Life Span Development - Research Paper Example

Life Span DevelopmentThe objective of this paper is to study love and divorce in a society with reference to life span development.IntroductionA person goes through many developmental stages through out life.Each experience of a person has an impact on the life of a person.Love and marriage are two of the most important parts of young adulthood.Divorce results from many different factors and has a severe impact on the lives of the people involved.BodyChildhoodAccording to Erikson’s theory of socio-emotional Development, a person has to go through four different stages before reaching adolescence.

These stages include Trust vs. Mistrust; Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt; Initiative vs. Guilt; and Accomplishment/Industry vs. Inferiority (Rosenthal, Gurney, & Moore, 1981).John Piaget suggests a similar theory. According to him, by the time a child reaches adolescence, s/he has developed the ability to think in terms of reality, make decisions based on his or her own perception, and to observe the environment (Piaget, 1997).Adolescence and Young AdulthoodChildren go through many physical and emotional changes and these years play a very important role in the lives of individuals as its effects last for the rest of the life.

According to Erik Erikson’s theory of socio-emotional development, a person develops skills, self-esteem, confidence, a sense of responsibility, and learns about love and family values (Rosenthal, Gurney, & Moore, 1981).By the time a person reaches young adulthood, a person focuses more on interpersonal relationships and looks for a partner to commit to, which increases a sense of belonging. Erikson calls this stage Intimacy vs. Isolation (Rosenthal, Gurney, & Moore, 1981).A study concludes that romantic love in young adults consist three main factors: connectedness, attraction, and painful love (Seiffge-Krenke, Shulman, & Kiessinger, 2001).

The relationship of a person with parents, the marital status of parents, and a number of other factors related to different stages of development, have a significant effect on the romantic love of young adults (Seiffge-Krenke, Shulman, & Kiessinger, 2001).Love and Divorce in SocietySelecting a life partner is one of the most important decisions of young adults and has a significant influence on the life of a person.Social Penetration is a term used to define relationships that move from liking to greater closeness and intimacy (Altman & Taylor, 1973).

Studies have shown that less attractive people look for less attractive people to avoid being rejected by people who are better looking (Atkinson, Hilgard, & Atkinson, 1983).According to Zick Rubin, “love is an attitude held by a person toward a particular other person, involving predispositions to think, feel, and behave in certain ways toward that other person” (Rubin, 1970, pp.265).A study reveals that women who havent expereinced intimacy in college are more likely to get a divorce in midlife compared to women who had an intimate relationship in college (Weinberger, Hofstein, & Whitbourne, 2009).

Factors that lead to a divorce include lack of intimacy and communication (Wynne & Wynne, 1986).The rate of divorce is higher among the young couple compared to adult couples because younger couple expect more from each other (Seiler, 2002).ConclusionThe developmental stages spreading throughout the life span of a person play an important role in the decision making and future of a person.The past experiences of a person have a significant impact on the future love, marriage, divorce of an individual.

ReferencesAltman, I., & Taylor, D. A. (1973). Social penetration: the development of interpersonal relationships. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.Atkinson, R. L., Hilgard, E. R., & Atkinson, R. C. (1983). Introduction to Psychology. New York: harcourt Brace Jovanovich.Piaget, J. (1997). Readings on the development of children. Development and learning , pp. 20-28.Rosenthal, D. A., Gurney, R. M., & Moore, S. M. (1981). From trust on intimacy: A new inventory for examining Erikcon's stages of psychological development.

Journal of Youth and Adolescence , 525-537.Rubin, Z. (1970). Measurement of Romantic Love. Jouornal of personality and Social Psychology , 265-273.Seiffge-Krenke, I., Shulman, S., & Kiessinger, N. (2001). Adolescent precursors of romantic relationships in young adulthood. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships , 327-346.Seiler, N. (2002). Is teen marriage a solution. Retrieved September 21, 2010, from CLASP: http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications_archive/files/0087.pdfWeinberger, M. I., Hofstein, Y.

, & Whitbourne, S. K. (2009). Intimacy in young adulthood as a predictor of dovorce in midlife. PubMed Central , 551-557.Wynne, L. C., & Wynne, A. R. (1986). The quest for intimacy. Journal of marital and Family Therapy , 383-394.