ASSIGNMENT:

|DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE |CHARACTERISTICS |
|Prenatal Period |The hereditary endowment, which serves as the foundation for later development, is fixed, once and for |
| |all, at this time. While favourable or unfavourable conditions both before and after birth will affect to|
| |some extent the physical and psychological traits that make up this hereditary endowment. |
| |Favorable conditions in the mother’s body can foster the development of hereditary potentials while |
| |unfavourable conditions can stunt their development, even to the point of distorting the pattern of |
| |future development. |
| |At few if any other times in the life span are hereditary potentials so influenced by environmental |
| |conditions as they are during the prenatal period. |
| |The sex of the newly created individual is fixed at the time of conception and conditions within the |
| |mother’s body will not affect it; as is true of the hereditary endowment. Except when surgery is used in |
| |sex transformation operations, the sex of the individual, determined at the time of conception, will not |
| |change. Such operations are rare and only partially successful. |
| |Proportionally greater growth and development take place during the prenatal period than any other time |
| |throughout the individual’s entire life. |
| |The prenatal period is a time of many hazards. Both physical and psychological. While it cannot be |
| |claimed that it is the most hazardous period in the entire life span—many believed that infancy is more |
| |hazardous—it certainly is a time when environmental or psychological hazards can have a marked effect on |
| |the pattern of later development or may even bring development to an end. |
| |The time when significant people form attitudes toward newly created individual. These attitudes will |
| |have a marked influence on the way these individuals are treated, especially during their early, |
| |formative year. |
| Infancy |Infancy is the shortest of all Developmental Periods: it is the time when the fetus must adjust to life |
| |outside the uterus walls of the mother where it has lived for approximately nine months. |
| |Infancy is a time of Radical Adjustments: it requires adjustments on the individual’s part. It may be |
| |easy for some infants to make these adjustments but so difficult for others that they will fail to do so.|
| |Infancy is a plateau in development: characteristic of this plateau is due to the necessity for making |
| |radical adjustments to the postnatal environment. Once, these adjustments have been made, infants resume |
| |their growth and development. |
| |Infancy is a preview of later development: the newborn’s development provides a clue as to what to expect|
| |later on. |
| |Infancy is a hazardous period: both physically and psychologically, physical adjustments to the totally |
| |new and different environment and psychologically because it is the time when the attitudes of |
| |significant people toward the infant are crystallized. |
|Babyhood |Babyhood is a true Foundation Age: at this time, many behavior patterns, many attitudes, and many |
| |patterns of emotional expression are being established. |
| |Babyhood is an age of Rapid Growth and Change: change not only in appearance but also in capacities. |
| |Babyhood is an age of Decreasing Dependency: it makes possible for babies to do things for themselves |
| |which formerly they had to rely upon others to do for them. |
| |Babyhood is the age of increased individuality: the individuality apparent at birth increases as babyhood|
| |draws to close. Individuality is shown in appearance and in patterns of behavior. |
| |Babyhood is the beginning of socialization: babies show their desire to become a part of the social group|
| |protests when they are left alone and by trying to win the attention of others. |
| |Babyhood is the beginning of Sex-Role typing: boys are treated as boys and girls are treated as girls. |
| |Babyhood is an appealing age |
| |Babyhood is the beginning of creativity: in these early months of life to develop interests and attitudes|
| |that will lay the foundations for later creativity. |
| |Babyhood is a hazardous age: among the physical hazards are illnesses and accidents. |
|Early Childhood |Names used by parents: behavior problems dominate the early childhood years because young children are |
| |developing distinctive personalities and are demanding an independence.. |
| |Names used by educators: the preschool age to distinguish it from the time when children are considered |
| |old enough, both physically and mentally, to cope with work they will be expected to do when they begin |
| |their formal schooling. |
| |Names used by psychologists: one of the most commonly applied names is the pre-gang age, the time when |
| |children are learning the foundations of social behavior as a preparation for the more highly organized |
| |social life they will be required to adjust to when they enter first grade. |
|Late Childhood |Names used by parents: troublesome age- time when children are no longer willing to do what they are told|
| |to do and when they are more influenced by their peers than by their parents and other family members. |
| |Names used by educators: elementary school age-the time when the child is expected to acquire the |
| |rudiments of knowledge that are considered essential for successful adjustment to adult life. It is also |
| |the time when the child is expected to learn certain essential skills, both curricular and |
| |extracurricular. |
| |Names used by psychologists: gang age- the time when children’s major concern is acceptance by their |
| |age-mates and membership in the gang, especially a gang with prestige in the eyes of their age-mates. |
|Puberty |Puberty is an overlapping period: it encompasses the closing years of childhood and the beginning years |
| |of adolescence. |
| |Puberty is a short period: last for about two to four years. |
| |Puberty is divided into stages: it subdivides into three stages- the prepubescent stage (maturing |
| |stage), the pubescent stage (secondary sex characteristics continue to develop and cells are produced in |
| |the sex organs), and the postpubescent stage (secondary sex characteristics become well developed and the|
| |sex organs begin to function in a mature manner). |
| |Puberty is a time of rapid growth and change: puberty growth spurts because it precedes slightly or |
| |occurs simultaneously with the other changes of puberty. |
| |Puberty is a negative phase: individual takes an “anti” attitude toward life or seems to be losing some |
| |of the good qualities previously developed. |
| |Puberty occurs at a variable age: it is the variations in timing of puberty rather than the changes |
| |associated with it that make puberty one of the most difficult, even though one of the shortest, periods |
| |in the life span. |
|Early Adolescence |Peer pressure is a common problem, The urge to be in popular groups can cause early adolescents to change|
| |the way they eat, dress, talk or act in order to fit in. |
| |Rapid mental developmental occur, these give rise to the need for mental adjustments and the necessity |
| |for establishing new attitudes, values and interest. |
| |Transitional period: the individual’s status is vague and there is confusion about the roles the |
| |individual is expected to play. |
| |Period of change: heightened emotionality, the intensity of which depends on the rate at which the |
| |physical and psychological takes place. |
| |Rapid changes that accompany sexual maturing make them unsure of themselves. |
| |Changes in their bodies, their interests, and in the roles the social group expects them to play create |
| |new problems. |
| |Problem age: inexperience in coping with problems alone. |
| |Time of search for identity |
| |Dreaded age: stereotypes influenced the self-concepts and attitudes of adolescents toward themselves. |
| |Time of unrealism: they have the tendency to look at life through rose-tinted glasses. |
|Late Adolescence |Interest and behavior patterns change, so do values. The important thing is that they are near adult. |
| |Most are ambivalent about changes. They want and demand independence. |
| |Problem age: they want to feel they are independent, they demand the right for coping with their own |
| |problems. |
| |Threshold of adulthood: they are anxious to shed the stereotype of teenagers and to create the impression|
| |that they are near-adults. They begin to concentrate on behavior that is associated with the adult |
| |status. |
|Early Adulthood |Adjustments to new pattern of life and new social expectations. |
| |Settling-down Age: trying out different life patterns and different individuals to share their life |
| |patterns. |
| |Reproductive Age: parenthood is the most important role. |
| |Problem Age: many new problems, different in their major aspects, from the problems experienced in the |
| |earlier years of life. |
| |Period of emotional tension: trying to get the lay of a new land in which they find themselves. |
| |Period of Social Isolation: the loneliness that comes from this isolation will be temporary or persistent|
| |depends on how quickly they can be. |
| |Time of Commitments: established new patterns of living, new responsibilities, and make new commitments. |
| |Often a Period of Dependency: mostly are economically dependent. |
| |Time of Value Change: they want to be accepted by members of the adult group and most social groups hold |
| |conventional values about beliefs and behavior. |
| |Time of Adjustment in New Lifestyles: new lifestyles, new family-life patterns and vocational patterns. |
| |Creative Age: Depends upon the individual’s interest and abilities. |
|Late Adulthood |Dreaded Period: dreaded period in ters of life span. |
| |Time of Transition: adjustment to new interests, new values, and new patterns of behavior. |
| |Time of stress: a time when number major adjustments must be made in the home, business, and social |
| |aspects of their lives. |
| |Dangerous Age: a time when individuals break down physically as a result of overwork, over worry, or |
| |careless living. |
| |Awkward Age: they suffer from discomforts and embarrassments associated with the rebel generation and the|
| |Senior Citizen Generation. |
| |Time of Achievement: the tendency to produce and stand still will dominate their characteristics. |
| |Time of Evaluation: they evaluate their accomplishments and achievements in life. |
| |Evaluated by a Double Standard: a standard for men and a standard for women. |
| |Time of the Empty Nest: the time when the children no longer want to live under the parental roof. |
| |Time of Boredom: they are mostly bored with the usual routine they made. |
|Senescence |Period of Decline: Aging affects the physical and as well as mental structures and functionings. |
| |There are individual differences in the effects of Aging: Aging affects different people differently. |
| |Judged by Different Criteria: they were judged by their physical appearance and what they can and cannot |
| |do. |
| |There are many Stereotypes old People: Stereo types and traditional beliefs have come from many sources. |
| |Social Attitude toward Old Age: it affects the way elderly are treated. |
| |The Elderly have a Minority-Group Status: a status that excludes them to some extent from interaction |
| |with other groups in the population and which gives them little or no power. |
| |Aging requires Role Changes: it is expected that old people will play a decreasingly less active role in |
| |social and community affairs, as well as in business and professional worlds. |
| |Poor Adjustment is Characteristic of Old Age: many elderly people develop unfavorable self-concepts. |
| |The Desire for Rejuvenation is Widespread in Old Age: the desire to remain young. |