Human Development Interview Assignment

A Developmental Interview

Barbara Ruth Hitchcock

Liberty University

Abstract

All individuals emerge into adulthood at varying rates, and with varying results. In order to establish oneself as a contributing member of society, one must be willing to encounter a variety of circumstances, both positive and negative, along the way. This acutely unique journey provides the distinguishing basis for ones personality, as well as ones overall purpose in life. Despite that fact that no two people share an identical journey, it has been proven helpful to categorize development into a series of stages. In the following paper, the author examines the candid reflections of a young woman who is currently situated in the late adolescent stage. The author explores the personal dilemmas that this young woman has faced in her search for a life worth living. The author also briefly outlines the manner in which this individual chose to maneuver each dilemma so as to bring about a sense of resolution and inner stability. Because this individual is currently learning how to interact with other individuals in a constructive way, the author references the process of communication from a neurobiological standpoint.

Caption: Leslie Hunter's Figures in conversation, Etaples, 1914

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Figures_in_conversation.jpeg

A Developmental Interview

            The process through which one establishes one’s identity is a highly subjective one. Nevertheless, the majority of people do, in fact, progress past a predictable series of stages and obstacles in their quest for maturity. For this assignment, I was privileged to interview a young woman who finds herself in the Later Adolescent stage. Laura Wakefield is twenty-one year old student at Liberty University, and is currently single. According to famed Psychologist Erik Erikson, Laura is passing out of the Identity vs. Role Confusion stage, and into the Intimacy vs. Isolation stage. It is in this stage that Laura will determine whether or not she will be able to sustain a pronouncedly deep relationship, romantic or otherwise.

            Throughout the course of Laura’s interview, I learned that Laura is a highly disciplined and intuitive individual that feels motivated to invest in the people that surround her. Yet, although Laura possesses an unyielding sense of self, she struggles to believe that she is worthy of unconditional affection (L. Wakefield, personal communication, October 24, 2013). She rarely asserts her needs, and often fights the urge to withdraw emotionally from those that could potentially abandon her. While growing up, Laura was admired for her academic prowess, and her ability to offer insight into the troubles of others. However, whenever she experienced a lull in her relationships or a setback in her academics, she became suspicious of her potential.

In her mid-teen years, Laura’s parents were unreceptive towards the articulation of her opinions and career ideas. It was around this time that Laura was discarded by a close group of friends that had apparently lost interest in who she was. Laura responded to this disorienting experience in the way same that she did any other disappointment – by flipping open a classic novel, writing in her journal, or seeking consolation from her sisters. However, when Laura felt compelled to relinquish yet another cherished friendship a few years later, she turned to the Lord for the necessary healing. When questioned about the value of friendship on the date of this interview, Laura explained that relationships have the potential to promote ones spiritual walk, expand ones capacity for empathy, and significantly reduce ones sense of aloneness.

After reflecting on the information that was gleaned from this interview, I would propose that Laura has effectively navigated her way through the insecurity she once felt in regards to her friendships. However, it appears that Laura has yet to realize that the love of others does not depend on the usefulness of her skills, or the quality of her contributions. In an article entitled, The implicit realm in couples therapy: Improving right hemisphere affect-regulating capabilities, author Francine Lapides explains the emotional freedom that can arise when one feels that one is being genuinely cared for (2011).

In this article, the author explores a number of the relational calamities that can occur when two individuals fail to conduct themselves suitably within an argumentative context. Interestingly enough, conflicted couples often react to each other in such a way that engages a previously underdeveloped section of their brains. It is common for these individuals to have experienced a time in their childhoods when they felt dismissed or unattended to by their caregivers. This pattern of inconsistency, as instigated by an individual’s parental figure, can provoke within the individual the impulse to unconsciously seal off the frontal portion of his or her brain. This inclination to self-protect forces the individual to respond to a significant other without the use of his or her primary reasoning system.

Although it is probable that such a couple will expose themselves to increased levels of miscommunication and misinterpretation, it is possible for this neurobiological deprivation to be relearned. In fact, Laura is a reminder to all of us that the patterns of the past can be altered.

References

Lapides, F. (Janu 01, 2011). The Implicit Realm in Couples Therapy: Improving

Right Hemisphere Affect-Regulating Capabilities. Clinical Social Work Journal, 39, 2,161-169. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/ehost/detail?vid=8&sid=25350355-91be-48f2-b7e1