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The fictional character I’ve chosen to discuss this week is Fiona from Shrek. When she was a young girl, a witch cast a spell on her causing her to become an ogre from sunset until sunrise each night. Some diverse characteristics she obtains are her socioeconomic status, physical ability, and her race, which in this case we’ll consider species.

First, Fiona is a princess. She has much more privilege than most of her peers despite her unique situation. This gives her a greater advantage to proceed at a normal rate with both social and cognitive development. For example, she might isolate herself socially due to her transformations, but she remains in a high-status role and must continue her royal duties as required. This aids her in developing those social skills that might otherwise be lacking. Additionally, her socioeconomic status also puts her at an advantage for developing at a normal rate cognitively. That is, she has the highest quality education and tools at her disposal.

In terms of her race or species, she now identifies as both human and ogre. This no doubt affects her cognition. She is now responsible for juggling two identities, both of which must be kept separate, and one is entirely secretive. This is affecting the second stage of cognitive development; the preoperational period (Harris, 2005). During this time, she would normally be working on primary abilities, such as understanding symbols and pictures. Socially, Fiona is restricted. She isolates herself because of her condition which limits her social interactions with peers. Susskind (2005) tells us that physical appearance is important for social acceptance and popularity. It’s also noted that girls that mature more quickly are at risk of ridicule and teasing due to differences between them and their peers. Because Fiona is transforming into an ogre, she’s at risk of experiencing this, making her isolation even more appealing.

Finally, Fiona’s physical abilities also come into play regarding her cognitive and social development. For example, being stronger and larger than other girls of her age, again, predisposes her to teasing and mockery. This discourages her from interacting socially and putting herself in social scenarios with her peers. Cognitively, this likely stunts her as well due to limited interaction and learned behaviors.

References

Harris, Y. R. (2005). In Neil J. Salkind (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human development (pp. 275-280).

Susskind, J. (2005). Social development. In Neil J. Salkind (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Human Development (pp. 1191-1197).

Discussion 2: The Impact of Diversity

Understanding the impact of diversity on an individual’s cognitive, physical, and social-emotional developmental processes requires an examination of a multitude of characteristics, including gender, race, ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic status, religion, sexual orientation, physical ability, etc. In addition, behavior within a group is important to examine, along with the similarities and differences of behaviors and attitudes across groups. The goal of understanding the impact of diversity is not to determine whether one group is inferior to another, but to gain an appreciation of the breadth and depth of variability in human behavior. Cross-cultural investigation allows for the testing of theoretical concepts and predictions to evaluate their generalizability (Jensen, 2012). Another outcome of studying the results of cross-cultural research is that, as a psychology professional, you will be better equipped to empathize with and advocate for those you will be serving.

For this Discussion, you will explore how diversity shapes and influences cognitive and social-emotional developmental processes.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Review and consider the same fictional human character from your Discussion 1 for this week.
Also, consider only the cognitive and social-emotional developmental processes and how diversity* shapes and influences these processes.
*Diversity includes but is not limited to gender, race, ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic status, religion, sexual orientation, physical ability, etc. It is not the same as adversity, which refers to a difficulty or tragedy in one’s life.
Think about the kinds of attitudes and behaviors that might be generated from someone who grew up in a collectivist society, which is common in Asian cultures, compared to the attitudes of someone who grew up in an individualistic society, such as that found in the United States.

By Day 4

Post a 1- to 2-sentence description of the fictional human character (i.e., cartoon character, film/TV character, virtual character) you selected. Then, explain how diversity might shape and influence his/her cognitive and social-emotional developmental processes. Be specific in your post and provide examples. Use your Learning Resources and/or other scholarly sources to support your post. Use proper APA format and citations to support your post.

By Day 6

Respond to at least one of your colleagues’ posts and search the Internet or the Walden library to locate an article related to how diversity might shape and influence their fictional human character’s cognitive or social-emotional developmental processes. Referring to the article you found, explain how an aspect of diversity could impact the fictional character’s development.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting and respond to any questions. Note what you have learned and/or any insights that you have gained as a result of your colleagues’ comments.

I opted to discuss the fictional character, Dr. Daniel Charles. Dr. Charles plays a bright psychiatrist on the TV drama Chicago Med. Social-emotional and cognitive issues related to Dr. Charles’s life were discussed previously. While cognitive and social-emotional factors have a major role in the development of a human, diversity significantly affects cognitive and social-emotional development. Research in developmental psychology has shown positive results when children understand their own culture and the cultures of other groups (Leman & Cameron, 2017). Both cognitive and social development are affected by diversity.

The cognitive abilities of children are affected by exposure to diverse groups. Children exposed to various groups of people positively affected their understanding of other groups during contact and interaction (Leman & Cameron, 2017). Diversity has been shown to contribute to academic development and critical thinking skills. Children exposed to other groups and cultures showed better academic performance than those who were not (Leman & Cameron, 2017). We can discuss diversity from a cognitive standpoint by addressing diversity from a social perspective. Many scholars believe the two are intertwined.

Students who were exposed to and interacted with diverse groups were more apt to take the cognitive skills that come with exposure to diversity and apply them to personal situations (Hurtado, 2001). These students were able to handle better interpersonal and social problems than those who had limited exposure to different cultures (Hurtado, 2001). The value of diversity can be seen in the cognitive and social development of humanity.

As we face an increasing number of other cultures in our society, we must learn to communicate and understand the differences in people’s values, customs, norms, and ways of life. The research clearly shows a positive correlation in development among people who have been exposed to and interacted with other cultures. In the case of Dr. Charles, exposure to diversity will affect his ability to understand, interact with and even treat patients from different cultures.

References

Hurtado, S. (2001). Linking diversity and educational purpose: How diversity affects the classroom environment and student development. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED456199.pdf

Leman, P. J. & Cameron, L. (2017). Growing up with diversity: Psychological perspectives. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, (27),5. 339–346, Retrieved fromhttps://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?