Life-Span Development - Case Study Example

Life-Span Development When it comes to the psychological, social, developmental, moral maturing of people, there are severalmain theories regarding this subject, some of which are quite parallel and some are very much contrasted. A few main theories are Erik Eriksons Psychosocial Theory, Piagets Cognitive Development Theory, Cohlberg Moral Development Theory and others. Another theory, proposed by Freud, suggest an altogether different concept regarding this, one that is controlled and determined by the three parts of our personality- id, ego and super-ego, each one responsible for either fulfilling our needs or balancing between our desires and the dictations of reality, or being our moral compass that appropriates our behavior according to societys conventions. The reason Freuds theory was so different is that Freud had a notion that people are driven by aggression and sex primarily, and what they do is often related to it somehow. He emphasized the role these urges play in our lives, and this theory of his isnt very accepted, and has actually not stood the test of time. Piaget, on the other hand, suggested that our cognitive development can be divided into 4 main stages starting from our birth. The first of which is the Senso-Motoric stage, which occurs since birth until the age of two. In this stage a child differentiates himself from objects, identifies himself as capable of actions and starting to act intentionally in a desired course of action. For example, a child will pull a string to move a mobile or press on a button on a toy in order to create a certain sound. Babies also come to realize that an object continues to exist even if they dont see it at the moment. This is called object constancy, and it is the most important achievement for them in this stage. The second stage is called the Pre-Operational Stage, and it happens between the ages of 2 and 7. The child learns to use language and represent objects by images and words. Thinking is egocentric- the child only knows his perspective and acts in a fashion that will benefit him, not taking into account other people perspectives and feelings as a motive that will encourage or prohibit him to act in a certain way. The child develops the ability to categorize objects based on one characteristic, like shape, color, size, etc. For instance, a child can group together all the yellow objects in the room, all the round cubes regardless of their color, etc. The third stage is the Concrete Operations Stage, in which the child is able to think logically about objects and events. The child gains several important abilities in this period between the ages of 7 and 11. He obtains the concepts of number preservation at the age of 6, matter preservation at the age of 7 and weight preservation at the age of 9. He essentially learns that unless we remove a certain amount or quantity from objects, their amount isnt decreased if they are closer together of farther apart. For example, a child from a previous stage wont understand that 4 pieces of chocolate held together are the exact quantity of 4 pieces of chocolate separated from one another. He wont be able to tell that two glasses, one tall and thin and the other wide and short, have the same amount of water. This is the stage in which these abilities are obtained. The fourth and last stage is that of the Formal Operation, which occurs between the ages of 7 and 11. The child develops the ability to think logically about simplistic and intangible statements and test hypotheses in a systematic way. Kids this age are thinking about and dealing with hypothetical problems about the future and ideological problems. This is the final stage of cognitive development, as adults are also in this stage. Needless to say, as we get older, our way of thinking becomes more complex and intricate, but were still in this stage (Santrock, 1998). Contrary to this theory, Erikson has a theory of psychosocial development, which is divided to 8 stages and continues from birth to death. At the heart of each stage is a crisis of some sort that the individual must defeat or overcome in order to continue to the next stage. Eriksons first stage is the Infancy stage, between birth and 18 months. The crisis is trust vs. mistrust- the baby learns to trust or mistrust the environment as one which supplies his needs and gives him what he needs. The developmental task in this stage is social attachment to others, as well as maturation of causalities (sensory and otherwise). The second stage, Toddler, is between 18 months and 3 years. The crisis is autonomy vs. shame and doubt. The child is faced with situations that force him to examine his level of autonomy, how much he needs to obey the parents rules, and what he feels when he disobeys them. The child eventually develops autonomy, is no longer attached to the primary caregiver and sees himself as a separate individual. The third stage called Preschool occurs between 3 and 5 years. The crisis is initiative vs. guilt. The child takes new initiative and does new things. Guilt is felt by him in cases his actions do not produce the desired outcomes, something which is confusing to him and doesnt actually makes sense to us. The fourth stage, School Age, between 5 years and teen years, is identified by the crisis of industry vs. inferiority. The child begins to care about how he or she seems to other people, what others think and feel about them. Children and teens may develop a feeling of inferiority in comparison with others. The firth stage, Adolescence, between teen years to 20s, has the crisis of identity vs. role confusion. The main purpose of this stage is to develop a sense of self, to discover "who am I"?. The identity is being shaped in all aspects in life, the individual learns what he likes, doesnt like, also sexually. With it, an individual can be flustered about whom he is and what hes supposed to do- then hell be suffering from "role confusion". The sixth stage, Young Adulthood, between 20s and 40s, is that of the intimacy vs. isolation crisis. Individuals are supposed and expected to develop intimate relationship, marry and have families. Those who fail to do say and even those who succeed in doing it are faced with issues of developing and maintaining intimacy with their partner, and feeling of isolation at times. The seventh stage, Middle Adulthood, between 40s and 60s, is characterized by the crisis of generativity vs. stagnation. People in this age have the major role of educating the next generation, guiding them socially and otherwise, becoming socially involved in several ways. They establish homes, raise children and grandchildren and adjust to the changes of these years, as they grow older. The eighth and last stage is the Late Adulthood, starting from the age of 60. People in this age have already done and accomplished most of the things they want in life, and their options are becoming more limited due to their aging. They can either become active, treating these years as their golden years and believing they still have much to contribute and do, or become very passive, withdrawn, sad and even depressed. The crisis is that of ego integrity or despair- they either accept the situation as it is and be content with it, knowing that they still have much they can do, there are still good times ahead, or they can get utterly despaired that they are soon going to die and that they have become useless to anyone (Erikson, 1959). Case Study 1 Johnny is a young infant only born a few months ago. He is giving his parents a very hard time, as he never sleeps through an entire night. He gets up between once or twice each night to three of four times a night. As a result, his parents are exhausted. When he is awake, he is a very happy baby, usually smiling and acknowledging his parents and other people sometimes. He grabs his parents fingers and stares at them with interest. However, he is also a terrible crier. He starts crying immediately when hes hungry, wet, tired or angry. The parents are worried that when he grows up and be able to move around as he wishes, hell start crying when hes bored too. In spite of this, Johnny seems to know what he wants and he goes after it. If he wants to touch something, he will reach out his hands and try to grab it, or at least touch it. He will at all times try to put things in his mouth and lick them, as a way of exploring them and finding out their texture and function perhaps. He has shown an interest in several of his toys, especially those colorful ones which seem to produce different sounds when a button is pushed. He is slowly learning which button he has to touch for each sound to be made. He is very mindful and curious about his environment, and though hes not very active physically, as he doesnt move around yet, he seems to be very fascinated by things around him and figuring out what they are and what they do. (Senso-Motoric Stage in Piagets theory) Case Study 2 Hannah is a young girl of 14 years old. Both her parents are hard working and though they try to be home as much as they can, their long hours prevent them from spending as much time with her as they want. Hannah has a very wide array of interests and hobbies, ranging from different sports such as tennis and swimming, to watching television, reading books, playing the computer and surfing the net, talking to her friends, and also hearing music. She loves the outdoors and being around animals, in nature settings, etc. She spends as much time as she can outside, with her furry friends of the forest. She sometimes takes food to feed the deer that are not far away from her house, at a forest close to her house. She enjoys the silence and the peace in the forest, the quite sounds the animals make, and the feeling of tranquility she has there. It is a secluded place where she can think about whats going on in her life. Whenever she has a fight with her parents or one of her friends, whenever she falls in love with a boy or has her heart broken, she comes here to calm down and think things through. Lately, she has begun being interested in more ideological questions as well as existential ones. She wonders about the existence of god, about what her role is in the universe, about what is going on in the world, with all the terrible wars, disease, poverty, suffering. She wants to be all grown up so she could help others who are less fortunate than her, and knows that whatever she does in the future, she wants to dedicate enough time for her children, so that theyre not alone a lot like she is. But she isnt angry at her parents. She knows they love her and work hard for her. She still wishes they could spend more time together. (Formal Operations stage in Piagets theory) Case Study 3 Matt is a 17 year old teen, who is interested in music, television and some sports. He is very popular and well liked in his school, especially among the girls. The guys also like him very much, want to hang out with him and be around him. He has a natural charisma and some kind of mysterious appeal to him. Lately hes been acting out at home, arguing with his parents a lot, being strict about his privacy and adamant that his parents respect his personal space and not bother him when hes up in his room. Hes actually been having thoughts about other guys, men. He begins to come to terms with the fact that he is probably attracted to other men, and this confuses him, since hes previously had relationships with girls and enjoyed it a lot. Now he begins to question whether he was truly happy with them, or if sometimes was missing, lacking from those relationships. He is having a very hard time with this realization, and as a result, has started to skip classes sometimes, not be as outgoing as he was before, become more closed up in his room, sometimes searching the web for information about homosexuality, sometimes just thinking in his room. He has distanced himself from some of his friends, because they are quite homophobic and yell insulting things to other boys at school. Hes been thinking about approaching another gay guy from his school, but wants to make sure that his secret will be safe with him. Matt is eager to define himself, not only in terms of his sexual orientation, but also in terms of finding out who he really is, what he wants to do after school, what he likes and what he plans for his future and life in general. (Adolescence stage in Eriksons theory) Case Study 4 Marie is an elderly woman at the age of 64. To the amazement of her friends and family, she keeps being as active, vital, energetic and vibrant as she was many years ago. She fills her days with various things to do. She comes to visit her children and grandchildren at least twice or three times a week, sometimes spending the night with them, babysitting them if needed. She has no problem running after them and keeping up with them, though she sometimes has to sit down and rest after that. When shes at her daughters house, she often helps her cook lavish dinners for the family, which the kids absolutely adore and always claim to be the most delicious meals they eat. In her spare time, she dedicated herself to volunteering in a free clinic that helps people who are having financial difficulties or that are of little means and are unable to pay for expensive medical care. She works there as a receptionist and has many responsibilities. Her real job there is probably talking to the patients, encouraging them, putting a smile and their face and lifting their spirits up. She often tells them "Im 64 years old and I can still run marathons. Theres no reason you shouldnt be able to do so!". She always tells this with a smile, and often receives one back. She tries to convince people to quit smoking, drinking and doing drugs, saying that these things are very detrimental to the body and mind, and using from past experiences and patients shes seen. When she gets home, she cuddles in her bed, reading a book. She tries to have enough time to study Spanish too, as shes enrolled in a correspondence course in a nearby university. In weekends she enjoys walking on the beach with her family and dog, which she adores. Shes content with her life, wanting to make the most out of every moment she has left, and is thankful for all the good in her life. (Late Adulthood stage of Eriksons theory) Conclusion As we have witnessed, different theorists use different and various theories to divide a persons life into stages of development. One categorized them according to the cognitive development, another according to their moral development, one puts emphasis on the crises of every stage and another on the urges within us which drive us to act one way or another. The human life span can be divided into different categories and stages, sometimes overlapping with one another between two or more theories. While some dominant theories rule today, there are some that have been refused and rebuffed. Still, every remaining and lasting theory has its own emphasis and focus to give on something specific, and they all teach us one thing or another. Together, we can combine them all to realize, as best we can, the divisions in a persons life. Although some theories are more constructivist and some arent, even though some have misrepresented the proper ages of the stages and in spite any other claim that arises against them, the combination of all the relevant theories of human development are essential for the true and full understanding of the nature of our development as human beings as well as individuals (Santrock, 2002). References Erikson, E.H (1959). "Identity and the Life Cycle". New York: International Universities Press. Santrock, J.W (1998). "Children", Vol. 9. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Santrock, J.W. (2002). "Life-Span Development, Edition 12". Washington: McGraw-Hill. Read More