Theory of Human Development
The theory of human development of Erik Erikson plays a crucial role in social psychology. Here, the author aims to explain the growth of personality in the context of the social environment. Erikson argues each stage of development has inherent expectations of society, which the individual can either justify or not, and then he/she is either included in society or rejected by it (McLeod, 2017). Hence, this idea has formed the basis for distinguishing the stages of life. As such, each stage is characterized by the roles a person plays in the community. However, the solution of the problem depends both on the already achieved level of human development and on the general spiritual atmosphere of the society in which this individual lives.
The theory identifies the fifth stage of human development as adolescence, which lasts from 12 to 19 years of age. It postulates that the transition from childhood to adulthood causes both physiological and psychological changes (McLeod, 2017). Thus, the latter are manifested as an internal struggle between the aspiration for independence, on the one hand, and the desire to remain dependent on those who care about a person as well as wish to be free from the responsibility for being an adult, on the other hand. As a result, parents or other close people become enemies or idols. Hence, a teenager is constantly confronted with questions: Who is he/she and who will he/she be in the future? Is he/she a child or an adult? How does his/her ethnicity, race and religion affect attitudes of the public towards him/her? Therefore, this theory helps develop social responsibility and sexual maturity.
Adolescence
Human development of schoolchildren relates to the educational activity, during which the child does not only master skills and methods of acquiring knowledge, but also is enriched with new meanings, motives and needs. Moreover, adolescence is one of the most difficult periods of school ontogeny, which is called transitional, since it is characterized by a transition from childhood to adolescence, from immaturity to maturity (Bhabha, 2014). Adolescence is a period of rapid and uneven growth of the body. In this regard, inconsistency, uneven development of the heart and vessels, as well as heightened activity of endocrine glands often lead to some temporary circulatory disorders, increased blood pressure, cardiac tension in adolescents, and the rise in their excitability, which can be expressed by irritability, fatigue, dizziness and palpitation. In addition, the nervous system of the youngster is not always able to withstand strong or long-acting stimuli, and under such influence it often passes into a state of inhibition or conversely strong excitation.
