Premium Essay

Life Span

In: Philosophy and Psychology

Submitted By MyBigpaper
Words 725
Pages 3
Life Span Perspective
Dennis L. Bentley
Life Span Human Development- PSY/375
November 7, 2011
Professor Deborah Wilkerson M.A., ABD

What is the life span perspective of development? And what do heredity and environment have to do with a persons’ development? These are two questions that shall be answered by this paper along with a summary of the two theories of life span development. This paper will utilize the internet and the library of the University of Phoenix to assist in the answering of these questions. A very through and complete paper is not possible given the restraints, however every effort will be made to achieve the papers’ intention.

To begin with the life span development perspective can be defined by Erickson eight stages or the different thoughts brought about by Behavioral, Cognitive, Epigenetic, or Sociocultural theorist. Whatever the school the basics are the same 1) we never stop learning, 2) development begins at birth, and 3), it does not end until death. As Santrock (1999) put it as "some aspects of development increase while others decrease". This is seen as plastic meaning that there is a certain elasticity that occurs in response to the different environmental demands that one might have during life. Like wise there are three domains that key in this perspective they are physical, cognitive, and social. In the physical, height, weight, and shape changes are the ingredients of what a person sees as a self perspective. The cognitive takes a back seat as the social is driven mainly by the physical and no one really looks at the cognitive except maybe as an introspective part of soul searching.

One theory of life span development is the cognitive theory of Jean Piaget. One of his breakthrough theories was the stage independent theory. This theory dealt with four

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Life Span Analysis

...According to Life Span Development A Topical Approach by Robert S. Feldman, grief is defined as the emotional response to one’s loss. Bereavement is defined as the acknowledgement of the objective fact that one has experienced a death. I really did not like the textbook’s definition of bereavement so I decided to look up the definition on dictionary.com and on that website it is defined as a period of mourning after a loss, especially after the death of a loved one. Grief and Bereavement can be dealt with in different ways. What I would like to talk about is differentiating unhealthy grief and normal grief, my experience with grief and bereavement with the loss of my aunt and my uncle, the ways people can deal with grief and bereavement, and how to overcome them....

Words: 834 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Psychosocial Life-Span

... Calvin and Beth lose their eldest son Buck to a boating accident a year ago, which leads to a suicide attempt of their other son. The characters in this novel and movie show many signs of Erickson’s theory of development especially Calvin. Calvin falls into two stages of Erickson’s theory of development: Ego Integrity vs. Despair, and Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt. The theory of Ego Integrity vs. Despair states as people become older in life people they often spend time reflecting on their life and feel despair and become depressed because they may not have accomplished goals they set in life. This theory can be seen throughout the novel and movie as Calvin becomes more and more aware of what kind of relationship his wife and son, have after the death of Buck. He soon becomes despair with his marriage and realizes what kind of person his wife Beth is, and understands why his mentor did not approve of their marriage. Calvin begins to drink more to help deal with problems and alcohol is a depressant, which often leads him to reflect on what life could have been if he had followed his dreams of becoming an athlete or soldier. Also, Calvin falls under the Theory of Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt. This theory states people can become inadequate and have self-doubt. There are many examples throughout the novel and movie where Calvin is very insecure about how to mend the broken relationship between his wife Beth and his son Conrad following the death and suicide attempt. His wife doesn’t...

Words: 617 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Life Is but a Span, Treasure! Value!

...Life is but a span, treasure! Value! Always, I do not understand why should pass such a life every day. It seems that every one is such, so I accept even without refusing and resisting. Everyday when I go home, I throw myself into the bed, and at the same time inexplicable sense of emptiness spreads. A voice roars in my heart, “I am unhappy, I do not like the present life”. With an exhaustion to sleep, the life is or so in tomorrow morning up, over and over again. However, one day one of my friends tell me that tired, just rest; heart heavy, just calm. Growing up, being mature, many things will see through. Tired, sad, just squat down, and give yourself a hug. Do not expect anyone else to sympathise with you, have mercy on you. Sobbing, tears are your own; hurting, no one can experience instead of you. You should be strong even going through pains and tears, and you can also tolerantly go on. Since, life is your own life. “Life is but a span, treasure! Value!” is a sentence much found on the lips of this my friend. So short, but so meaningful! Yes, throughout a person’ life, being happy is a way of spending a day, while unhappy also a way of passing a day. Therefore, let us happy now; Do what you want to do and love what you want to love; Remember something have to be remembered, while forget what should be forgotten; Change things possibly being changed, and accept what is mutable. We can calmly face anything, and actively grasp any chances. Do not excessively demand;...

Words: 303 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Life Span

...Life span Life Span Development Kristy Uhl Psychology 375 September 23, 2013 Susan Cohen University of Phoenix From birth to death, humans grow and develop they change and become productive individuals. From an early age we learn to depend on our parents for care and support, then as we become adults ourselves we turn around and take care of our own children. The cycle of life is repeated over and over. Some psychologist developed their own ideas or theories about life and two of the psychologist with big ideas or theories are Sigmund Freud and John B. Watson. Sigmund Freud’s Theory In the psychoanalytical theory Freud outlines that deep motives, inner drives, and unconscious needs are the foundation of behaviors. These forces influence our development and our behavior as human beings (Berger, 2011). He developed his theory by observing and listening to the thoughts and fantasies of people. He came up with three stages of development in the first six years of life. They are oral, anal, and phallic in the first stage the oral stage is being dependent on one parents for food and nourishment, anal stage is when a child learns to potty train and go to the bathroom on his/her own. The last stage is phallic stage in this stage a child learns to identify there self as either a boy or a girl, they also learn pride, fear, and envy. Freud claims that all behavior is linked back to these stages of development. John...

Words: 749 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Life Span 1-3

...Rieger & J. Patrick McGrail I chose the article “Coping Humor and Family Functioning in Parents Of Children With Disabilities” because its methods are ones that I used to get through the struggles of having a family member with disabilities. This article talks about how humor has been used to relief the stressful lifestyle of both the person with a disability and the family that endures this. Surprisingly using humor as a tool to cope with this has made nothing less than every day’s life easier and gives a sense of calm to take on the furthermore challenges that will come. Having a disability isn’t something that was chosen, it’s a challenge given to any individual that can be overcome with support or proper ways to deal with it. Findings The objective of the article was to investigate whether coping humor in families that had a child with a disability could strengthen the family functioning and make the child’s every day life easier to handle. The Coping Humor Scale (CHS) and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES IV) were used to measure this investigation. The hypothesis was that coping humor would relief stress and FACES IV would set balance in both the cohesion and flexibility of the child and the family. Seventy-Two parents of children that had autism and multiple other disorders were used and completed the CHS and the FACES IV scales. Qualitative evidence exists that shows ...

Words: 974 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Life Span

...Life Span Perspective          The life span perspective of development provides intriguing information about the development of individuals through their lifespan, such as who individuals are, how individuals came to be who they are, and who those individuals will become. Psychoanalytic theories offer insight into life span development and explain the stages of development that individuals proceed through in their lifespan. The life span perspective of development also provides important information in regard to how the effects of heredity, and the environment may interact to produce individual differences in life span development. Life Span Perspective of Development           To study human development the life span perspective is necessary because it does not just take into account the development that occurs in childhood or adulthood but every phases of life (Berger, 2011). The life span perspective is a view of human development characterized by multicontextual, multicultural, multidisciplinary, multidirectional, and plastic characteristics Development is multicontextual, therefore the several contexts, such as economic constraints, family patterns, and historical conditions embed the lives of humans (Berger, 2011). Development is multicultural; therefore several cultures affect the development of individuals. Development is multidisciplinary; therefore psychology and other disciplines, such as biology, neuroscience, education, economics, anthropology, sociology, religion...

Words: 881 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Life Span

...Cedric Polk PSY/300 GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY Life Span Development and Personality Paper LORRAINE EYRE There have been a lot of famous people during the 20th and 21th Century that have made a impact on society. There have been some that have made a bad and good impact on society. The one famous person I can think of is Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. King was both a Baptist minister and civil-rights activist. Through his leadership, he had a great part in ending the legal separation of African American from Caucasians. King created the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights of 1964. King was the middle child of Michael King Sr. and Alberta Williams King’s grandfather, A.D. Williams was also a minister. King’s father came from poor families that were sharecroppers. King’s father was also a minister. King came was raised by a family of believers and had a strong belief in faith. He grew up in a loving and secure environment and didn’t have to worry about being unstable. King grew up know right from wrong and to turn the other cheek when people do things against you. His morals values were important to him and he lived by what he believed. King followed his dad’s footsteps and became a minister also. Even being from a poor family, He earned a sociology degree from Morehouse College and then attended Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. King was later a pastor of the Dexter Avenue...

Words: 1102 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Life Span

...Colleen Donald Lifespan Development and Personality Early childhood development can be affected by a number of factors, and it is impossible to underestimate the immense importance of the early development of children. Erik Erikson's stage theory of psychosocial development contributed to the understanding of personality development throughout the lifespan. The lifespan development of human being involves the psychological and genetic alterations from the birth and end of the life. The progress of life is highly influenced by the hereditary and environmental factors involving the different aspects related to physical, cognitive, social, moral, and personality development (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). Erik Erikson felt as if middle age children between the ages of six and twelve is where they begin to develop the mental skills needed in later years.“Elementary school-aged children, who succeed in learning new, productive life skills, develop a sense of pride and competence (industry). Those who fail to develop these skills feel inadequate and unproductive (inferior)” (Carpenter & Huffman, 2010). The phase of physical development of a child is classified as gross motor skills development and fine motor skills development. Hereditary factors play an important role in the physical growth and characteristics development of the child in the middle childhood stage. Physical growth of the child can be assessed in the form of weight acquisition...

Words: 1170 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Life Span

...Life Span Christopher Cook Point University Life Span I can say that my life has not been prefect all these years, but I must still consider that I have had a good life compare too many others around the world. I have seen several ups and downs throughout life, but through them all I’ve managed to turn the negative situations into positive outcomes, and the positive situations into greater achievements. There are several reasons why I feel that I have had a wonderful life and will explain what factors contributed my success and happiness in life. I am sharing several key events that happened while I was growing up that influenced my adulthood. I truly believe I became separated from a lot of my parental influences and depended on reading books, and the influence of friends from church, which strayed me into the right paths for my life. My life started thirty-five years ago on October 22, 1977. I was born in Carrollton, Georgia to Mike and Sherry Cook. I had somewhat of a typical childhood parents, brother, and a dog. When I was born both of my parents were very young at the age of nineteen, and had no money at all. Both of my parents had just got out of school, and had just started working their first real full-time jobs. After I was born my mother decide that she what to be a stay at home mother, which really put a finical strap on our family. So my dad had to pick of the difference of her income by getting two jobs to support our family. After about...

Words: 3906 - Pages: 16

Free Essay

Life Span

...Abnormal Psychology and Therapy Jessica King, Galen Gill, Nathan Ferrell PSY January 6, 2015 Wanda Meneese Abnormal Psychology and Therapy Psychology is defined as the scientific investigation of mental processes and behavior (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). There are two types of psychology that will be compared and contrasted within this paper; normal and abnormal. What is considered normal? What is considered abnormal? What distinguishes one from the other? How are both types alike? Abnormal Psychology is associated with diagnosis and therapy, while normal psychology focuses on understanding the cognition and behavior of those who are not. Both types of therapy can enlist many different types of approaches such as psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral, biological, and humanistic. There is no clear and concise way to define abnormal behaviors that are studied within psychology. Abnormal behaviors are considered those behaviors within a certain society or group that are atypical. Determining a way to define abnormal behavior has been a work in progress for centuries. Social behaviors that are typically not considered acceptable within a group may classify someone as abnormal while in another group these behaviors may be acceptable and thus the person would be considered normal. Individuals that are considered abnormal have a difficult time functioning and adapting to specified conditions. Abnormal behavior studies include mental processes and psychopathology...

Words: 1337 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Human Life Span

...Human Life Span- From the moment of conception to the day we pass away, we are in constant change, growth and development. Most results are of biological and psychological changes as people. Some changes are self proposed and some are results of personal choices, we all pass along a chronological timeline of events of which make us who we are. Throughout the use of biological, cognitive and socioemotional processes, we experience various periods of development. Biological is defined as changes in an individual’s physical nature; cognitive is changes in thought, intelligence and language; and socioemotional is changes within a person’s relationships & friendships with others as well as their own emotions and personality. From the prenatal period and along the way, we learn how to use our minds and bodies to communicate, develop friendships, learn how to love, work, play and achieve. From early childhood we are learning to be self sufficient on to adulthood, where we are seeking how to be independent and expand personally and socially. Eventually we get to late adulthood and our bodies are going through a multitude of changes as we get ready to enter the final life cycle. For me personally, the human life span is more linear as described as the periods of development in the book we are reading. It is easy to see the different processes unfold within the various periods of development if you delineate the age categories or specific periods and patterns of change. Nature...

Words: 1308 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Life Span Development

...Malcolm X Life Span and Development ABSTRACT Malcolm X who was born Malcolm Little was a well known activists that had many different events that occurred in life which influenced his morals, personality and his emotional and physical development. Malcolm had both parents until his father was killed and mother was admitted to a psychiatric ward (Malcolm, 2012). After being sent to an orphanage and dropping out of school he was out on his own Malcolm turned to the streets and got into some trouble. After being incarcerated, Malcolm joined the nation of Islam becoming a spokesperson that had many followers (Lee, 1992). He was fighting for the right of equality for African Americans. Due to the departure from one of his teachers Elijah Muhammad Malcolm then began to go his own way and founded a more peaceful way of settling the racist acts. While giving his last speech Malcolm X was assassinated by three men (Malcolm, 2012). Malcolm X changes in life helped him to grow into the person he became to be. Malcolm X Life Span and Development Malcolm Little who is publicly known as Malcolm X was born May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. He was born to the parents of Louise and Earl Little. He was one of eight siblings (Malcolm, 2012). Malcolm is famous for being an activist and prominent figure in the Nation of Islam. Malcolm dropped his name “Little” that was considered a slave name and inherited X (Malcolm, 2012). Malcolm went...

Words: 1709 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Life Span Development

...Introduction The goal of the life span perspective of development is to understand how and why all different kinds of people, everywhere, and of every age, change over time (Berger, 2011). Developmental psychologists study the constant changes we experience throughout life, including physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development. Psychologists also study how we are affected by, react to, and process the world around us (Stone, 2011). The first aspect of developmental science is to understand how and why people change. Another aspect of developmental science is to identify universal similarities and differences among people, and then use that information to unify humanity as well as distinguish us as individuals (Berger, 2011). The most important aspect of developmental science is to understand that people change over time. According to Berger (2001), “Change is systematic, ongoing, and dynamic throughout the entire life span.” Explain the life span perspective of development. According to Paul and Margret Baltes, life-span perspective views human development as multidirectional, multicontextual, multicultural, multidisciplinary, and plastic. Development is considered multidirectional because change occurs in all directions, in every part of life. Human characteristics can increase, decrease, or remain the same (Berger, 2011). Development is also multicontextual. It can occur in many different physical and social environments. We develop, regardless of where we are...

Words: 1422 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Life Span Development

...Life Span Development Kelvin L. McRae Liberty University Abstract In this paper it will discuss Erik Eriksons 8 stages of personality and what we deal with during each stage of our lives. This paper will also discuss the Big Five theory which gives a pretty good ideal of most people personalities. This paper will also discuss my life span and the things that I have been through in my life time from birth to my current stage of life Young adults. It will also explain what I need to do to deal with the issues that I have that are affecting me as I go into my next stage of life and how I will deal with it. In our life time we go through several changes. Form the day we are born until the day that death has come upon use. As we reach different stages of our lives we begin to see changes not only in our physical but cognitively as well. Through the studies of Erik Erickson he came up with 8 different stages personality that may define who we are going to be. The first stage is Basic trust vs. basic mistrust; in this stage it covers the birth to 1 year of age which seems to be the most fundamental stage of life. Cassell (2013) states that Erickson said; the baby develops basic trust or basic mistrust is not merely a matter of nurture. It is multi-faceted and has strong social components. It depends on the quality of the maternal relationship. The mother carries out and reflects their inner perceptions of trustworthiness, a sense of personal meaning, etc. on the...

Words: 3652 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Life Span Paper

...July 11, 2012 Life span paper Kobe Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 23, 1978. As of March 11, 2011, Kobe ranks fourth and sixth in the national basketball association leagues all time post season scoring and all time regular season scoring lists. Bryant is also the all time leading scorer in Lakers history. In 2008 Kobe brought home a gold metal from the Olympic Games and in 2009 was named the NBA player of the decade. He has been the Lakers one time regular season and three time MVP and appeared and played in thirteen consecutive all star games in a row. Kobe Bryant’s 81 point out burst versus the Toronto Raptors comes second to Will Chamberlin’s record setting 100 points scored in a regular season game. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT According to Bjorklund (2004) Cognitive development refers to how a person perceives, thinks and increases understanding of his world the interaction of genetic and learned factors. The areas Cognitive development are information processing, intelligence, reasoning, language development and memory. According to Piaget’s theory environmental influences have an impact on children starting at a young age as they begin to mimic what they see and hear. Kobe began playing basketball when he was three. His father “Jelly bean Joe” a Philadelphia legend and eight year player for the NBA. He also played basketball on a professional team in Italy. Kobe grew up in a world of basketball and his world revolved around his father’s basketball...

Words: 734 - Pages: 3