Lifespan Development and Personality Paper

Eating disorders are mental disorders that can have a serious physical complications. There are two main types of eating disorders anorexia and bulimia. These are complex disorders focusing on issues of eating, body weight, body shape. People who intentially starve themselves suffer from an eating disorder called anorexia this disorder usually begins in young people around the time of puberty, involves extreme weight loss due to starving themselves . People with bulimia consume large amounts of food and then rid there bodies of the excess calories by vomiting abusing laxatives, taking enemas or over exercising.

Anorexia is an eating disorder that struggles with the fear of gaining weight and refuses to be healthy. Another eating disorder is Bulimia, which is when you overeat followed by forced vomiting and excessive exercise. Binge Eating is one of the most common eating disorders along with Anorexia and Bulimia, Binge eating is when you lose control over one’s eating. All of these common eating disorders all suffer from guilt or depression. “Individuals with bulimia and binge eating eat large amounts of food to reduce stress” (CEDC). They also could have risky behaviors, such as dealing with drugs or alcohol or even death. People with Anorexia or Bulimia are very concerned with being overweight or in other words fat.

Developmental psychology is the study of how human beings age and transform throughout the eight major stages of life. This paper will focus on the physical, cognitive, social, moral, and personality development of individuals found in stage two, (early childhood 1-6 year olds). Through exploring, and examining the countless influences that affect their growth development.

Cognitive Development refers to the construction of the thought process that includes problem solving, remembering and the ability to make decisions, from childhood up to the adulthood stage. Cognitive/Intellectual Development is the ability to learn, reason, and analyze the fact that a process begins from infancy and progresses as the individual (Educational Psychology). Cognitive Development contains events that are logical, like thinking and remembering. Some factors remain the same throughout many of the theories on cognitive development. All theorists agree that people go through specific steps and/or

Adolescence is the transition period between childhood and early adulthood, beginning at about age 11 or 12 and lasting until around age 18. Puberty marks the beginning of adolescence. During puberty, hormonal changes happen in the body, prepare the body for reproduction and change the size and proportions of the body. As the body undergoes this dramatic transformation, major changes happen in the brain as well.

Image is very crucial for a teenager; the pressure of school and fitting in with there classmates and friends can be very difficult for a teenager. It is when a teenager starts taking image to the extreme and starts harming themselves by starving themselves. More and more teenagers are becoming anorexic and bulimic and it is not only affecting girls but boys are starting to come out and say they have an eating disorder. Anorexia and bulimia is a disorder that can not be taken lightly and needs to have more focus and the dangers to be taught to youth.

The majority of lifespan development theories analyze growth and development from two major possibilities, that is, development as a continuous process and development as a discontinuous process (Berk, 2007). Continuous development is defined as the process where an individual builds on the same skills exhibiting at an early age while the discontinuous development is the process that allows individuals to exhibit new and different ways of understanding and responding to different situations and occurrences (Berk, 2007; Koren, 2011). The lifespan development theories that explain growth and development as a process of stages follow a discontinuous development perspective (Berk, 2007).

From ages 6-11 you are considered early middle childhood. Around these ages you start changing your physical development by growing about 2 to 3 inches in height and 5 pounds in weight each year. A female body will mature quicker than the male body. Girls are slightly lighter and shorter than boys at ages 6-8, and then at age 9 it gets reversed. Around the middle childhood age the lower portion of the body is growing fastest, children appear to look long-legged. Girls end up having slightly more body fat and boys have more muscle. Between ages 6-8 the child should be able to do independent things like dress themselves, and tie their shoes. Children also start to develop more independence from their parents. It becomes important for a child

The two most common eating disorders are bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Both disorders, primarily affect young women, therefore the majority of the research on eating disorders has been done with women subjects. The onset of bulimia is between adolescence and early adulthood while the onset of anorexia is between early and late adolescence. Not only is the onset different but the disorders are unique. Bulimia nervosa is characterized by loss of control over eating which leads to food binges. These episodes are interspersed with episodes of purging, such as vomiting or laxative abuse, to keep weight down. The goal of anorexia is also to keep weight down , but to a

Cognitive development is very important throughout the stages of life. It is very important to how we function and think as individuals. In order to be successful academically and physically, we as human beings have to crawl before we can walk. So it is a step by step process that starts from prenatal development.

Deciphering which theory of personality best describes Princess Diana was difficult. Her life seemed to be just beginning after marrying Prince Charles and becoming a mother. However, I did choose Erickson’s theory simply because his method extends throughout the life-span and is divided into different stages. The quantity of conflict within each stage determines the extremity. With each stage marked by inconsistencies, a successful resolution will result in a positive end result. The fifth stage of Erickson’s theory is Adolescence; 12-18 years of age. The conflict is identity versus confusion, and this was rather difficult for Diana; she experienced long periods of loneliness and depression. Everything changed for her during this period of

Development encompasses more than just the changes the body and mind goes through, and many psychologists study the relationship between physical, cognitive, and social development. Physical development begins at conception, whereas cognitive development does not begin until the fetal stage. During this time, the brain becomes much more sophisticated, the hemispheres grow rapidly and the interconnections between

Adolescence is the period of development beginning at puberty and ends in adulthood, conatinig many new physical changes. Puberty involves physiological changes in height, weight, body composition, sex characteristics, and circulatory and respiratory systems, which are influenced by hormonal activity. In the 2007, Psychology eight edition book, Myers states:

Adolescence is a period of physical and psychological development from the onset of puberty to maturity. The adolescent is no longer a child, but they haven’t yet reached adulthood. Adolescence is considered people between the ages of 13 and 21. Puberty is the physical maturing that makes an individual capable of sexual reproduction. Puberty is important to adolescence because when a child hits puberty, that’s when the child is becoming an adolescent. Puberty is a big part of an adolescent’s life.

Adolescence is the period of development from ages 10-21, it is the period between childhood and adulthood (McGraw Hill Education, 2015) It is a time of confusion and exploration. This stage continues until a person is holding a full time job, economic independence, and taking responsibility to oneself (Santrock, 2011, p. 344). As a 16 year old female I am in the midst of all these changes and can relate many themes to myself and my own experiences.