Life Events And Development

In the early 20th-century, interest in the field of child development emerged. Researchers and theorists studied the ways in which children grew, learned, and, in some instances, were shaped by societal influences (Weiland, 1993). The study of child development enables us to appreciate and understand the social, emotional, physical, educational, and cognitive growth that children go through from birth to early adulthood. Grand theories attempt to organize and arrange concepts and aspects of development using a step approach. Such as that of Erik Erikson’s theory, the Psychosocial Identity Development theory, in which he addresses the development of personal, emotional, and social progression in an individual through stages (Pretorius et al., 2015). Erikson’s model for the approach of development involves the focus of overcoming conflicts that individuals encounter over the span of their childhood that influence their ego identity, or the conscious sense of self that develops and constantly changes due to new experiences and information that is acquired through daily interactions with others and events. In Erikson’s theory, he believed that each person experienced a conflict that served as a defining moment in their development that essentially shaped who they would become later on in life; he believed that unresolved problems of adult life echoed unresolved conflicts of one’s childhood (Berger, 2011).

Even at a young age, people begin to ask you what you want to be when you grow up. Children’s answers will range anywhere from ballerina, to firefighter, to President of the United States. However, as you get older, the question becomes more serious. As a high schooler, you feel as if you need to know exactly where you will end up thirty years into the future. Since senior year began, I have tried my best to understand my strengths and goals in life so that I can prepare for my future.

Throughout this course Dr. Zeng has taught and explained many theories about human developments through a life span. Such has Erikson’s stage of Identity Vs. Identity confusion which is explained by how aging adolescents face deciding who they are, what they are all about, and where they are going in life. Identity is aided by psychosocial moratorium, its noted that society leaves adolescents free of responsibility, and allows them to try different identities throughout a lifespan. Another theory that Dr. Zeng taught and explained to us was the Ethic Identity development theory which was proposed and composed by Jean Phinney. Which can be explained by adolescent’s self-categorization in, and psychological attachment toward, an ethic group or groups. Ethic identity development can also be described as a process of the construction of identity over time, due to a combination of experience and actions of the individual and includes gaining knowledge and understanding of in-groups, as well as a sense of belonging to an ethic group or groups. These two theories intrigued me the most when Dr. Zeng explained to us in class, because I believe they translate the most to all humans going through life. So when Dr. Zeng assigned the class to write a life span term paper, and to choose two theories there was no doubt which theories I would be picking. Dr. Zeng wanted the class to conduct survey/interview in which we would spend four to six hours outside the class, interviewing an

Who We Are is determined by our individual growth and development. According to Erik Erikson (1971) eight stage developmental theory, humans continue to develop throughout their entire lifespan from birth until death. Each stage representing a key aspect in the development of one’s identity, and personality, and overall well-being. Our personal identity gives each of us an integrated and cohesive sense of self that endures and continues to grow as we age (Santrock 2009). These elements are influenced by factors such as socioeconomic status, location, culture, spiritual beliefs, and meeting of the basic human need. They determine how we grow, develop, and live our daily lives. Traveling through each stage in life from youth, adolescence, and adulthood, we must identify our strength and weaknesses through our choices, experiences, trauma, and death. Each experience influences our structure as it relates to adaptability, resilience, and help identity the consciousness of self. This development analysis is the journey through my life emphasizing on my personal growth and development setting the stage to the person that writes this paper reflecting on her life choices, and experiences in several forms (physically, mentally, and spiritually).

P2: explain the potential effects of five different life factors on the development of an individual

In these families, the roles of adult and child are clearly defined, in accordance to the accomplishment of natural growth rearing style. This stereotypical family very much described my mother’s household as her “mom was home 24/7 and [her] dad worked 24/7… [her] mom stayed home and raised six kids and [her] dad went to work to pay for six kids” (interview, Gina Maglish, 11/22/15). This also described my father’s household until his mother passed away; afterwards, at the age of ten, the roles of adult and child dissolved as he then had to raise himself by cooking his own food, doing his own laundry, and basically raising himself (interview, Glenn Maglish, 11/22/15). The combination of life experiences of my mother and father created blurred lines of adult and child when raising my sister and me. Growing up, it felt as though I was in limbo between being a child and a mini-adult; my father did not want me to miss out on the childhood he never had and wanted to ensure that I had a sense of direction and structure so I always knew I wouldn’t have to fend for myself like he did. Yet, at the same time, my mother tried treating me more as a mini-adult with the goal of instilling confidence by teaching me to

‘Explain the influences of two predictable and two unpredictable major life events on the development of an individual’

In middle childhood (aged 6-12), the child will experience the Industry vs. Inferiority stage. This is the fourth stage of Erikson’s psychosocial stage. With the previous three

Erik Erikson founded the psychosocial stages of development in which he believed there were 8 stages. Erikson felt that the Industry vs. Inferiority stage (5-12) was a critical time for elementary age children, as this was time to gain recognition from teachers and peers. During this stage, children are encouraged to try new things and are acknowledged for their accomplishments; resulting in increased self-confidence. My parents did their best to raise my brother and me, but due to circumstances with my dad’s work, we moved around a lot. This meant I was always the “new kid” in school. When I was eight years old, my parents decided to homeschool my brother and me, which resulted in us not benefiting from the social interaction with teachers and peers. I think this may be a reason that both my brother and I were not able to master this stage leading to feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem.

Who am I? What is my place in the world? What do I want to do with my life? These are some of the most fundamental if not somewhat cliche questions that we as humans ask ourselves. From the moment of birth, we begin on our long journey toward not only discovering the world around us but also discovering ourselves. Although the journey of self-discovery is lifelong, most developmentalists agree that it is during the adolescent years that we seriously begin to consider the question of who am I? One of the most famous people to describe

According to Crawford and Walker(2010), the life course is defined in literature as, “The progression and path an individual takes from conception to death.” (Crawford and walker, 2012, p.3). The study of the life course and human development is extremely complex and could be described as interdisciplinary as it encompasses many fields of study. When examining the life course of individuals it is necessary to consider all of the various factors that affect human behaviour. These may include; psychological, biological, social, behavioural, cognitive or culture factors. Age can also be considered as a factor that influences lifespan development. In the early 19th century, the term “age related change” was regarded as only applicable to the early childhood stage but in recent years, psychologists have come to accept that age related changes occur throughout the entire life span. According to Boyd and Bee (2014), other earlier theories included Charles Darwin’s suggestion that, “the wide variety of life forms that exist on earth evolved gradually as a result of the interplay between environmental factors and genetic process.” (Boyd and Bee, 2014, p.3) Therefore Darwin proposed that it was either solely, “nature” or “nurture” that influenced the human development, but instead, a combination of both. In this assignment, I am going to focus on the specific psychological factors that influence human behaviour during the life course. I will compare two different psychological

For my life journey I have chose to use Eric Erikson’s theory I have decided to use his theory because to me his theory suited my life appropriately. Eric Erikson is a well known theorist from the twentieth century, he has produced many theories. One of his most known and recognized theory is the psychosocial development. This theory describes the steps a person goes through in life. There are nine stages in his theory. Originally his theory only eight steps, but his wife found the last step after his death and published it. The nine stages are: trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy and soliditary vs. isolation, generativity vs. self absorption and stagnation, and integrity vs. despair. Although, I have not gone through all of these steps yet due to my age I am only twenty two. I will speak about the steps I have gone through so far.

“Early life experiences impact the person across their lifespan” is conveyed in the Jane Piaget theory ‘Stages of cognitive development’ (1936) and Erik Erikson theory ‘Psychosocial stages’ (1950). Piaget argued that children develop knowledge by constructing their experience and observe with their own ideas about how the thing works.(Burton, L.J., Westen, d. & Kowalski, R.M. 2015) He developed 4 stages of his theory: Sensorimotor Stage, Preoperational Stage, Concrete Operational Stage and Formal Operational Stage. At the same time, Erik Erikson proposed a psychoanalytic theory of psychosocial development comprising eight stages from infancy to adulthood. At every stage, a person will encounter a psychological crisis, the development of

When I was growing up, I remember my family situation as extremely chaotic. I was one of eight children and my father and mother had little time to devote to me individually. Most of the time they spent trying to earn enough to support us with their meager resources. I was often called upon to act as a surrogate mother to my siblings. I felt I had little time to develop my own unique perspective and voice when I was very young. Even as a preschooler I remember doing chores to help out at home. However, this situation did foster some positive aspects of my character. I learned to be mature at an early age and gained a sense of competence because of my responsibilities. But I also was taught put the needs of others second to my own. I feel that I did not learn to value my own, legitimate desires to an adequate degree as a young girl and have only recently acquired a true sense of worth [THESIS].

Erikson’s theory of identify versus role confusion, the psychological conflict of adolescence, was evident in my early adolescent years. My parents divorced shortly after I was born and due to a custody agreement, I grew up switching household’s everyday. This meant I had two different school busses, two neighborhoods, two sets of friends, and two very different parents with vastly opposing parenting styles and expectations. My dad was always very authoritative and somewhat forced independence onto me. He worked a well paying but stressful job and wasn’t home often. His absence meant my sisters and