American’s consider being able to share one’s knowledge and ideas with people an
Important part in our culture. For this reason there are many different ways humans share
and express their ideas. Three mediums that allow the spread of knowledge are online bogs, letters, and fables. A subject that I found particularly interesting was the way trauma, particularly September 11th, effects the development of children. When tiring to educate people about the effects that September 11th had on children I used all three mediums in order to appeal to different types of audiences.
Online bogs are easily accessible and furthermore, they are easily reached by groups of people. Moreover an online blog is instant. Once I post my blog online it would only
take seconds for people around the world to read it. It was important for my research to
be accessible to large groups because it was a large group of children who were affected
by the attacks. Moreover, it was essential that it be easily accessible because this
Research appeals to parents. Parents are usually overwhelmed with having to fulfill
multiple roles: the role of a parent and the role that their full time job requires of
them. It would be hard and stressful for parents to try and acquire this knowledge
themselves since they are already so busy. Therefore, by posting is essential because it
would be so easily accessible.
A letter is a form of sharing one’s ideas that is personal. By writing a letter
one can appeal to a certain person. Moreover, with a letter one can draw the attention of one particular person and the person usually pays much closer attention to a letter because it relates to a person more by being personal. In wanting to share my ideas about how September 11th effects children I wrote a letter to the researcher who studies the way children developed. In this letter I shared how September 11th affected me as a child. Moreover, I wrote a letter to two different 9/11-support groups. In these letters I told them my experience with 9/11. This would be helpful for them because it might give them another idea for a type of support or improve the support they are offering because they might better understand the reactions children had because of September 11th.
It is important not only for parents, educators, and therapist to learn about the effects September 11th had on children but also essential for children to learn about the effects September 11th had on them. Children need to learn about and understand the effects before they can try and tackle the problems September 11th created for them. I created an educational game for 8th grade students to help explain the effects September 11th had on children. In this game children learn about Erik Erikson’s developmental stages. They then read a bunch of fictional stories about kids who experienced September 11th. Children should be able to match the fictional stories, what the main character’s reaction to September 11th, and tell which stage the fictional character was in and what the outcome of fictional characters stage was. Children then could relate to a story and understand their peer’s reactions to September 11th.
Being about to share ideas is vital to education and learning. When one wants to share their ideas it is important to think about who they want to share their ideas with, how they are going to share them, and how to explain their ideas in order to appeal to the their audience. In sharing my knowledge about the way September 11th effected the development of children I used three different mediums: an online blog, a letter, and a fable. By using different mediums I was able to appeal to different audiences.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Game
Here is my game. (It is directed towards the older children). In this game one must match up the stories with Erickson's stages. Moreover, each stage has two outcomes, the player must determine which outcome of the stage the person in the story will develop. *Note: These are all fictional stories that I made up.
Here is the information the children must read/ learn about first. (A.K.A. Erickson’s stages)
Erikson believes that the first stage a person goes through, from about the age of birth to 18 months, is Trust vs. Mistrust. . At this time infants need to feel a sense of safety and love from their parents and know they can depend on them to help them survive.
The next stage Eriksson believes children go through is Autonomy vs. Shame and doubt. This stage takes place from the age of 18 months to 36 months. At this time a child task is to assert their independence without being ashamed.
Erik Erikson believed that children progress into initiative vs. guilt. This occurs from about the ages of 3 to 51/2 years, what Eriksson refers to as the “play age.” Erickson believed that during this stage the child has three tasks, “(1) to imagine, to broaden his skills through active play of all sorts, including fantasy (2) to cooperate with others (3) to lead as well as to follow.” (Robert Myers, Ph.D. Dr., paragraph 5) Teri L. Elliott states, “Play is how they [children] learn about and organize the world and make sense of the new information they are learning on a daily basis. In addition, play allows children to achieve a sense of mastery over imaginary or real frustrations. Consequently, in an attempt to understand a traumatic event, children often put aspects of the situation into their play.” In other words, children learn about social relationships through play because playing allows children to mimic and practice real life and try out different social roles. Children at this age participate mostly in cooperative play (a type of play where children play with each other and are able to mimic the real world).
during adolescence, ages 13 to 20, children face the task of Identity vs. role confusion. When a traumatic event occurs during adolescence this can be particularly detrimental to development because during this time adolescents are transitioning from being dependent to independent. Adolescents are learning how to be reliant on and think for themselves. This is an important part of an individual’s life and requires a lot of work. It involves formulating how one perceives the outside world and the way one perceives oneself. It also involves learning how one thinks and feels, learning how one reacts under stressful situations, which then requires one to create his or her own emotional coping skills. . Since September 11th required such a high-efficiency coping skill, many adolescents turned to insufficient coping skills resulting in a disorder. This can be seen in adolescents engaging in drugs or sexual relationships, feeling depressed, somatization disorders, withdrawal, and apathy.
Here are the stories:
Julie is an infant. Her mom, Amanda’s, best friend was badly hurt in the attacks on sept.11th. Amanda spends lots of time alone in her room crying and at the hospital away from her daughter Julie. Amanda often stays late at the hospital. Since Julie is breast-feed sometimes Julie does not get feed when she is hungry because of Amanda’s late nights at the hospital.
Julien's father was a police officer in downtown New York City. His dad broke his arm in the commotion during September 11th. Julien feels bad that he was not at the buildings helping his father. Julien feels that if he was at the WTC cite he could have protected his father and his father would have not been hurt.
Hayley's family lived in Brooklyn but her father worked in Manhattan at the twin towers. On September 11th, Hayley's dad had to walk from downtown Manhattan to his house in Brooklyn, which took him several hours. Hayley did was worried that her dad was hurt because it took him so long to get home. When Hayley arrived back at school two of her classmates, Annabel and Dylan, played a “make believe” game called "house". In this game Annabel and Dylan pretended to be Hayley's parents. Annabel and Dylan started off the game by pretending to wake Hayley up for school. Hayley then pretended to wake up and started to scream, “Dylan don’t go to work because I am scared that you will not come home.”
Erin lived just a few blocks away from the twin towers. On September 11th Erin was on her way to her high school when she saw the plane hit the first tower. After seeing this happen Erin was very scared and upset. One day her best friend Kathy told Erin that she tried a drug, which made her feel happy. Erin wanted to be happy so she tried the drug. Erin liked the happy feeling that the drug made her feel so she started using it more and more. Soon Erin became addicted to the drug.
Ms. Greenburg is a pre-school teacher. After September 11th Ms. Greenburg had her class do an art project about how they felt during Sept. 11th. Jenny painted a picture and asked her teacher, Ms. Greenburg, if she could share it with the class. Ms. Greenburg was very pleased and the class enjoyed her project very much.
Ethan was very popular. He loved going out with his friends and having a good time. After September 11th Ethan realized he wanted to spend more time with his infant son Ken. Ethan now feeds, bathes, changes Ken's diapers, and plays with Ken. Ethan and Ken are a lot more close now.
Here is the information the children must read/ learn about first. (A.K.A. Erickson’s stages)
Erikson believes that the first stage a person goes through, from about the age of birth to 18 months, is Trust vs. Mistrust. . At this time infants need to feel a sense of safety and love from their parents and know they can depend on them to help them survive.
The next stage Eriksson believes children go through is Autonomy vs. Shame and doubt. This stage takes place from the age of 18 months to 36 months. At this time a child task is to assert their independence without being ashamed.
Erik Erikson believed that children progress into initiative vs. guilt. This occurs from about the ages of 3 to 51/2 years, what Eriksson refers to as the “play age.” Erickson believed that during this stage the child has three tasks, “(1) to imagine, to broaden his skills through active play of all sorts, including fantasy (2) to cooperate with others (3) to lead as well as to follow.” (Robert Myers, Ph.D. Dr., paragraph 5) Teri L. Elliott states, “Play is how they [children] learn about and organize the world and make sense of the new information they are learning on a daily basis. In addition, play allows children to achieve a sense of mastery over imaginary or real frustrations. Consequently, in an attempt to understand a traumatic event, children often put aspects of the situation into their play.” In other words, children learn about social relationships through play because playing allows children to mimic and practice real life and try out different social roles. Children at this age participate mostly in cooperative play (a type of play where children play with each other and are able to mimic the real world).
during adolescence, ages 13 to 20, children face the task of Identity vs. role confusion. When a traumatic event occurs during adolescence this can be particularly detrimental to development because during this time adolescents are transitioning from being dependent to independent. Adolescents are learning how to be reliant on and think for themselves. This is an important part of an individual’s life and requires a lot of work. It involves formulating how one perceives the outside world and the way one perceives oneself. It also involves learning how one thinks and feels, learning how one reacts under stressful situations, which then requires one to create his or her own emotional coping skills. . Since September 11th required such a high-efficiency coping skill, many adolescents turned to insufficient coping skills resulting in a disorder. This can be seen in adolescents engaging in drugs or sexual relationships, feeling depressed, somatization disorders, withdrawal, and apathy.
Here are the stories:
Julie is an infant. Her mom, Amanda’s, best friend was badly hurt in the attacks on sept.11th. Amanda spends lots of time alone in her room crying and at the hospital away from her daughter Julie. Amanda often stays late at the hospital. Since Julie is breast-feed sometimes Julie does not get feed when she is hungry because of Amanda’s late nights at the hospital.
Julien's father was a police officer in downtown New York City. His dad broke his arm in the commotion during September 11th. Julien feels bad that he was not at the buildings helping his father. Julien feels that if he was at the WTC cite he could have protected his father and his father would have not been hurt.
Hayley's family lived in Brooklyn but her father worked in Manhattan at the twin towers. On September 11th, Hayley's dad had to walk from downtown Manhattan to his house in Brooklyn, which took him several hours. Hayley did was worried that her dad was hurt because it took him so long to get home. When Hayley arrived back at school two of her classmates, Annabel and Dylan, played a “make believe” game called "house". In this game Annabel and Dylan pretended to be Hayley's parents. Annabel and Dylan started off the game by pretending to wake Hayley up for school. Hayley then pretended to wake up and started to scream, “Dylan don’t go to work because I am scared that you will not come home.”
Erin lived just a few blocks away from the twin towers. On September 11th Erin was on her way to her high school when she saw the plane hit the first tower. After seeing this happen Erin was very scared and upset. One day her best friend Kathy told Erin that she tried a drug, which made her feel happy. Erin wanted to be happy so she tried the drug. Erin liked the happy feeling that the drug made her feel so she started using it more and more. Soon Erin became addicted to the drug.
Ms. Greenburg is a pre-school teacher. After September 11th Ms. Greenburg had her class do an art project about how they felt during Sept. 11th. Jenny painted a picture and asked her teacher, Ms. Greenburg, if she could share it with the class. Ms. Greenburg was very pleased and the class enjoyed her project very much.
Ethan was very popular. He loved going out with his friends and having a good time. After September 11th Ethan realized he wanted to spend more time with his infant son Ken. Ethan now feeds, bathes, changes Ken's diapers, and plays with Ken. Ethan and Ken are a lot more close now.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Letters
AVALON GOEBEL
172 East 4th St.
New York, NY 10009
Goebelac@eckerd.edu
December 2, 2007
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Bldg 31, Room 2A32,
MSC 2425 31 Center Drive Bethesda,
MD 20892-2425
Dear Ms. Maholmes,
My name is Avalon Goebel. I am a Psychology major at Eckerd College. I am really interested in children, the way they think, learn, and develop. Recently, researched the effect that September 11th had on children. This was especially interesting to me because I was greatly affected by September 11th. I came across your writing on the NICHD website and was engrossed in your section about personality development.
I noticed a personality change in my self after September 11th. I changed from an extravert who freely expressed my ideas and put a lot of trust and hope in people to becoming very skeptical of people, especially when it came to their opinion of me. I only believed the negative things people would say to or about me and disregarded and became upset by the postive things because I felt I was being lied to. I was wondering if you have any information on how a traumatic event, such as September 11th effects a child’s personality. Furthermore, weather a child’s age when they experience a traumatic event affects their personality differently.
Sincerely,
Avalon Goebel
AVALON GOEBEL
172 East 4th St.
New York, NY 10009
Goebelac@eckerd.edu
December 2, 2007
Dear World Trade Center Survivors’ Network,
My name is Avalon Goebel. I am a Psychology major at Eckerd College. I am really interested in children, the way they think, learn, and develop. Recently, I have been exploring the effects that September 11th had on children. This was especially interesting to me because I was greatly affected by September 11th.
I did not receive any form of therapy or treatment after September 11th and therefore was left to ponder weather it was the terrorist attacks or the onset of adolescence that caused me to become depressed and act out soon after the attacks. After September 11th I not only became depressed but also developed a low self-esteem--I questioned life, was it worth living? Would it be easier to die? Would anyone notice or care if I was to die? Since my life did not matter nor did the things in it. School was just another annoyance, my parents were just more people who I would disappoint, and my friends were all so much “cooler” than me it only made me jealous resent them.
As a psychology major, Eckerd students learn about the insecurities that typically come into effect during adolescence, especially in females. Therefore, I always attributed my behaviors due to do my age, since I slid into my teenage years turning thirteen on September 12th 2001. However, in view of the fact that I have been researching September 11th and the effects it had on children I have realized many of my behaviors and emotions were similar to others around my age at the time of the attacks that had too experienced September 11th . Hence, perhaps my behaviors were a reaction to experiencing the pain September 11th.
Consequently, I think it is extremely important for people to be able not only to share their experiences and reactions to September 11th but for people to be able to read about others experiences which would allow people understand their own reactions to September 11th . Thank you for having programs that do this.
Sincerely,
Avalon Goebel
VALON GOEBEL
172 East 4th St.
New York, NY 10009
Goebelac@eckerd.edu
December 2, 2007
Dear World Trade Center Survivors’ Network,
My name is Avalon Goebel. I am a Psychology major at Eckerd College. I am really interested in children, the way they think, learn, and develop. Recently, I have been exploring the effects that September 11th had on children. This was especially interesting to me because I was greatly affected by September 11th.
I did not receive any form of therapy or treatment after September 11th and therefore was left to ponder weather it was the terrorist attacks or the onset of adolescence that caused me to become depressed and act out soon after the attacks. After September 11th I not only became depressed but also developed a low self-esteem--I questioned life, was it worth living? Would it be easier to die? Would anyone notice or care if I was to die? Since my life did not matter nor did the things in it. School was just another annoyance, my parents were just more people who I would disappoint, and my friends were all so much “cooler” than me it only made me jealous resent them.
As a psychology major, Eckerd students learn about the insecurities that typically come into effect during adolescence, especially in females. Therefore, I always attributed my behaviors due to do my age, since I slid into my teenage years turning thirteen on September 12th 2001. However, in view of the fact that I have been researching September 11th and the effects it had on children I have realized many of my behaviors and emotions were similar to others around my age at the time of the attacks that had too experienced September 11th . Hence, perhaps my behaviors were a reaction to experiencing the pain September 11th.
Consequently, I think it is extremely important for people to be able not only to share their experiences and reactions to September 11th but for people to be able to read about others experiences which would allow people understand their own reactions to September 11th . Thank you for having programs that do this.
Sincerely,
Avalon Goebel
172 East 4th St.
New York, NY 10009
Goebelac@eckerd.edu
December 2, 2007
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Bldg 31, Room 2A32,
MSC 2425 31 Center Drive Bethesda,
MD 20892-2425
Dear Ms. Maholmes,
My name is Avalon Goebel. I am a Psychology major at Eckerd College. I am really interested in children, the way they think, learn, and develop. Recently, researched the effect that September 11th had on children. This was especially interesting to me because I was greatly affected by September 11th. I came across your writing on the NICHD website and was engrossed in your section about personality development.
I noticed a personality change in my self after September 11th. I changed from an extravert who freely expressed my ideas and put a lot of trust and hope in people to becoming very skeptical of people, especially when it came to their opinion of me. I only believed the negative things people would say to or about me and disregarded and became upset by the postive things because I felt I was being lied to. I was wondering if you have any information on how a traumatic event, such as September 11th effects a child’s personality. Furthermore, weather a child’s age when they experience a traumatic event affects their personality differently.
Sincerely,
Avalon Goebel
AVALON GOEBEL
172 East 4th St.
New York, NY 10009
Goebelac@eckerd.edu
December 2, 2007
Dear World Trade Center Survivors’ Network,
My name is Avalon Goebel. I am a Psychology major at Eckerd College. I am really interested in children, the way they think, learn, and develop. Recently, I have been exploring the effects that September 11th had on children. This was especially interesting to me because I was greatly affected by September 11th.
I did not receive any form of therapy or treatment after September 11th and therefore was left to ponder weather it was the terrorist attacks or the onset of adolescence that caused me to become depressed and act out soon after the attacks. After September 11th I not only became depressed but also developed a low self-esteem--I questioned life, was it worth living? Would it be easier to die? Would anyone notice or care if I was to die? Since my life did not matter nor did the things in it. School was just another annoyance, my parents were just more people who I would disappoint, and my friends were all so much “cooler” than me it only made me jealous resent them.
As a psychology major, Eckerd students learn about the insecurities that typically come into effect during adolescence, especially in females. Therefore, I always attributed my behaviors due to do my age, since I slid into my teenage years turning thirteen on September 12th 2001. However, in view of the fact that I have been researching September 11th and the effects it had on children I have realized many of my behaviors and emotions were similar to others around my age at the time of the attacks that had too experienced September 11th . Hence, perhaps my behaviors were a reaction to experiencing the pain September 11th.
Consequently, I think it is extremely important for people to be able not only to share their experiences and reactions to September 11th but for people to be able to read about others experiences which would allow people understand their own reactions to September 11th . Thank you for having programs that do this.
Sincerely,
Avalon Goebel
VALON GOEBEL
172 East 4th St.
New York, NY 10009
Goebelac@eckerd.edu
December 2, 2007
Dear World Trade Center Survivors’ Network,
My name is Avalon Goebel. I am a Psychology major at Eckerd College. I am really interested in children, the way they think, learn, and develop. Recently, I have been exploring the effects that September 11th had on children. This was especially interesting to me because I was greatly affected by September 11th.
I did not receive any form of therapy or treatment after September 11th and therefore was left to ponder weather it was the terrorist attacks or the onset of adolescence that caused me to become depressed and act out soon after the attacks. After September 11th I not only became depressed but also developed a low self-esteem--I questioned life, was it worth living? Would it be easier to die? Would anyone notice or care if I was to die? Since my life did not matter nor did the things in it. School was just another annoyance, my parents were just more people who I would disappoint, and my friends were all so much “cooler” than me it only made me jealous resent them.
As a psychology major, Eckerd students learn about the insecurities that typically come into effect during adolescence, especially in females. Therefore, I always attributed my behaviors due to do my age, since I slid into my teenage years turning thirteen on September 12th 2001. However, in view of the fact that I have been researching September 11th and the effects it had on children I have realized many of my behaviors and emotions were similar to others around my age at the time of the attacks that had too experienced September 11th . Hence, perhaps my behaviors were a reaction to experiencing the pain September 11th.
Consequently, I think it is extremely important for people to be able not only to share their experiences and reactions to September 11th but for people to be able to read about others experiences which would allow people understand their own reactions to September 11th . Thank you for having programs that do this.
Sincerely,
Avalon Goebel
Monday, November 19, 2007
Organizations/Address
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Bldg 31, Room 2A32, MSC 2425
31 Center Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892-2425
Academy for the study of the Psychonanalytic Arts
Email@AcademyAnalyticArts.org
Bldg 31, Room 2A32, MSC 2425
31 Center Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892-2425
Academy for the study of the Psychonanalytic Arts
Email@AcademyAnalyticArts.org
World Trade Center Survivors' Network
22 Cortland Street, 20th Floor
New York, NY 10007
contact@survivorsnet.org
The effects of Sept. 11th on children
We calculated in advance the number of casualties from the enemy who would be killed….I was the most optimistic of them all…due to my experience in the field….They were overjoyed when the first plane hit the building, so I said to them: be patient.
– Osama bin Laden, from the videotape captured by the American military in Afghanistan, broadcast by CNN (December 13, 2001)
On September 11th 2001, New Yorkers awoke to the piercing sounds of hundreds of fire and police car sirens. The terrorist attacks that took place that day tore the flesh of our country, leaving America vulnerable, pained, and scared. Although funerals, memorials, and new building plans tried to heal the nation’s wound, the psychological impact of the terrorist attack was too great.
Americans pride themselves on being knowledgeable of other cultures; Americans require their children to take social studies and urge their students to travel abroad. Americans convince themselves that Al Qaeda is ignorant and is unaware of their society and culture. However, the above quote proves that Osama Bin Laden understands the depth of American culture. He understood that the death and injuries that September 11th caused were only a small part of the pain Americans would feel from the terrorist attack. It was the mourning and psychological scarring that made American’s hearts ache, leaving them feeling vulnerable and weak.
The wound became infected and poisoned the minds of American children and hindered their development. There are many diagnoses of specific causes of the infection and how to cure it. The humanistic perspective and psychosocial theory both tackle the task of diagnosing the infection.
According to the humanistic perspective, founded by Carl Rodgers and Abraham Maslow, people are born “good” and the bad things that happen to them are what make them become “bad.” Humanists believe that one’s incentive in life is to achieve meaning and fulfillment. (Halgin, 111). Hence, the negativity of a terrorist attack would negatively affect the development of children.
Carl Rodgers believes that society places “conditions of worth” on a child. This means that we tell our children they are good if they do certain things. For example, we think good children are those who behave, do well in school, etc. Sept. 11th not only changed what we consider a good child to be but also increased the number of conditions of worth we put on our children. According to Joseph F. Hagan and the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health and the Task Force on Terrorism, “Most adolescents are still developing their emotional coping skills, are working to establish their independence and own identity, and are known to be especially susceptible to the development of major psychiatric disorders such as depression.” (792) Despite the fact that normal adolescents have not yet developed adequate coping skills, those who acted out after Sept. 11, were considered bad and consequently developed depression. Those were able to cope with a traumatic event, internalize it, understand it, and still behave like normal children were considered good.
Additionally Rodgers believes that anxiety occurs because of incongruence between our ideal self and our actual self and a disorder occurs when there is something blocking a person from reaching their ideal self. The psychological scaring of September 11th acted as a barrier for children preventing them from reaching their ideal self. According to Joseph F. Hagan and the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health and the Task Force on Terrorism, “The response of younger children to disaster is dominated by mood, anxiety, and behavioral symptoms. They [are largely unable to understand the intentions and logic of others and, consequently have great difficulty distinguishing a deliberate action from an unintentional incident. As a result, in the face of disaster, young children are more concerned with the consequences, and older children are more aware of the underlying principles of a traumatic event. Although older children also experience depression, their anxiety may take on specific and perhaps unrealistic forms and dears, and their behavioral reactions may be complicated by anger or despair as week as their past experiences.” (791)
Feelings of anxiety and depression and efforts to try to understand
terrorist attack steal the energy and thought that children should be spending on the tasks of development. These feelings block children from reaching their ideal self by inhibiting their confidence to develop. Moreover, after traumatic event like a terrorist attack children become overwhelmed with what is going on in the present and can not see the positive in the future or see the future at all. They are not excited about the future and are unable to set goals. This is one of the major symptoms of depression.
Maslow believes that a fully function persons exists when a person realizes their potential for psychological achievement. He calls this realization “self-actualization.” Maslow proposes the idea that humans have a hierarchy of needs. In order to for one to reach self-actualization they must first fulfill their hierarchy of needs. A psychological disorder occurs when these needs are not met. Maslow describes his hierarchy in the form of a pyramid. At the base of the pyramid is physiological needs, and then the pyramid builds up with the need to feel safe, feel loved and a sense of belonging, achieve self esteem, and then finally one can reach self-actualization. September 11th disrupts most of these needs. Psychological needs are taken away because caregivers devote their attention to grieving and forming coping methods for themselves. Adults must first fulfill their hierarchy of needs before they can help others. The need to feel safe was directly attacked by September 11th because Americans are unsure when another terrorist attack will happen again. According to author Tom Pyszcznynski, “In November 2001, 40% of all Americans believed that they or a family member will be the victim of a future terrorist attack; and 74% said they believed such an attack was quite likely in the near future (95).” The need to feel loved and belong to something is extremely important in the development of children. In order to learn, one must be able to try out new things and make mistakes. If children feel that they cannot make a mistake, they will not feel comfortable learning and therefore will not develop psychologically. Moreover, when children try out new things and learn about themselves (what they like, what they dislike) they develop a sense of who they are. If children do not feel loved or feel a sense of belonging, they will not develop a strong self-esteem. As a result, children with low self-esteem will not develop because they will be afraid to try out new things.
Rodgers and Maslow would prescribe therapy for the infection that is hindering a child’s development. They would agree that the way to treat this infection would be for society to separate its behavior from the actual person. Behavior is something one can change. They would explain to children that these feelings of depression, anxiety, and confusion are not permanent. They arose from an outside event and it is not from something within them, and therefore they can change these feelings.
According to the psychosocial theory, the environment affects one’s psychological development. Erik Eriksson’s psychosocial theory combines one’s social, cognitive, and emotional development. (Alkhatib, paragraph 3) Eriksson believes that the first stage a person goes through, from about the age of birth to 18 months, is Trust vs. Mistrust. September 11th created a sense of mistrust in infants. Even infants whose cerebral cortex has not developed fully can acquire mistrust because they need to feel a sense of safety and love from their parents. Parents who experienced September 11th had an added stressor, which perhaps lead to them to be psychologically unviable. (Alkhatib, paragraph 5)
The next stage Eriksson believes children go through is Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt. This stage takes place from the age of 18 months to 36 months. At this time, a child’s task is to assert independence without being ashamed. September 11th inhibits a child’s ability to achieve autonomy. Children are so young that they lack the cognitive and emotional ability to understand a traumatic event and therefore look to their distressed parents for cues. Therefore, they interpret their parent’s anxiety and depression and accept it as their own. It is much more likely for a depressed child to develop a sense of shame and doubt than autonomy. Furthermore, children might be prevented from asserting their independence by their caregivers. In the novel, The Wake of 9/11, Tom Pyszcznski recounts a story from a Rockefeller Center Santa employee. The Santa recalls working at Rockefeller Center for eight years before September 11th without noticing a big change. After September 11th however, the Santa stated, “It’s not normal there… Mr. Dewitt [the Santa] said. He attributed the change to the post-traumatic stress of Sept. 11. “The parents will not let the hands of their children go,” he said. “The kids sense that. It’s like water seeping down and the kids feel it, the kid’s reaction to Santa is not natural. There is anxiety, but the kids can’t make the connection…many times the children don’t know what they want at all, and that is strange, Mr. Dewitt said. ‘Usually they have a list.’” (95)
Erik Erikson believed that children progress into initiative vs. guilt. This occurs from about the ages of 3 to 51/2 years, what Eriksson refers to as the “play age.” Erickson believed that during this stage the child has three tasks, “(1) to imagine, to broaden his skills through active play of all sorts, including fantasy (2) to cooperate with others (3) to lead as well as to follow.” (Robert Myers, Ph.D. Dr., paragraph 5) September 11th would lead to a child feeling guilty by preventing a child from accomplishing these tasks. The act of playing is essential part of a child’s development. In fact it is so important the United Nations guarantees the act of play as a right to all children. Teri L. Elliott states, “Play is how they [children] learn about and organize the world and make sense of the new information they are learning on a daily basis. In addition, play allows children to achieve a sense of mastery over imaginary or real frustrations. Consequently, in an attempt to understand a traumatic event, children often put aspects of the situation into their play.” In other words, children learn about social relationships through play because playing allows children to mimic and practice real life and try out different social roles. However, children at this age participate mostly in cooperative play (a type of play where children play with each other and are able to mimic the real world). Children also realized they have certain roles and their roles depend on each other’s. Children might mimic their parent’s skepticism towards other people, the government, and their ability to be safe. Moreover, children might not care to engage in play because they might lose interest in fun activities due to depressed feelings. Lastly, Elliott goes on to explain that some children engage in post-traumatic play, a form of play where ”the enjoyment that characterizes ordinary play is absent and instead there is a sense of anxiety and discomfort. A child may seem ‘stuck’ and the play continues in an anxious and unchanging manner, apparently providing no relief. The child is not conscious of the connection with the traumatic situation.” (58)
According to Erickson, during adolescence, ages 13 to 20, children face the task of Identity vs. role confusion. When a traumatic event occurs during adolescence this can be particularly detrimental to development because during this time adolescents are transitioning from being dependent to independent. Adolescents are learning how to be reliant on and think for themselves. This is an important part of an individual’s life and requires a lot of work. It involves formulating how one perceives the outside world and the way one perceives oneself. It also involves learning how one thinks and feels, learning how one reacts under stressful situations, which then requires one to create his or her own emotional coping skills. Since September 11th required such a high-efficiency coping skill, many adolescents turned to insufficient coping skills resulting in a disorder. This can be seen in adolescents engaging in drugs or sexual relationships, feeling depressed, somatization disorders, withdrawal, and apathy. (Hagan, 792)
Erikson would say the way to cure the infection, which would allow children to develop normally in a time of a traumatic event, would be for a child to be given more attention and love than usual from their caregivers. Additionally, Erickson would say a strong society must be kept up and built where it is nurturing and comforting. This is because Erickson believed the environment has a huge impact on how the child develops and so a strong, loving, nurturing environment is necessary.
In America, when people have questions about the diagnosis and cure of something that could potentially be life threatening, they are encouraged to receive more than one professional opinion. Both the humanistic perspective and psychosocial theory’s diagnosis and cure are very reflective of American culture: the focus is on the negative. The underlying truth is that bad things are necessary because they make us appreciate the good things we do have. Herman Melville states in his novel Moby Dick, “All men live enveloped in whale-lines. All are born with halters round their necks; but it is only when caught in the swift, sudden turn of death, that mortals realize the silent, subtle, ever present perils of life (387).” Furthermore, a traumatic event puts life in perspective for us by forcing us to realize the insignificance of negative things that we take so much time thinking about — for example, our appearance, how cool we are, who speaks badly of us. It allows us to appreciate and rely on the relationships we have. A traumatic event like a terrorist attack shows us how prevalent death actually is. It makes us pause and look at our life, how we have been living it and how we want to live it. On September 11th, Americans observed their constant negative, and in a place like New York City, a place known for rude and selfish behavior, people started acting positive. On September 12th, New Yorkers woke up to the streets being flooded with flags, a symbol of pride in their country, and Red Cross vehicles asking people to donate their blood. On September 12th New Yorkers waited on hour-long lines to help each other out by donating food, water, and their very own blood. The children of New York observed this kind behavior. They saw the smiling faces of their elders after giving up their time and money to help another out. The children observed the eagerness to help. Most importantly the children who were affected by the terrorist attacks on September 11th were taught to be thankful for what they have, who they are, and to be alive.
It was inevitable that the terrorist attack on September 11th — an attack where 20% of all Americans knew someone who was hurt, missing, or killed — would leave a scar on our history. However, the way we treat this scar is the important part, and the part that we need to deal with today. Do we assume this scar is a negative thing and quickly try to heal and hide it? Should we try to medicate it? Or should we embrace the wound, look the pain in the face, realize we are still alive, we are still a living breathing society, we made it though this attack, and then wear our scar proudly? The humanistic and psychosocial perspectives focus on the healing and preventing the scar. What happens if we cannot heal it? Then our children are embarrassed of it and do not know how to cope with it. The humanistic perspective (Rodgers and Maslow) believes that September 11th affected the development of children because it was a bad thing that happened to them and therefore will leave a negative consequence on the children. The psychosocial theory asserts that September 11th affects the development of children by making them have the negative outcome of the tasks they have to face. However, the children of September 11th have a unique quality that we crave in politicians and world leaders today: the ability to be happy with oneself, have strong positive relationships with others, and the desire to help people who are in need. Perhaps if our current president and politicians had been the children affected by September 11th, they would have been less resistant to help in Darfur, Rwanda, and other countries bleeding to death from their own wounds, which cannot scab over by themselves.
– Osama bin Laden, from the videotape captured by the American military in Afghanistan, broadcast by CNN (December 13, 2001)
On September 11th 2001, New Yorkers awoke to the piercing sounds of hundreds of fire and police car sirens. The terrorist attacks that took place that day tore the flesh of our country, leaving America vulnerable, pained, and scared. Although funerals, memorials, and new building plans tried to heal the nation’s wound, the psychological impact of the terrorist attack was too great.
Americans pride themselves on being knowledgeable of other cultures; Americans require their children to take social studies and urge their students to travel abroad. Americans convince themselves that Al Qaeda is ignorant and is unaware of their society and culture. However, the above quote proves that Osama Bin Laden understands the depth of American culture. He understood that the death and injuries that September 11th caused were only a small part of the pain Americans would feel from the terrorist attack. It was the mourning and psychological scarring that made American’s hearts ache, leaving them feeling vulnerable and weak.
The wound became infected and poisoned the minds of American children and hindered their development. There are many diagnoses of specific causes of the infection and how to cure it. The humanistic perspective and psychosocial theory both tackle the task of diagnosing the infection.
According to the humanistic perspective, founded by Carl Rodgers and Abraham Maslow, people are born “good” and the bad things that happen to them are what make them become “bad.” Humanists believe that one’s incentive in life is to achieve meaning and fulfillment. (Halgin, 111). Hence, the negativity of a terrorist attack would negatively affect the development of children.
Carl Rodgers believes that society places “conditions of worth” on a child. This means that we tell our children they are good if they do certain things. For example, we think good children are those who behave, do well in school, etc. Sept. 11th not only changed what we consider a good child to be but also increased the number of conditions of worth we put on our children. According to Joseph F. Hagan and the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health and the Task Force on Terrorism, “Most adolescents are still developing their emotional coping skills, are working to establish their independence and own identity, and are known to be especially susceptible to the development of major psychiatric disorders such as depression.” (792) Despite the fact that normal adolescents have not yet developed adequate coping skills, those who acted out after Sept. 11, were considered bad and consequently developed depression. Those were able to cope with a traumatic event, internalize it, understand it, and still behave like normal children were considered good.
Additionally Rodgers believes that anxiety occurs because of incongruence between our ideal self and our actual self and a disorder occurs when there is something blocking a person from reaching their ideal self. The psychological scaring of September 11th acted as a barrier for children preventing them from reaching their ideal self. According to Joseph F. Hagan and the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health and the Task Force on Terrorism, “The response of younger children to disaster is dominated by mood, anxiety, and behavioral symptoms. They [are largely unable to understand the intentions and logic of others and, consequently have great difficulty distinguishing a deliberate action from an unintentional incident. As a result, in the face of disaster, young children are more concerned with the consequences, and older children are more aware of the underlying principles of a traumatic event. Although older children also experience depression, their anxiety may take on specific and perhaps unrealistic forms and dears, and their behavioral reactions may be complicated by anger or despair as week as their past experiences.” (791)
Feelings of anxiety and depression and efforts to try to understand
terrorist attack steal the energy and thought that children should be spending on the tasks of development. These feelings block children from reaching their ideal self by inhibiting their confidence to develop. Moreover, after traumatic event like a terrorist attack children become overwhelmed with what is going on in the present and can not see the positive in the future or see the future at all. They are not excited about the future and are unable to set goals. This is one of the major symptoms of depression.
Maslow believes that a fully function persons exists when a person realizes their potential for psychological achievement. He calls this realization “self-actualization.” Maslow proposes the idea that humans have a hierarchy of needs. In order to for one to reach self-actualization they must first fulfill their hierarchy of needs. A psychological disorder occurs when these needs are not met. Maslow describes his hierarchy in the form of a pyramid. At the base of the pyramid is physiological needs, and then the pyramid builds up with the need to feel safe, feel loved and a sense of belonging, achieve self esteem, and then finally one can reach self-actualization. September 11th disrupts most of these needs. Psychological needs are taken away because caregivers devote their attention to grieving and forming coping methods for themselves. Adults must first fulfill their hierarchy of needs before they can help others. The need to feel safe was directly attacked by September 11th because Americans are unsure when another terrorist attack will happen again. According to author Tom Pyszcznynski, “In November 2001, 40% of all Americans believed that they or a family member will be the victim of a future terrorist attack; and 74% said they believed such an attack was quite likely in the near future (95).” The need to feel loved and belong to something is extremely important in the development of children. In order to learn, one must be able to try out new things and make mistakes. If children feel that they cannot make a mistake, they will not feel comfortable learning and therefore will not develop psychologically. Moreover, when children try out new things and learn about themselves (what they like, what they dislike) they develop a sense of who they are. If children do not feel loved or feel a sense of belonging, they will not develop a strong self-esteem. As a result, children with low self-esteem will not develop because they will be afraid to try out new things.
Rodgers and Maslow would prescribe therapy for the infection that is hindering a child’s development. They would agree that the way to treat this infection would be for society to separate its behavior from the actual person. Behavior is something one can change. They would explain to children that these feelings of depression, anxiety, and confusion are not permanent. They arose from an outside event and it is not from something within them, and therefore they can change these feelings.
According to the psychosocial theory, the environment affects one’s psychological development. Erik Eriksson’s psychosocial theory combines one’s social, cognitive, and emotional development. (Alkhatib, paragraph 3) Eriksson believes that the first stage a person goes through, from about the age of birth to 18 months, is Trust vs. Mistrust. September 11th created a sense of mistrust in infants. Even infants whose cerebral cortex has not developed fully can acquire mistrust because they need to feel a sense of safety and love from their parents. Parents who experienced September 11th had an added stressor, which perhaps lead to them to be psychologically unviable. (Alkhatib, paragraph 5)
The next stage Eriksson believes children go through is Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt. This stage takes place from the age of 18 months to 36 months. At this time, a child’s task is to assert independence without being ashamed. September 11th inhibits a child’s ability to achieve autonomy. Children are so young that they lack the cognitive and emotional ability to understand a traumatic event and therefore look to their distressed parents for cues. Therefore, they interpret their parent’s anxiety and depression and accept it as their own. It is much more likely for a depressed child to develop a sense of shame and doubt than autonomy. Furthermore, children might be prevented from asserting their independence by their caregivers. In the novel, The Wake of 9/11, Tom Pyszcznski recounts a story from a Rockefeller Center Santa employee. The Santa recalls working at Rockefeller Center for eight years before September 11th without noticing a big change. After September 11th however, the Santa stated, “It’s not normal there… Mr. Dewitt [the Santa] said. He attributed the change to the post-traumatic stress of Sept. 11. “The parents will not let the hands of their children go,” he said. “The kids sense that. It’s like water seeping down and the kids feel it, the kid’s reaction to Santa is not natural. There is anxiety, but the kids can’t make the connection…many times the children don’t know what they want at all, and that is strange, Mr. Dewitt said. ‘Usually they have a list.’” (95)
Erik Erikson believed that children progress into initiative vs. guilt. This occurs from about the ages of 3 to 51/2 years, what Eriksson refers to as the “play age.” Erickson believed that during this stage the child has three tasks, “(1) to imagine, to broaden his skills through active play of all sorts, including fantasy (2) to cooperate with others (3) to lead as well as to follow.” (Robert Myers, Ph.D. Dr., paragraph 5) September 11th would lead to a child feeling guilty by preventing a child from accomplishing these tasks. The act of playing is essential part of a child’s development. In fact it is so important the United Nations guarantees the act of play as a right to all children. Teri L. Elliott states, “Play is how they [children] learn about and organize the world and make sense of the new information they are learning on a daily basis. In addition, play allows children to achieve a sense of mastery over imaginary or real frustrations. Consequently, in an attempt to understand a traumatic event, children often put aspects of the situation into their play.” In other words, children learn about social relationships through play because playing allows children to mimic and practice real life and try out different social roles. However, children at this age participate mostly in cooperative play (a type of play where children play with each other and are able to mimic the real world). Children also realized they have certain roles and their roles depend on each other’s. Children might mimic their parent’s skepticism towards other people, the government, and their ability to be safe. Moreover, children might not care to engage in play because they might lose interest in fun activities due to depressed feelings. Lastly, Elliott goes on to explain that some children engage in post-traumatic play, a form of play where ”the enjoyment that characterizes ordinary play is absent and instead there is a sense of anxiety and discomfort. A child may seem ‘stuck’ and the play continues in an anxious and unchanging manner, apparently providing no relief. The child is not conscious of the connection with the traumatic situation.” (58)
According to Erickson, during adolescence, ages 13 to 20, children face the task of Identity vs. role confusion. When a traumatic event occurs during adolescence this can be particularly detrimental to development because during this time adolescents are transitioning from being dependent to independent. Adolescents are learning how to be reliant on and think for themselves. This is an important part of an individual’s life and requires a lot of work. It involves formulating how one perceives the outside world and the way one perceives oneself. It also involves learning how one thinks and feels, learning how one reacts under stressful situations, which then requires one to create his or her own emotional coping skills. Since September 11th required such a high-efficiency coping skill, many adolescents turned to insufficient coping skills resulting in a disorder. This can be seen in adolescents engaging in drugs or sexual relationships, feeling depressed, somatization disorders, withdrawal, and apathy. (Hagan, 792)
Erikson would say the way to cure the infection, which would allow children to develop normally in a time of a traumatic event, would be for a child to be given more attention and love than usual from their caregivers. Additionally, Erickson would say a strong society must be kept up and built where it is nurturing and comforting. This is because Erickson believed the environment has a huge impact on how the child develops and so a strong, loving, nurturing environment is necessary.
In America, when people have questions about the diagnosis and cure of something that could potentially be life threatening, they are encouraged to receive more than one professional opinion. Both the humanistic perspective and psychosocial theory’s diagnosis and cure are very reflective of American culture: the focus is on the negative. The underlying truth is that bad things are necessary because they make us appreciate the good things we do have. Herman Melville states in his novel Moby Dick, “All men live enveloped in whale-lines. All are born with halters round their necks; but it is only when caught in the swift, sudden turn of death, that mortals realize the silent, subtle, ever present perils of life (387).” Furthermore, a traumatic event puts life in perspective for us by forcing us to realize the insignificance of negative things that we take so much time thinking about — for example, our appearance, how cool we are, who speaks badly of us. It allows us to appreciate and rely on the relationships we have. A traumatic event like a terrorist attack shows us how prevalent death actually is. It makes us pause and look at our life, how we have been living it and how we want to live it. On September 11th, Americans observed their constant negative, and in a place like New York City, a place known for rude and selfish behavior, people started acting positive. On September 12th, New Yorkers woke up to the streets being flooded with flags, a symbol of pride in their country, and Red Cross vehicles asking people to donate their blood. On September 12th New Yorkers waited on hour-long lines to help each other out by donating food, water, and their very own blood. The children of New York observed this kind behavior. They saw the smiling faces of their elders after giving up their time and money to help another out. The children observed the eagerness to help. Most importantly the children who were affected by the terrorist attacks on September 11th were taught to be thankful for what they have, who they are, and to be alive.
It was inevitable that the terrorist attack on September 11th — an attack where 20% of all Americans knew someone who was hurt, missing, or killed — would leave a scar on our history. However, the way we treat this scar is the important part, and the part that we need to deal with today. Do we assume this scar is a negative thing and quickly try to heal and hide it? Should we try to medicate it? Or should we embrace the wound, look the pain in the face, realize we are still alive, we are still a living breathing society, we made it though this attack, and then wear our scar proudly? The humanistic and psychosocial perspectives focus on the healing and preventing the scar. What happens if we cannot heal it? Then our children are embarrassed of it and do not know how to cope with it. The humanistic perspective (Rodgers and Maslow) believes that September 11th affected the development of children because it was a bad thing that happened to them and therefore will leave a negative consequence on the children. The psychosocial theory asserts that September 11th affects the development of children by making them have the negative outcome of the tasks they have to face. However, the children of September 11th have a unique quality that we crave in politicians and world leaders today: the ability to be happy with oneself, have strong positive relationships with others, and the desire to help people who are in need. Perhaps if our current president and politicians had been the children affected by September 11th, they would have been less resistant to help in Darfur, Rwanda, and other countries bleeding to death from their own wounds, which cannot scab over by themselves.
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