The influences behind any individual's functional development are infinite in number and scope. This page is an attempt to describe some of them.
We will deal with:
Genes provide basic building blocks for physical development. Important genetic characteristics include:
Diet begins from within the womb. Much of what goes through the mother's body also goes through the growing foetus, including drugs.
During human evolution diet was restricted by season and availability in the local habitat. There was usually not much choice. During the course of civilization choice has been hugely expanded through various storage and transportation techniques so that now we can decide our diet on the basis of more abstract concepts such as what is healthy, promotes long life, or enables success in a particular career.
For those living in the west, where the range of food is greater and supposedly of higher quality, diet plays a big role in differences between the functional development of people. In the past when there was limited choice, it was not possible to choose a bad diet. If a bad diet existed, you had no choice, you could only eat what was available. With increasing choice, the opportunity for bad diets has multiplied, leading to major diet problems and what is called an obesity epidemic. Along with health deficits, overweight and obese people usually have their developmental potential dramatically reduced because of physical and social handicaps.
Especially up to the time of individuation (weaning from parents), a person's characteristics are very much under the influence of those around them. Psycho-social influences involves both the social influences and the individual's response. We will divide it into:
Family dynamics
The family is central to development of core functionality. Siblings and parents both contribute to an individual's development through:
behaviour modeling - parents/guardians are key role models for their children's behaviour over and above any other
discipline - how the child is disciplined or guided in their behaviour
relationship dynamics - where the individual is positioned in the family, number of siblings, how they relate to each other and to their parents, how the parents relate to each other
family activities - what the family does as a group, recreation, entertainment, social interaction, holidays etc.
Socio-economic status
The family itself belongs to a social heirarchy which further influences development of functionality. Economic position determines how much time can be expended on development and what quality it will be. Family members are influenced by:
parental status/expectations - where the parent stands in a social context affects the kind of potential the child expects to achieve
educational opportunities - wealthier families have access to extra educational opportunities
financial standing - sometimes financial support can enhance development, sometimes it can diminish it by removing incentives. Some of the wealthiest people come from the poorest backgrounds
These and other factors can limit the developmental potential available.
Social heirarchies ensure that there is a wide distribution of functionalities, with the more highly functional drifting upwards and the dysfunctional drifting downwards. This distribution of characteristics is part of the natural world and a powerful determinant of functionality.
Education
Early in human evolution, education consisted of parents passing on knowledge to children through apprenticeship. With the establishment of the first civilizations formal schooling came into existence and that is what we have associated with education ever since. It is focused on intellectual development and revolves around literacy: the ability to read and write. In the West the public school system is designed to enable any child to experience the same intellectual development as any other in an attempt to negate the socio-economic differences described above.
Role Models
Beyond the family are community role models and leaders whose examples leave an impression. Psychologists have determined that role modeling is one of the most powerful learning incentives. This has been enhanced by the recording of history which enables following generations to read/view the life stories of significant historical figures and imitate their behaviour. Key role models include Jesus, Buddha and Muhammad. Societies frequently use the life stories of their past and present leaders to provide guidance to their people. With the proliferation of multi-media and youth culture, access to and choice of role models has multiplied and diversified, and there is an ample choice of role models in all areas of human endeavour.
Relationships
Within and without the family the relationships we have with particular people impact on development. There are some adult-child relationships which are destructive and abusive, there are some which are constructive and supportive. All relationships have a lifespan. Some of the important aspects are:
individuation - becoming independent of parents emotionally is an important first step to adulthood.
co-dependent or co-independent - how much each party to a relationship is dependent on the other has an impact on development. This is relevant to relationships between siblings and to romantic partnerships.
Individual response
Crucial to social influences is the manner in which the individual responds. Everyone responds differently. The same social situation will produce a different response in different people. How the individual responds depends on all the factors that contribute to functional development.
Functional development is an active process that requires active participation of the individual. There is no definition of what active participation involves. Some people participate bodily with voice and senses (extroverts), while others process situations quietly within their mind (introverts). Failure to respond adequately to situations which have had an affect usually leads to some reduction in functionality or developmental potential, or ultimately in psychological disorder.
Life events have a major impact on development. These include:
While functional development occurs as a result of numerous identifiable factors, what level of functionality we achieve and its nature depend largely on luck.
All circumstances surrounding a new born baby are outside its control. Control of life circumstances increases with maturity, but an adult still has no direct control over most circumstances to which they are exposed. An adult can use whatever control they do have to direct circumstances in their favour. It is that level of control behind which the concepts of 'responsibility' and 'will' are grounded. It is assumed that all humans have equal faculty in these and western laws and political systems are based on that idea. But outside that small realm of control is a much larger world of circumstance based on luck.