relate the Psychosocial Development Theory of Erik Erikson where he emphasized 8 stages of psychological conflict that a child must overcome successfully in order for a child to develop the sense of mastery. The 8 stages are Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Shame, Initiative vs. Guilt, Industry vs. Inferiority, Identity vs. Role Confusion, Intimacy vs. Isolation, Generativity vs. Stagnation and Integrity vs. Despair. I can say that that I have already overcome the first 4 stages

  At my age today, 18, I am currently under the Identity vs. Role Confusion stage. (12-18yrs old) This stage plays an essential role in developing a sense of personal identity which will continue to influence behavior and development for the rest of a person's life. During adolescence, children explore their independence and develop a sense of self. Those who receive proper encouragement and reinforcement through personal exploration will emerge from this stage with a strong sense of self and feelings of independence and control. Those who remain unsure of their beliefs and desires will feel insecure and confused about themselves and the future. Well, for me this is quite a hard stage because this is the stage where you can literally see yourself turning into an adult. You acquire so much knowledge and skills in this stage that you will surely bring until you get old. Some teenagers might have struggle in this stage if they fail to overcome the earlier stages.

    As a conclusion to this activity, I would like to end it with gratitude because I was able to have a great life, great family, my parents raise me so well and with that, I am so much thankful!

Blog Entry 7: Psychosocial Perspective

Seeing this process in my own childhood was a little difficult to fully analyze since I barely remember anything from when I was a young child, but it was interesting to see as I watch my nephews grow up. I have a nephew right now who is seven years old and I’m watching him try to navigate his way through learning what he needs to do and learning how to do them. He’s a very timid child, and always doubts himself about his ability to do something on his own or if what he’s doing is the right thing to do. And one thing I realized could have caused this is the constant criticism whenever he does something wrong. It threw me off when I realized that they keep telling him that he knows what to do and he can try and not to doubt himself, yet they contradict themselves in letting him learn when he gets criticised every time he makes a mistake or takes too long to do something by moving slowly and inconveniencing anyone.

It’s such a delicate line to cross when it comes to trying to teach kids what to and what not to do while letting them figure things out for themselves in order to let them develop their sense of independence. I’m a little concerned about my nephew, and I’m not sure yet what other kind of values I can try teaching him that would work well with how my brother chooses to teach him about being competent in doing chores at home or school work.

BLOG #7

PSYCHOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE by ERIK ERIKSON

I must say that Erik Erikson (the one who proposed the Psychosocial Development), his life, and his theory is something that happens not-so-often yet is quite relatable. From what I understood his life is related or intertwined with his theory of psychosocial development. He came into understanding with such theory when he met Sigmund Freud and he admired his works.

To summarize, the quote. “History repeats itself”, reflects the life and the work of Erik Erikson. The Psychosocial Development was derived from the Psychosexual Stages of Freud. However, its origins started from the time Erik wanted to look for his biological father which his mother kept from him. From then on, he underwent an identity crisis where he tried different jobs until he found psychology and Freud.

Basically, Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory gave way towards a more detailed discussion pertaining to the discussion about the identity of one’s self. If Freud gave us a glimpse, Erikson gave us a wider and a bit deeper approach towards knowing the self. It comprises of eight (8) stages with each stage having a bipolar standard that determines whether-or-not one is improving positively or negatively in their identity. Furthermore, it emphasizes that the stages follow an Epigenetic Principle where it moves from one stage to another in a sequential manner. Likewise, the development is shaped through social interactions and relationships. Then, each stage shows a crisis and an interaction of opposites which help discern if one progressed or regressed in the development of identity; for each response consist of an effect that affects the person in ways that differ their reaction.

I could see why this theory is accepted in the field of psychology, mainly because it is relatable, and one could see it be done or exemplified by other people in society. Despite the relatability, there are still other factors to consider in order to fully accept such theory. Moreover, in the quest for searching and strengthening one’s identity, there is a psychosocial moratorium or a “time-out period” where an individual could freely explore various roles, beliefs and behaviors without having to commit. It is important to experience this part because it helps one to develop and become better humans that somewhat knows what his or her own purpose is.

In conclusion, the foundation of each human being is important in formulating a functioning human being in the future, yet it is also important for a person to be able to be resilient and adaptable to the different situations that could potentially form one’s identity. Consequently, it also shows that whatever one experiences or gains for now, also affects the future generation which could possibly inherit the same reaction and expression the way one did beforehand.