Developmental Psychology 211 Class

For a long time, I’ve found Psychology very interesting and intricate. I find it mind-blowing how much goes into psychology and how our brains work and react to the different circumstances we face. So, before I decided on my Senior Project proposal, I knew I wanted to take an online Psychology course for my science credit in my senior year. So during my proposal meeting, I mentioned that I really wanted to take an online college Psychology course, which was quickly approved. PSYC 211 at Regent University covered developmental psychology. We studied human behavior, including our thoughts and emotions, and how others might think and act differently. We learned so much about perception, behavior, socialization, personality, and different neurological processes. We also spent a lot of time discussing how these different aspects develop over our lifetimes and how the experiences we face shape our behavior, mental health, and daily functioning.

One of the most interesting things was learning about the different stages of development and how they shape our perceptions of ourselves and others. For example, we studied how kids can learn various skills through reasoning, how teens can begin to form and understand their identity, and how, as adults, they can grow socially and emotionally. A quote that stood out throughout the course from Erik Erikson, who is a developmental therapist, “Life doesn’t make any sense without interdependence. We need each other, and the sooner we learn that, the better for us all.” This can remind us that both our relationships and our community play big roles in how we learn who we are and even how we navigate our lives at every stage.

This course helped me better understand how we develop, how the experiences we face at different times in our lives impact our behavior, relationships, and even how we think. This also helped me look back on my own growth and how I have my identity in Christ. It reminded me to be patient with myself and others, because we are all learning, growing, maturing, and nurturing different things in our lives. PSYC 211 gave me tools to better understand how our behavior unfolds throughout our lives, and it reiterated the importance of empathy in our interactions with one another and of intentionality.