Human Development
...and psychological development based upon cultural influences entailing values, respect, discipline, and beliefs. In reflection to the aforementioned, Germain (1973) states that, “Within the ecological perspective, human beings are conceived as evolving and adapting through transactions (within) all elements of their environments . . . People mold their environments in many ways and, in turn, must then adapt to the changes they create”. Wherefore the time variable designs of human development can thus be explained by, observing several individuals periodically as part of the longitudinal/cross-sectional process. This sequential study of man enables us to compare the traditional Navajo ways of upbringing, to the predominant societies interpretations of individual growth and development.
Feud v/s Navajo’s
Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalytical theory divides the mind up into three structures giving us the id, ego, and superego, appearing at different stages in our development. By picturing the mind as an automobile, we can thereby express the id to represent the engine, thus signifying our need to eat, sleep, drink and secure pleasures that may well get us into mischief. Next comes the ego, which is the central part of our personality or the driver behind the automobile that does all the planning, and keeps us in touch with reality from birth. Finally, there’s the part of our psyche that tells us right form wrong, our superego, which acts as the brakes of a car. In contrast to Freud’s theoretical views of cognitive development, the Navajos express their beliefs of
Human Development 3
individual growth through a pedagogical paradigm based on the four natural processes (Nitsa`hakes, Naha`t`a, Iina`, and Siihasin). Concomitantly, the Dine` organize their knowledge and livelihood around the parts of the day, in addition to the four...
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