Developmental Psychology: Parental Beliefs, Moral Compass, Health

This assignment delves into various aspects of developmental psychology, addressing key issues across the lifespan. It begins by examining how parental morals and beliefs influence newborn care, emphasizing the interplay of nature versus nurture and the potential for children to develop a moral core. The assignment then explores how a developmental psychologist should respond to parents comparing their child's progress to others, highlighting the importance of individual developmental timelines and providing appropriate guidance. It further addresses scenarios involving a 12-year-old lacking a moral compass, offering strategies to encourage ethical behavior. The assignment also focuses on communicating the importance of healthy lifestyle choices to high school seniors, considering the characteristics of emerging adulthood. Finally, it explores how a developmental psychologist can help individuals with terminal illnesses accept the end of their lives, incorporating the concept of a 'good death' and emphasizing the importance of maintaining connections and finding meaning in remaining life. The assignment uses relevant psychological theories and concepts to provide practical solutions to each scenario.

Running Head: DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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#1-: How new parents morals and beliefs affect newborn care
The moral and belief systems of the parents is bound to be reflected on the child
because in most cases they are the only people the child connect with on a regular basis.
Their morals and attitudes towards them along with the things they believe in will affect how
they care for the child and what the child is picking up and getting accustomed to.
It is impossible to change the morals or belief systems because the parents have built
on them for years. Here the question of nature vs nurture sets in. The child will go through a
natural development process however, the child will also go through development that will
occur due to the kind of nurturing, he or she receives due to nurturing. There is an idea
amongst psychologists that babies might have a moral core within themselves which helps
them decide the nature if an issue and if they should do it or not. This is usually called the
moral conscience in adults (Stern, 2018). Many adults act according to their beliefs and
morals and sometimes against them so that the child can judge for himself and herself but in
most cases they keep acting according to it and hope that the child embodies their beliefs.
The child will be growing up to act in a way the parents deem correct because if he or she
does not, oppositions will be raised.

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#2 As a developmental psychologist, you will encounter
parents who want to compare one child's development
to another. They may be concerned about how their new
child is progressing. How do you best explain these
differences in a way that does not minimize the parental
concerns?
As a developmental psychologists, coming across parents who will compare the
development of their child to the development of another child is expected. In these cases the
parents need to be taught that each child takes a natural course of development and also
develops due to nurturing, they need to be explained that each child is nurtured differently by
parents and thus they will grow differently.
Just because the child is not developing in a way that is not as fast according to them as the
other, it does not mean that it is not developing at all (Baltes, Reese & Lipsitt, 1980). On
comparison, it might be found that the child in question is often much more developed in
other aspects. It should be checked that the child does not have any grave developmental
difficulty and if the parents wants the child to develop better in certain aspects, exercises can
be suggested for the child to do better. They must be told that everyone perceives
development differently and children have different learning habits and thus it is natural that
development is delayed and that they should be given enough time to acquire it.

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#3 As a developmental psychologist, how do you respond to a parent who is
concerned that their 12 year old does not seem to have a moral compass?
Consider normal development as part of your response.
If faced with the problem of a 12 year old not seeming to have a moral compass, it is
only natural that parents will be worried. As a developmental psychologists, they should be
counseled that their child is having issues with telling the right apart from the wrong. It is
also to be told to them that the child does not value the consequences of the wrong steps that
are being taken as he is not suffering any unfavorable consequences because of it.
The parents need to be told to bring into use various methods of punishing the child
that is not violent or deprives him of basic necessities. Firstly, it has to be considered that a
12 year old is curious and will naturally venture into places he is not supposed to go to
(Schaccher & Logan, 1990). Rules have to be enforced and if he keeps on repeating the
problematic behavior, he is supposed to be subjected to punishments like being grounded for
two days or given the silent treatment. The parents have to make sure that they talk to him
about his behavior and he must understand that his behavior is not being supported.
#4 As a developmental psychologist, what strategies would you utilize to
communicate the importance of health life choices to a high school senior?
Consider the developmental characteristics of the emerging adult.
As a developmental psychologist it is important that I stress on the importance of
maintaining a healthy lifestyle especially when an individual is in high school. High school is
the time of the life when a person is stepping into adulthood and getting over the puberty
stage. During this time it is important that the person focuses on a life that is healthy, positive
and fruitful, so that the individual can focus on the studies with good a good physical
condition.

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Eating healthy and leading a lifestyle that is healthy will help the individual during the
last stages of puberty and will ensure that the person is healthy. A healthy body will also help
the healthy mind and this way the person will be able to concentrate on the studies as well.
With a healthy lifestyle, he will feel fit and active and he will be able to participate in all
kinds of activities (Schaffer & Kipp, 2002). The emerging adult is still growing and is trying
to feel self-actualized, he cannot do it if he is unhealthy and too lazy to go out, work and
socialize.
#5 As a developmental psychologist, how would you help a person with a
terminal disease come to accept the end of their life? Consider the Vogel's
notion of a 'good death'.
Terminal diseases sadly come with the possibility of death. When a doctor gives life a
timeline, coping with the news can be problematic. As a developmental psychologist, it is
evident to me that mortality is a part of life. It is the essential part of evolution. Everybody
dies and it is inevitable, and accepting it is important.
A terminally ill person will naturally fear death. Various psychological problems will
follow because, it is only natural that the person is shaken by the fact that the kind of death
that is awaiting is not natural. He or she has to be taught otherwise because diseases have
caused death. A ‘good death’ according to Vogel (2011) is the one that happens at home, by
the help of euthanasia. The patient is very likely to consider this because he or she does not
want to feel the pain of the later stages of the disease. The patient has to be convinced that as
long as he or she lives, regular communication must be maintained with the rest of the family
members, they should also enjoy life to the fullest, not because they have a disease but
because that is what they must do with life.

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References
Baltes, P. B., Reese, H. W., & Lipsitt, L. P. (1980). Life-span developmental
psychology. Annual review of psychology, 31(1), 65-110.
Schachar, R., & Logan, G. D. (1990). Impulsivity and inhibitory control in normal
development and childhood psychopathology. Developmental psychology, 26(5), 710.
Shaffer, D. D. R., & Kipp, K. (2002). Developmental psychology: Childhood & adolescence.
Cengage Learning.
Stern, D. N. (2018). The interpersonal world of the infant: A view from psychoanalysis and
developmental psychology. Routledge.
Vogel, L. (2011). Dying a “good death”.