Introduction
Human beings begin a process of change from the time they are conceived, and it will continue until the last breath of life. Throughout this systematic process of human change and stability, cultures like Eastern and western society and contexts like urban, rural, suburban, family, and socioeconomic status influence, to a great extent, their development in terms of access to education, health care, food, among other resources.
This research study is essential to human development because it adds to the ongoing conversation about how culture and context impact the process of human development. This process spans from conception to death. Human development is a constantly expanding scientific field. Thus, it is crucial to conduct studies that will help further the knowledge on the link between human development, culture, and context.
This paper will explore how culture and context influence human development in terms of access to education, health care, food, and other resources by examining the different key concepts presented by Papalia and Martorell (2021). The paper will also strive to delve deep to examine how culture and contexts help or hinder the development of cognition, emotional development, and social relationships. Further, this paper will compare the findings drawn from two peer-reviewed articles and those by Papalia and Martorell (2021).
Each individual is unique in height, weight, health, intelligence, and gender, among others. People also differ in context and culture, i.e., homes, schools they attend, and societies they live in (Papalia & Martorell, 2021). Existing literature shows that there exist universal influences on development and indicates that these influences play a considerable role in the process of human development. While a number of influences on human development stem from traits that are inborn, others are caused by the environment (Papalia & Martorell, 2021). These environmental factors affecting development include key concepts like family, socioeconomic status, where one lives, and culture, among others.
Family and Human Development
To begin with, family has considerable influence on the development of an individual as a child and into adulthood. The increased rates of divorce have interfered with the normative two-parent nuclear family unit in the United States, which has affected individuals in many ways (Papalia & Martorell, 2021). For instance, children from divorced families or one-parent families tend to lag behind their peers in academics because of the ever-stressing conditions they are subjected to, such as lack of parental care and inadequate food. The conditions interfere with their cognitive development in terms of memory, thinking, reasoning, attention in school, and their learning ability in general (Papalia & Martorell, 2021). Adult children of divorce may have decreased academic achievement due to their parents’ divorce, and the challenges posed by this downturn in achievement may have a similar effect on the subsequent generation. As children get older and create their own romantic connections, the fear associated with parental divorce may surface, affecting their emotional development. Thus, separation and divorce rates are greater among these children. On the other hand, children from stable, two-parent family units are more likely to do well in school because of their advantages over their peers.
Additionally, the family unit a child comes from plays a vital role in the manner in which he or she will interact with the rest of people. Just like in the case of academic achievements, children from single-parent units or divorced parenting have a higher likelihood of performing poorly socially (Papalia & Martorell, 2021). They are likely to have difficulties forming and maintaining friendships. Most children who experienced a high degree of violence tend to be violent in school and even at home, hence not able to relate well with their peers (Papalia & Martorell, 2021). However, some may learn from this negative example to have a healthy relationship themselves.
Influences of Socioeconomic Status on Human Development
Income is another important factor in human development. Children living in poor or low-income families have increased in the United States since the recession of 2008 (Papalia & Martorell, 2021). Poverty has and continues to affect access to resources like health care, education, and food, among others. This, in turn, negatively influences the cognitive, emotional, and social development of the individuals from these families. These individuals are highly vulnerable to diseases because of their environment. It is a challenge maintaining a balanced diet, accessing quality health care services, and quality education, resulting in slower development compared to their peers from affluent families (Papalia & Martorell, 2021). Thus, they often suffer slow brain development and constant illnesses that hinder their learning process and interactions.
Place of Residence and Human Development
The industrial revolution saw an increased rate of industrialization, with important facilities being concentrated in the urban areas (Papalia & Martorell, 2021). These important facilities include schools where people could get quality education and health care, among others. This left the rural forks lagging behind their urban counterparts in terms of access to quality education and health care services (Papalia & Martorell, 2021). Being a disadvantaged lot in the rural areas, children from this context always have their cognitive development hampered because of lack of exposure to quality education and health care resulting in poor memory, poor attention, poor reasoning, and lack of creativity.
Cultural Influences on Human Development
The household composition, its economic and social resources, how members treat one another, food eaten, way of learning, achievements in school, and how members think and their perception about the world all influence development (Papalia & Martorell, 2021). Cultural differences impact people’s cognitive and social development in terms of employment opportunities, place of stay, health care, and their engagement in society.
Osher et al. (2020) synthesize knowledge on the role of relationships, poverty, racism, families, communities, school, and peers on the healthy development of children and youth. In this article, findings from the research on the relationships with parents, siblings, peers, and caregivers in different contexts like home and school are explored (Oshen et al., 2020).
Osher et al. (2020) found that Individual development is distinct, extremely responsive to surroundings, cultures, and relationships, constantly adapting, organizing, reorganizing, and subject to change throughout one’s lifetime. This article addresses how various contexts like family and socioeconomic status, among others, affect cognitive development, emotional development, and psychosocial development. The findings by Osher et al. (2020) are in consensus with those by Papalia and Martorell (2021), particularly on the influences of the environment and culture on how children develop in terms of memory, attention, reasoning, thinking, and social relationships among others. Both studies are in convergence regarding individuals’ access to education and health care services, arguing that poverty plays a big role in denying people access to quality education and health care services, thus hindering individuals’ cognitive, social, and emotional abilities development. Low income families are characterized by poor diet and children’s memory, attention, and reasoning are impacted due to lack of necessary vitamins, nutrients, and mineral salts in their diets.
Jensen et al. (2017) concentrate on low-resource environments with high poverty rates and limited access to treatment. Data was collected in Sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia, USA and UK. The goal of the study was to show how co-occurring poverty-related risks interact to affect children’s neurocognitive development through synergistic biological pathways. Jensen et al. (2017) discovered that children born into low-income or low-socioeconomic-status homes are more likely to have poor neurocognitive outcomes and academic achievement than their more affluent peers. They argued that poverty and its co-occurring risks may cause serious development problems. Food insecurity, infectious illnesses, and environmental pollutants are all important poverty-related concerns (Jensen et al., 2017). Jensen et al. (2017) found that malnutrition, for example, may cause slow development rates in children due to deficiency in essential nutrients and minerals provided by the diet.
Conclusion
Human development is an important field of knowledge. This paper aimed to discuss the influences that culture and context have on human development. The reviewed literature suggests that environmental factors such as family, place of residence, and socioeconomic status significantly influence human development. These influences are linked with the levels of access to education, health care, food, among other resources, and their impact on cognitive, emotional, and social relationships. Therefore, based on available evidence, culture and context determine human development.
References:
Jensen, S. K., Berens, A. E., & Nelson 3rd, C. A. (2017). Effects of poverty on interacting biological systems underlying child development. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 1(3), 225-239. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(17)30024-X
Osher, D., Cantor, P., Berg, J., Steyer, L., & Rose, T. (2020). Drivers of human development: How relationships and context shape learning and development1. Applied Developmental Science, 24(1), 6-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2017.1398650
Papalia, D. E., & Martorell, G. (2021). Experience Human Development (14th Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.