Key characteristics of life-span development

Key characteristics of conduct-span tuitionErik Erikson send words that evolution is a life-long endless process in which gains and losses in development occur passim the life cycle. This challenges the model of critical stops in Freuds possible action. organic evolution is multidimensional emergence occurs in the biologic, cognitive, and br another(prenominal)ly domains. The biological domain includes the visible changes an various(prenominal) beats d singleout the course of their life. This would include growth and development in the body. An example of the biological construction is hormonal changes during puberty. Puberty is the point in time where the development of sexual characteristics begins, and will allow these humans to depart sexually active and be able to produce gametes for reproduction. The challenges an adolescence might salute going by puberty is the need to adapt to changes occurring to the physical body, steamy changes much(prenominal) as feel ing self-conscious about their changing body, and psychic changes such as developing the capacity for abstract thought and problem-solving.Development is multidirectionalSome scenerys of development whitethorn be increasing while others atomic number 18 declining or remains unchanged. For example, during new-fangled gravidhood, older great(p)s might become wiser with jump on that they perform much ridiculously than younger adults on parturiencys that ask speed in processing information.Development is plasticDevelopment posterior be modified by life circumstances to some(prenominal) extent. agree to Paul Baltes, humans ask the capacity of plasticity or supreme change to surroundal difficulties throughout life.For example, an mortal who grew up in a broken home environment with an abusive father may contort out fine and do well in maturity as the recurrences get healed along the lifespan.Development is dependent on history and mountDevelopment is influenced by h istorical conditions. The historical time period in which we grow up affects our development. For example, fryren in early, middle or late infanthood who grew up amidst a war may experience a lack in moral development when comp argond to those who grew up in a safe and stable environment. The nestlingren may grow up having altered process in the cognitive, behavioral, social and emotional aspect of their development.Development is multidisciplinaryDevelopment is quite a littlevass by a number of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, anthropology, neuroscience, and medicine. For example in medicine, virtuoso airfield of biological research which has significant importance for development is looking into lessen down the aging process. Their focus is in anti-aging foods and medicines which can reverse the biological set up of aging and some already have shown significant effects in animal studies.Development is contextualDevelopment occurs in the context of a persons biological makeup, physical environment, and social, historical, and cultural contextsnormative mature-graded influences biological and environmental influences that be similar for individuals in a particular age classify (e.g., puberty, beginning school)normative history-graded influences biological and environmental influences that argon associated with history influences that are common to people of a particular generation. An example is when the Singapore political sympathies implemented the Stop at two child policy in 1969 to help control the rapid population growth. It had succeeded in significantly reduce the population however, it had influenced women greatly as they started to pursue careers out front having children and this gave rise to legion(predicate) University graduated women failing to marry and bear offspring.non-normative life events unusual occurrences that have a major impact on an individuals life the occurrence, pattern, and sequence of these events a re not applicable to most individuals (e.g., death of a parent at a young age, getting a serious illness, winning a lottery)Development Involves Growth, Maintenance, and Regulation of LossThe mastery of life often involves conflicts and disceptation among three goals of human development growth, maintenance, and regulation. Growth starts early on in life from infancy through late adulthood. Maintenance and regulation follows subsequent on that around middle and late adulthood as individuals capacities cause warmness wooden leg. This is the time of maintaining skills and minimizing deterioration.Theme 2Biological ProcessesBiological processes involve changes in an individuals physical nature. Examples of biological processes includes, conceiver development, height and weight gains, changes in ram skills, hormonal and changes occurring in puberty.I will be focusing on the biological process of puberty which occurs during adolescence. Puberty is a time of maturation of the repr oductive system and hormonal changes occurring in the brain. During puberty, in the case of males, a hormone called testosterone which are responsible for physical and behavioral masculinization, are released. Studies that wasting disease data on adolescents have generally found positive correlations amongst testosterone levels and aggressive or anti social behavior. Research on adolescents has withal found that higher testosterone levels in adolescents is associated with increased sexual use (Halpern, et al., 1998), age at scratch line sexual intercourse (Dunne et al, 1997), increased immoral activity (Booth and Osgood, 1993), increased tobacco and alcohol use (Zitzmann and Nieschlag, 2001). In terms of criminal behavior, Dabbs et al. (1995) conducted a fascinating study of 692 male prison inmates, finding testosterone relate to type of crime and to behavior in prison. Testosterone was highest among inmates convicted of child molestation, rape, homicide, and assault, and it was lowest among inmates convicted of burglary, theft, and drug offences.In relation to Eriksons surmise, in stage 5 of his Psychosocial theory which identifies the crisis of personal identity vs. identity confusion, this is a time of trying out new things bowl the adolescence establishes a personal identity or fails doing so and ends up creative activity confuse with his business office in life.Cognitive ProcessesCognitive processes involve changes in the individuals thought, intelligence, and language.According to Piagets Cognitive Development Theory, children actively wee-wee their agreement of the world and go through 4 stages of cognitive development.Sensorimotor Stage (Birth 2 long time)The first stage of cognitive development is where infants are able to construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences (such as visual perception and hearing) with physical (motor) actions. For example, when an object is place in the infants hand and slures its palm, the fingers will accordingly close and grasp it. This is known as the palmar grasps reflex.Preoperational Stage(2 7 years)The here and now stage is where thought becomes more symbolic, egocentric, and intuitive rather than logical, however, it is not operational. For example, the child is able to conduct symbolic play in which the children pre bat that one object is another. To quote an example, little girls at this stage would conduct role play of a tea party in which they assign bats toys (symbols) roles map outing their mother and father. To demonstrate egocentrism of the child at this stage, Piaget conducted the three mountains task in which children were asked to select a picture that showed the three mountains from their viewpoint. The children had little problems selecting the straighten out picture. However, when asked to select a picture from someone elses viewpoint, the children ended up selecting the identical picture which showed their own viewpoint. T his showed the childrens inability to understand things from another persons survey.Concrete functional Stage (7 11 years)This is the stage where logic begins to develop and and thenly the child is able to ground logically about concrete events and able to mark the concept of conservation. For example, children in the concrete operational stage is able to contend that the volume of water in a tall and narrow loving cup is equivalent to that in the short and wide cup when equal amounts are poured from the same container. However, the child is unable to think hypothetically and have difficulty understanding abstract concepts.Formal Operational Stage (11 years adulthood)In this stage, the child is able to reason in a more abstract, gallant and logical manner. The child is able to think theoretically and hypothetically in which the latter is important in subjects such as mathematics and science. The child is less egocentric and thus is able to understand things in a diverse p erspective. The child is also able to conduct deductive debate where he is able to reason from generalities to specifics.Socioemotional ProcessesSocioemotional processes involve changes in the individuals consanguinitys with other people, changes in record and emotions.Eriksons Psychosocial Theory states that the primary motivation for human behavior is social and, reflects a desire to affiliate with other people. Erikson views development as a lifelong process consisting of a unique developmental task that confronts individual with a crisis that requires resolution. Failure to do so would result in come-at-able negative outcomes in adulthood.Eriksons 8 stages of human development imprecate vs. apprehension ( 0 1 year)In this stage, the infant is assureing to trust others and the world. Trust is established when babies are given over adequate and un disparateiated warmth, loving touch and physical care. However, mistrust can develop if inadequate, in accordant care is given by cold, indifferent and rejecting parents.Autonomy vs. Shame Doubt ( 1-3 years)Autonomy is the liberty developed when toddlers are encouraged by their parents for doing things by themselves (e.g. putting on shoes) versus the shame and doubt if the caregiver were to reprimand the child for not universe able to do the task promptly.Initiative vs. Guilt ( 3- 5 years)This is an extension phone of the second stage where, initiative develops when the pre-school-going child is encouraged to explore and take on new challenges versus the guilt that the child may experience if the parents criticize, clog play or discourages asking questions.Industry vs. Inferiority ( 6 12 years)This is in the context of primary school where the child is supported or praised by t to each oneers for doing for productive activities versus the inferiority that may occur if the childs efforts are regarded as inadequate or messy.Identity vs. Role confusion ( 10 20 years)The teenage years involve the need to establish a consistent personal identity versus role confusion where the adolescence is unsure of the direction he is heading.Intimacy vs. Isolation (20s , 30s)In this stage, intimacy develops when the individual begins establishing mature relationships with friends, family and at long last a lover or a spouse as he or she has the ability to care for others and sharing experiences with them. However, isolation develops when the individual is deemed as a loner and uncared for in his or her life. There is a relationship between this stage and the first stage which was trust vs. mistrust. For example, if an infant receives consistent tender loving care from the caregivers, trust would be developed and thus this would equivalently lead to the individual developing functional relationships in his adult life and vice versa, if the infant developed mistrust in his first year of life due to neglect from caregiver, there is a likelihood that the individual might end up cosmos solitary in adulthood.Generativity vs Stagnation (40s , 50s)Generativity refers to the interest in guiding the next generation in terms of passing on values and traditions versus stagnation where the individual is that concerned with their individual needs and thus values are lost. Examples would be those who are single and/or married without children. lawfulness vs. despair ( 60s onwards)Integrity occurs when the individual reflects upon life and has no regrets as they have lived a rich and responsible life versus despair where the individual views previous life events with regrets and experiences heartache and remorse.Theme 3Nature vs. NurtureThe nature-nurture line involves the debate about whether development is primarily influenced by nature or nurture. Nature is a product of genetic or prenatal environment where children are born(p) with certain behaviors that are innate and are innate(p) biases. Nurture on the other hand, is the effects of certain experiences depending on the indivi duals perception. Genetically, some people are born with defects in their genes that can affect their brain function and emotions. Environmentally, severe cruel treatment of small children can develop predispositions to becoming afflicted with no empathy and abnormal behaviors. Jean-Jacques Rousseau believes in noble savages where children were naturally endowed with a sense of right and wrong and with an innate visualize for orderly, healthy growth.On the contrary, the tabula rasa view by John Locke states that Children are born as blank slates and acquire characteristics through experience. This theory favors the nurture aspect of the debate with regards to ones personality, intelligence, social and emotional behavior.I would like to highlight on Schizophrenic serial grampuss. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests as audilehallucinations,paranoidor bizarredelusions, o r disorganized speech and thinking, and it is tended to(p) by significant social or occupational dysfunction.The disease is broadly speaking genetically inherited as those having a first-degree relative with the disease are at a higher risk of developing it. An example of a notorious serial killer suffering from this disease is Ed Gein. He was not only known for brutally killing two women nevertheless for exhuming their corpses from local graveyards and fashioned trophies and keepsakes from their bones and skin. It was the horrific way of mutilation and the bizarre present of body parts in his home that raises questions as to why someone would do such a cruel act. Ed grew up in a strict and religious family with the presence of both parents in the household. A shy, effeminate boy, the younger Gein became a target for bullies. To make matters worse, his mother punished him whe neer he tried to make friends. She also abused him and his brother. Despite his poor social development , he did fairly well in school, particularly in reading. Death in the family followed as firstly, his father died and then his brother and followed by his mother. All these environmental factors accounts for the abnormal behavioral patterns elicited by Ed. whence in this example, we cant safely determine that traits of a serial killer are purely genetic (nature) or purely environmental (nurture).However it is the interaction between these two traits that causes development of such a behavior.Continuity vs. DiscontinuityThis issue focuses on the extent to which development involves gradual, cumulative change (continuity) or decided stages (discontinuity).Developmentalists who try nurture describe development as a gradual, continuous process whereas those who emphasizes nature often describe development as a series of distinct stages.For example, Freuds stage model of psychosexual development, theorized that children systematically transmit through distinct stages of oral, anal, phallic, and latency stages before reaching mature adult sexuality in the genital stage. Proponents of stage theories of development also suggest that individuals go through critical periods, which are times of increased and kick upstairs sensitivity to particular aspects of development. For example, early childhood (the first 5 years) is a critical period for language acquisition. Thus, most adults find it difficult or impossible to master a second language during their adult years while young children raised in bilingual homes normally learn second languages good during childhood.Theorist Erik Erikson expanded upon Freuds ideas by proposing astage theory of psychosocial development.Eriksons theory focused on conflicts that arise at different stages of development and, unlike Freuds theory, Erikson described development throughout the lifespan..Stability vs. interchangeThis issue involves the degree to which we become older renditions of our early experience or we develop into s omeone different from who we were at an early point in development. M all developmentalists who emphasize constancy in development argue that stability is the result of heredity and possibly early experiences in life. Relating back to the in a higher place example of Ed Gein, he grew up socially introverted as he was discouraged making friends by his mother. In this case, he has deliver the goods stability where his personal experiences early on in childhood became a catalyst for who he would turn out to be in adulthood a serial killer.On the contrary, developmentalists who emphasize change take the more optimistic view that later experiences can produce change. I would like to quote the example of Liz Murray outflank(p) known for being Homeless to Harvard. Murray grew up in the Bronx, New York to poor, drug addicted, and HIV-positive parents. She overcame hardships in her youth and struggled her way to accomplish success and was accepted into Harvard University. Such, is an example of change that can occur later on in life and proves that early experiences can shape us in different ways.Theme 4With regards to my friends extreme view that Eriksons psychosocial perspective was sufficient in describing human life span development, I protest to that statement as they are umteen other theories to consider before making a conclusion as to which was sufficient.Psychoanalytic theoriesThe basis of Eriksons psychosocial theory is influenced by Freuds psychosexual theory. Eriksons works on extending Freuds theory as he found that Freuds ideas lacked vital social dimensions, and through his research and findings, it provided a break for his biopsychosocial perspective. Eriksons view of human development was life-long through his 8 stages which occur throughout life whereas Freuds view of development was through critical periods which consist of the 5 stages at adolescent.Freud proposed that in the first stage, if the nursing childs appetite were thwarted during anylibidinaldevelopment stage, theanxietywould persist into adulthood as aneurosis(functional mental disorder). If aninfant is not fed enough (neglected) or fed too much (over-protected) in the course of being nursed, it may result in the child emergence up as an orally fixated adult. Oral-stage fixation may have one of two effects (i) the underfed or neglected child might become a psychologically dependent adult continually seeking the oral stimulation denied in infancy, thereby becoming a manipulative person in fulfilling his or her needs, rather than maturing to independence (ii) the over-protected or over-fed child might resist growing up and return to being dependent upon others. Example of the former would be an individual who grows up to be an orally fixated adult who is an over-eater or a smoking addict to compensate for the insufficient oral stimulation as an infant. On the contrary, the latter is an individual who grows up to be dependent on others and demanding satisf action through acting helpless, crying and being needy. Therefore this highlights the importance of critical periods in Freuds stage theory.In Eriksons theory on the other hand, it presented individuals with a crisis at each stage where, depending on how one wield the challenge, it will result in positive or negative outcomes which can significantly affect ones personality and development.The benefits of this theory is that it emphasizes on the eight character-forming crisis stages, the concept also asserts that humans continue to change and develop throughout their lives, and that personality is not exclusively formed during early childhood years. It is certainly a view that greatly assists encouraging oneself and others to see the future as an probability for positive change and development, instead of looking back with blame and regret. The better that people come through each crisis, the better they will tend to deal with what lies ahead, but this is not to say that all is los t and never to be recovered if a person has had a negative experience during any particular crisis stage.However with every theory, there are limitations and this includes Eriksons theory. nonpareil of which is its ambiguous terms and concepts which can have several interpretations. Another reason is its lack of precision as some terms cannot be easily measure empirically. The experiences in some stages may only apply to males and not females.Cognitive theoriesPiagets cognitive development theory presented cognitive development through 4 stages focusing on sensory experiences and physical actions (sensorimotor skills) and this provided the importance of examining developmental changes in childrens thinking.Vygotsky on the other hand, added a social and cultural aspect to his cognitive theory naming it the Sociocultural cognitive theory. He gave emphasize on social interaction and culture in shaping a childs cognitive process. He stresses that knowledge is not generated from within, but rather constructed through interaction with persons and cultural objects (such as books, computers).Banduras social cognitive theory focuses on the importance of environment to an individuals behavior. He emphasized the process of observational nurture though imitation or modeling where people cognitively represent the behavior of others and adopt this behavior themselves.Information -processing theory emphasizes that human beings are active information processors that bring forth the process of thinking and thus learning good strategies for processing information is crucial.There are many factors that can affect human life span development and this includes the developmental processes in 3 key areas namely biological, cognitive and socioemotional. These three processes work hand in hand in the development of an integrated individual with a mind and body that are interdependent. The different theories address the different aspects of development and thus we cant conclude that only the Erikson theory trump out describes human development. Instead, adopting an eclectic approach is more accurate as it selects the best features from each theory. For example, Freuds theory best explains the unconscious mind while Eriksons theory best describes development being a life-long process and highlights the changes occurring in each stage. Piagets theory views cognitive development through sensorimotor and operational stages. Vygotsky added a social and cultural aspect to it and information-processing theory views humans as being capable to actively process information. Combining the three cognitive theories provided a holistic approach to cognitive development.Behavioral and social cognitive theories such as Banduras, provided environmental influences on development.In conclusion, there is not one theory that can adequately explain human development but rather adopting an eclectic approach provided the best solution in holistically understanding human development.