Klaus Riegel's Theory of Dimensional Development (BRONWEN ...



KLAUS RIEGEL’S THEORY OF DIMENSIONAL DEVELOPMENTby Bronwen Ballantyne HeiligTHEORYThe transition into adulthood does not occur in set or predictable stages but occurs instead as a response to internal and external changes in an individual’s lifeRiegel believes that individuals mature at different paces and at different times in their livesRiegel describes the internal and external factors acting on development as dimensionsThe interrelated dimensions of this developmental theory classify it as a system theoryDIMENSIONS OF DEVELOPMENTIt was Riegel’s belief that an individual matures when a change occurs in one dimension that forces the individual to adjust all other dimensionsThe four dimensions Riegel's described are the:Individual Psychological Dimension (describes emotional maturity, the gaining of independence, and the maturation of mental processes.)Individual Biological Dimension (pertaining to physical and sexual maturity)Cultural-Sociological Dimension (affected by a society’s expectations of the individual)Environmental Dimension (the physical, economic, and political environment in which the individual lives)RELEVANCE TO ADOLESCENCE Riegel believes that adults contain a dialectical logic which allows them to contain contradiction and to ask questions which is in conflict with society’s formal logic (expectation that there is one right answer) - this explains the struggles adolescents have when deciding about secondary education as they are transitioning from formal to dialectical logic (society says ‘go to university to be successful’ but, this may not apply to an individual's career ambitions)Riegel believes culture and an individual have too dynamic interactions to assign set stages to development (why some teenagers have a rebellious stage and others don’t)STRENGTHSRiegel’s theory is useful in understanding how the expectations and the pace of the transition from adolescence to adulthood adjusts with changes in society Accounts for the differences in the expectations of adolescents and age at which individuals are considered adults between culturesExplains why parents and and today’s youth have different experiences of adolescence from each other (changes in the environmental and cultural-sociological dimensions between generations)SECONDARY SOURCESWade, L. (2011). The Invention of Adolescence. Sociological Images. Retrieved from , P. (2013). Boys to Men: The Invention of Adolescence. Modern Ghana.Retrieved from -men-the- invention-of-adoles.htmlRELEVANCEBoth articles discuss how adolescence has been constructed by society. The Invention of Adolescence discusses how children were expected to take on adult roles once they were physically capable and that the teenage years “that is characterized by immaturity and capriciousness” (Wade, 2011) are a modern invention by showing us in a graph the prevalence of the use of the word adolescence over time. This article reinforces the Riegel’s theory that the expectations and environment that an individual is exposed to effects there developement. Boys to Men: The Invention of Adolescence discusses the differences between American and African cultures in regard to adolescence. In Africa young adult’s are not expected to be autonomous from the support of their families and communities as they are in America so they are considered mature and ready for responsibilities like moving out and marriage at a much younger age. This article highlights the differences that the expectations of a society can have on an adolescents maturity. The effect that the differences between cultures has on development emphasizes that theories that use stages tied intrinsically with age are ineffective due to the fact that many factors outside of biological ones affect the development of an adolescent.REFLECTIVE QUESTIONSHow might the other three dimensions affect the biological one?Can the individual physiological and biological dimension be truly separated when we account for what we know about the development of the brain during adolescence?Can a person mature in one dimension without also maturing in all other dimensions? ................
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