Stages of Development
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Using the four psychological levels of explanation to describe the life of Benjamin Button
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
The short story of Bemjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald involves the life of an individual who ages in reverse. In the story Benjamin Button starts from birth as a shriveled old man, to his death as a seemingly newborn infant. He experiences the natural aging process backwards. In psychology there are four levels of Psychological explanation. These include the biological, personal, basic process and socio cultural level of explanation. These four levels are evident in the story of Benjamin Button. Applying these levels can give great insight to the inner explanation of peoples actions.
The biological level demonstrates the natural processes in our body that cause the ageing process. This includes examples like hormonal imbalance and its effects. In the story Benjamin suffers because of this level of explanation. In his case he ages in a biological reverse. The biological process is said to be unstoppable1, and in the years of his life he went from an old man to a young man. However there were positives from his birth, because as his body and hormones changed, his blood started flowing faster, making him more agile and mobile for the best period of his life. After this period, his life made a rapid decline due to the same development.
The personal level demonstrates the different experiences and personalities of the person. This is to the point where it affects his decisions and actions. Benjamin was born with an old personality, and within time he began to change the way he saw himself. This meant that he started to like his relation and interactional changes, and his self-image lifted. However these changes soon began to affect him negatively, and at his peak he had lived 50 years. After finally reaching the age where he had control, the mental scars of his