A human begins life as a single cell. This cell changes throughout its life to develop into a unique individual. Human development is the scientific study of the patterns associated with this change in accordance with the internal and external conditions of its existence (Papalia, Olds & Feldman, 2009). In exploring human development, there are three key areas that need to be addressed. These include physical development, cognitive development and finally psychosocial development. Within each of these areas, it is evident that most address three key issues. First, is the development process continuous or made up of a series of discontinuous phases? Second, is there a path of developmental characteristics or does the individual take on an active or passive role that results in different possible paths and directions? Third, how do genetic or environmental factors influence development? “Theorists such as Erikson and Piaget assume that developmental change occurs in distinct and discontinuous phases and that all individuals follow the same sequence and order” (Hoffnung, Seifert, Smith, Hine, Ward & Quinn, 2010, p.34). While Brofenbrenner's ecological systems theory emphasizes the wide range of situations and contexts in which development occurs, making it a continuous process driven by the individual (Hoffnung, et al., 2010, p.35). The purpose of this article is to present a Developmental Profile of a 17-year-old white, middle-class girl living in Brisbane, Australia. This person will be called Jane. She is very slim in her build, weighs 50 kg and is 170 cm tall. Jane is currently studying science at university, with plans to study medicine. He lives at home with his parents who have been happily married......middle of paper......nce Ltd.Papalia, DE, Olds, SW, & Feldman, RD (2010). Human Development (4th ed.). NY: McGraw Hill. Reiss, D. (1995, August 1). Implications for development. Journal of Marriage and Family, 57(3), 543-560. Rogoff, B. (1991). Apprenticeship in thinking: Cognitive development in social context. NY: Oxford University Press. Rosenthal, D. A., Gurney, R. M., & Moore, S. M. (1981). From trust to intimacy: A new inventory to examine Erikson's stages of psychosocial development. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 10(6), 525-537.Rutter Michael and Rutter Marjorie. (1993). Developing minds: Challenge and continuity across the lifespan. NY: Basic Books.Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). The mind in society. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Wertsch, J. V. (1985). Cultural, communication and cognition: Vygotskian perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.