Reflective Paper
Jamar X. Perry
Psychology 202
Katherine Adams
June 18, 2009

Theories can be related to most stages and aspect of life. Since there are many different theories I can only try and relate the ones that best suite my life. In this paper I will cover different areas of my life including the past, present and future. I will also incorporate different theories along with my own. The areas I will speak about are deeply meaningful and have influence one my decisions and mental state. My childhood is something I feel affects life even in my adulthood. The theory “Nature vs. Nurture” states that a person’s adult development relates directly to genetics and the atmosphere. Different theories believe that one trait contributes more than another. An example of this theory is someone who would say “The reason the serial killer did the thing they did is because of their upbringing”. The thought of that person having a genetic disorder would be against their beliefs because in their case nurture outweighs nurture.
Other theories state the opposite; the opposing theory is one of strong belief in genetics. A man who displayed this theory for all the wrong reasons was a man by the name of Adolf Hitler. Hitler believed that genetics were detrimental to adult development; he also believed in order to create a superior adult he would have to first create a superior race. I believe genetics have equal value to one atmosphere in most cases; I say most cases because there are certain cases that prove otherwise. Some psychopathic, depressed and suicidal people can have genetic disorders, making nature out weight nurture. Things I can remember about my childhood can defiantly fall into some of these theories. My father was a smoke jumper for the U.S. Forest Service; this forced me to move frequently, thus changing my atmosphere. I feel the moves forced me to adapt adjust and overcome to my surrounding. Since I lived in many different places I also socialized with many different people, which created diversity in my personality. For example I lived in the mountains which were predominantly Caucasian American then at the age of eleven I moved to the city which was predominantly people of ethnic descent. My I feel my personality today is a direct reflection of my atmosphere; however a woman by the name of Mom might beg to differ. My mother who I see quarterly explains how I resemble my father and display many similar personality traits. All and all I suppose the atmosphere and genetics both have strong influence on adult development. (Bandura, 2008) My peers contributed to moral development. I feel as a teenager I had a basic understanding for moral reasoning and was able have sympathy for other people. Having this understanding provided knowledge on selecting my peers. I knew the people I would associate with would be direct reflection on me, for this reason I chose friends who had a similar value system than my own. Although mischief seemed to be inevitable, it also seemed to be consistent with my fellow peers. Each of my friends had their own unique personalities but each also brings a form of positive attributes to my group of peers (Boyd and Bee, 2006). My goals and achievements are a direct reflection of my ego ideal. My achievements were at one time goals. My theory on goals are if an individual’s expectations are high and that person takes the proper steps to accommodate those goals than failure will be more difficult than success. When I was a young child I wanted to be a professional surfer; with time and experience I discovered that maybe surfing was not the most promising job. After surfing I believe it was flying jets then firefighting; now that I am an adult and am comfortable with my personality I can factor lack of time and come to a realistic and suitable goal for myself.
Happiness in the future consists of financial, physical, mental, and family stability. Money plays a major role in my life