In ten pages the concepts of Van Kaam are examines in this consideration of how identity is influenced by psychology and spirituality. Twelve sources are cited in the bibliography.
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known as they make their way through infancy, toddlerhood and beyond, many people erroneously believe that once a child reaches adolescence, much of the work or development for the human
being is done. Some believe that personalities which had developed in early life basically do not change. Nothing could be further from the truth and people do change in respect
to spiritual and psychological development during late adolescence right through late adulthood. In fact, Levinson (1986) points out that the personality cannot achieve significant growth before the age of 20
and it is only after 40 that an individual is able to experience fundamental changes and growth. The theories of Piaget, Freud and Erikson are perhaps the most important in
respect to developmental psychology and helps to explain at least the psychological variables in the transition process. Interestingly, Piagets theory of cognitive development has also been compared to Albert Banduras
more recent work in the field (Tudge, 1993). According to Piaget, the theory of cognitive development includes concepts that suggest cognitive development must evolve. Risk-related behavior, as an example, is
reinforced by just one cognitive characteristic called magical thinking which suggests that there is a belief that one is magically protected from dangers and that bad things only happen to
other people (Rodriguez,1995). That is simply one example of how Piagets work may be applied. Piagets stages of development focuses on childhood and includes a sensory motor
stage, a pre-operational stage, a concrete operational stage and a formal operational stage. Piaget also believed that the acquisition of knowledge each step of the way would not necessarily be
the same across different domains of thought (Goswami, 2001). Rather, he believed that the chronology of the stages is variable, and that this might easily occur within any particular stage