Discuss the concepts of stability and plasticity with regard to individual differences among children

What will be an ideal response?

A theory's position on the roles of nature and nurture affects how it explains individual differences. Some theorists emphasize stability—that children who are high or low in a characteristic (such as verbal ability, anxiety, or sociability) will remain so at later ages. These theorists typically stress the importance of heredity. If they regard environment as important, they usually point to early experiences as establishing a lifelong pattern of behavior. Powerful negative events in the first few years, they argue, cannot be fully overcome by later, more positive ones. Other theorists, taking a more optimistic view, see development as having substantial plasticity throughout life—as open to change in response to influential experiences.