Importance of Culture to Human Development

It is easily understood that the development of a child occurs due to biological factors. A persons genetic makeup results in how that person will development, for example, how tall they will be, their eye color, or even their personality and cognitive abilities. However, it is not just biological factors that determine a person’s overall development. For instance, research has shown that the brain is very plastic, meaning it can change, alter and rewire its networks in according to one’s unique experience. Culture can shape an individual’s thoughts and our brains can alter because of this. The mind is shaped by content and context. An example illustrated by Gardiner is that schizophrenia, a psychological disorder, can be seen in multiple cultures, but there is variability among cultures of that particular disorder. Therefore, something that seems to be biological such as the disorder of schizophrenia can be highly influenced by cultural factors. Everyone has their own unique experience which in part is influenced by culture, thus the development of the child is due to both biological forces and cultural realities.The study of human development has practical applications such as it can help us in the health field by having a better understanding of human’s behaviors, biological terms or even social aspects, or it can be important for history and evolution, or just for general knowledge. Basically, the need to study human development is extremely important and can provide foundations for many other fields out there. However, it is important to take a cultural approach to study human development. A cultural approach allows for people to deal with and understand the differences or similarities that are seen across people. Culture creates variability among people, thus we cannot generalize any theories of human development if we do not have the support to say that these theories are indeed universal. To support that a theory is universal or specific to one culture human development must take on a cultural approach. If we want to understand why some people are different from others we must look into the cultural influences that are acting upon individuals. If it were just all biological factors that is, pre-determined genetic makeup that determines a person develop then there would easily be universal theories, however that is not the case. Cultural and biological forces are interconnected and both play a tremendous role on human development.