Three Generations Project - Assignment Example

THREE GENERATIONS PROJECT Submitted by: (grade/level) For this paper I decided to interview females - ages 7, 15, 25. I wanted to see how a female evolves as one grows older. Respondent # 1 is a sophomore high school student at a private all-girls’ school. She’s the youngest among five siblings and came ten years after the 4th children (twins) were born. She is my cousin’s friend. The interview was held in her house. I was expecting a typical teenage girl who didn’t like “connecting” with people other than her choice friends. Respondent #2 is a 25-year old head teacher at a language academy. She was introduced to me by a common friend. The interview was held at a café, on her lunch break, and lasted for an hour. I expected her to be very serious and formal. Respondent # 3 is a 6-year old girl. She is my friend’s 3rd sister and the youngest in the family. We spent less than an hour for the interview. I wanted to ask more questions but her attention was divided between the TV and her toy cars. To be able to compare their responses better, I asked similar questions to the respondents. These are: Respondent # 1: 1) What toys do you like to play with? 2) Who do you play with? 3) Are you shy when playing with your friends? 4) Do you watch TV? What shows do you watch? 5) What do you want to do after school? 6) When you are 28 years old like Erica (eldest sister), what do you want to do? 7) Do you remember your fist toy? What was it? Respondent # 2: 1) Do you like being a student? Why or why not? 2) What do you do for fun? 3) Why is it enjoyable for you? 4) Do you like hanging out with friends? 5) Are there are times you want to be alone? Why? 6) If you can have any job in the future, what would it be and why? 7) Do you want to forget something or someone in the past? Respondent # 3: 1) Do you like your job? Why or why not? 2) What do you do for fun? 3) Why is it enjoyable for you? 4) Do you like hanging out with friends? 5) Are there times you want to be alone? 6) Are there parts of your life you want to change? If so, what are they? 7) What are your thoughts about the future? The interview with Respondent #1 went very well. Once she got comfortable, she answered the questions easily. She wasn’t shy or standoffish. She liked going to school because she has learned more & gained more friends. Hanging out with friends and spending time with her family are enjoyable for her. When asked about what she wanted to be in the future, respondent just laughed and said “I don’t really know yet… I want to do a lot of stuff.” (Fetalvero) I believe this is typical of Erik Erikson’s 5th Psychosocial Crisis. The main question asked: “Who am I, and what is my goal in life?” (Dosal 11) Although respondent is a well-rounded & happy teenager, she is still uncertain of who she is. The interview with Respondent #2 was lively. At her age, she was sometimes like a younger person yet she showed a sense of maturity, too. Her development reflects one stage of K. Warner Schaie’s theory on cognitive development in adults. According to Schaie there are two stages of cognitive changes, namely: the achieving stage & the responsibility stage. The achieving stage involves applying ones intelligence to situations that have profound consequences on achieving long term goals, such as those involving careers. (Santrock) This is obvious in the respondent’s feelings about her job at the language school. Sometimes she enjoys it but there are also days when she thinks of quitting. She says though that she won’t give up her job unless she finds another source of income. As of this time, she is thinking of just doing freelance teaching. As a way to relax, she sings songs with her friends or family, watches movies, hangs out at Starbucks, takes pictures or travel. She says these activities make her feel alive. She enjoys seeing long-lost friends. She doesn’t want to change anything in her past because she believes her life is this way for a reason. She also believes that the future is a result of what we did yesterday. The interview with the 3rd respondent was a little difficult. The respondent is age 7 and it was difficult to keep her attention. She was short for her age. I think this is an inherent trait as everyone on her maternal side is short. Respondent is between the processes of Piaget’s 2nd & 3rd stages of cognitive development which are the pre-operational stage & the concrete operational stage. Respondent is close to her siblings. According to Freud, this is the latency phase in human growth and development. In this phase, the child begins to make connections to siblings, other children, and adults. (Dosal) Respondent prefers to play with other children and is also shy only upon introduction. She didn’t want to speak to me at first. I also believe this is related to Erik Erikson’s 4th stage of human development which is characterized by a choice between industry and inferiority. For children, this is school age. Erikson says this is the child’s 1st exposure to a lot of different events such as school and friends. However, a sense of inferiority can result when they experience difficulty with these events. I observed Respondent # 3 as a smart kid. Her replies were direct and responsive. She even said she was going to buy a car, specifically a blue one, for her family in the future. However, I think there is also an identity crisis as respondent favors playing with cars than dolls. She also prefers dressing up in jeans and shirts than in dresses. Despite their different ages, I observed some similarities among the respondents. For one, their outlooks in life are mature. Even the youngest respondent was able to tell me what her future job would be. Second was their relationship with their family and friends. All three enjoy spending time with these groups of people. Obviously, they value personal relationships more than the material things in their lives. Of course given their age ranges, there were distinct differences, too. The older respondents were more comfortable having a conversation with me. They also tended to elaborate on some answers even without any encouragement from me. I believe this shows how developed their critical thinking is. Based on these interviews, I can assume that as females grow older their social & psychological development also progresses. References Dosal, Jesspher D. Human Growth and Development. December 2008. Fetalvero, Regina. Personal interview. 21 March 2009. Santrock, John W. (7th ed.) Life-Span Development. Boston: McGraw-Hill College, 1999 Read More