Life Span Development PDF

LIFE SPAN DEVELOPMENT M M CHIRWA OBJECTIVES Introduction To understand Gender role development. To understand Personality development. To explain Social and emotional development. INTRODUCTION In life span development you learn about the ways that people grow and adapt to b...

LIFE SPAN DEVELOPMENT M M CHIRWA OBJECTIVES Introduction To understand Gender role development. To understand Personality development. To explain Social and emotional development. INTRODUCTION In life span development you learn about the ways that people grow and adapt to both the good and the challenging situations that life brings, there are some specific areas you will learn about. Each of these will impact your ability to serve your patients well and give them the care they deserve. These include:  Physical: the way the body and its functions mature from infancy to adulthood Cognitive: considers the way in which we consciously think about certain things, how we understand, learn and remember Social: focuses on the ways that we react and interact socially (with other people) Intellectual: considers the growth of logical thinking Perceptual: learning about the ability to understand a person, place, or thing in a deeper, more real way  Personality: changes that occur in our personality can be influenced by the setting we grow up in and the physical aspects of our development Emotional: focuses on the human's emotional growth and ability to use those emotions to progress forward in individual development CONT., INTRODUCTION Life span development include the entire process of life for an individual starting from conception to death. The entire life of prenatal and postnatal development are included. Prenatal period begins from fertilisation to the time of birth. Cognitive abilities takes shape during prenatal period. Development during prenatal period happens in an orderly condition  However , there some factors that can affect the normal development of a human being such as environmental factors such as lead which may interfere with normal growth an individual. The factors that interfere with normal growth are called teratogens. Postnatal period of development begins after the birth of the child. Developmental psychology refers to maturation processes of an individual. GENDER ROLE DEVELOPMENT Gender roles in development refers to different types of activities related to either feminine or masculine. Gender roles in society are typical or accepted in relation to values, traits of cultural or environment. For example, consider how men’s hairstyle change, both the ‘’acceptable’’ length of hair and the amount of facial hair are different in recent years, depending on society’s whim.  Gender roles in development is concerned with basic processes to understand broader issues in shaping individuals’ relationships, such as: -social aspects -sexual roles such as Women can be impregnated and men can impregnate.  For example, children are exposed to various factors which influence their attitudes and behaviours regarding gender roles. The attitudes and behaviours are learned from a home, reinforced by the child’s peers, school experiences and media.  Gender identity: children’s understanding that they are male and female. Gender schema: cognitive frameworks reflecting children’s experiences with their society’s beliefs about the attributes of male and females such as Instructions from parents, their observations of how females and males behave.  Gender schema theory: A theory that children develop a recognitive framework reflecting the beliefs of the society concerning the characteristics of roles for females and males. The gender schema strongly affect the social information. Such as children with firmly developed gender schemas tend to categorise the behaviour of others as either females or males.  Gender stereotype: cultural beliefs about differences between women and men Gender differences: differences between females’ and males’ behaviour. Often perceptions of these differences are exaggerated by gender stereotypes.  Environmental experiences : it may have major effects on person’s characteristics, being unique to one person only or common to many people. For example: Imagine a man who live in a fishing village and works on fishing boat. His experiences of living in the village, will be shared experiences like those of other people living there. PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT Personality development: consists of attributes that represents an individuals’ behaviour. Two general factors influence personality. a person’s experiences within the environment (nurture). the person’s heredity background (nature).  If the same man spent several hours in the open sea after falling from the boat, his experiences will be unique. The experience he will have after spending several hours on off sea will influence his personality and unique from village experiences he shared with other people.  Hereditary effects: Genetic pattern from birth or conception influences personality characteristics an individual will develop. Inherited brain damage or birth defects tend to influence a person’s behaviour. Somatic factors such as weight, skin coloration, and sensory organs may affect personality development. MORAL DEVELOPMENT Moral development- based on learning is about the right and wrong and how to act on the two different situations. It is in three levels and each level is divided in two stages. Lawrence Kohlberg (1984), proposed a theory of moral development. He posed moral dilemmas to different age groups in order to assess their stage of moral development.  An example given was a man who had a wife suffering from cancer, and a Doctor prescribed a drug that could save the man’s wife worth K2000. The man had only K1000, but the pharmacist refused to sell it at a reduced amount nor to let the man pay the balance later. In desperation, the man broke into the pharmacy store room and stole the drug.  Should the husband have done that and if so why? Three major levels of moral reasoning proposed by Kohlberg are; ØPre-convention level of morality- earliest stage of development. (before 9yrs) judge morality in terms of consequences; Stage 1: Obedience and punishment - actions leading to rewards that are good and acceptable and those leading to punishment are bad and unacceptable.  For example: a child at this level might say, “The man should not steal the drug, because if he does, he will be punished.” Throughout the preconvention level, a child’s sense of morality is externally controlled. Stage 2: Instrumental Orientation: It expresses the “what’s in it for me?” position, in which right behaviour is defined by whatever the individual believes to be in their best interest.  by whatever the individual believes to be in their best interest. Stage two reasoning shows a limited interest in the needs of others, only to the point where it might further the individual’s own interests. The concern for others is not based on loyalty or intrinsic respect, but rather a “you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours” mentality.  An example would be when a child is asked by his parents to do a chore. The child asks “what’s in it for me?” and the parents offer the child an incentive by giving him an allowance.  Conventional level of morality- (early adolescence) a child becomes aware of social orders and judge in terms of what supports and preserve society norms. A child at this stage might reason: “It’s OK to steal the drug, because no one will think you are bad if you do. If you don’t, and let your wife die, you’ll never be able to look anyone in the eye again.”  For example, persons at this stage of moral development might argue for stealing the drug as follows: “If the man doesn’t steal the drug, he is putting property above human life; - It makes no sense. People could live together without private property, but a respect for human life is essential.” However, they might argue for not stealing the drug: “If the man stole the drug,  he wouldn’t be blamed by others but would probably blame himself, because he would have violated his own standards of honesty and hurt another person for his own gain.” Stage 3: Good boy and Nice girl Orientation: Children want the approval of others and act in ways to avoid disapproval. Emphasis is placed on good behaviour and people being “nice” to others.  Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation: The child blindly accepts rules and convention because of their importance in maintaining a functioning society. The child blindly accepts rules and convention because of their importance in maintaining a functioning society.  Most active members of society remain at stage four where morality is still predominantly dictated by an outside force.  People now believe that some laws are unjust and should be changed or eliminated. Post Conventional-Stage 5:Social Contract Orientation A final stage in which an individual judges morality in terms of abstract principles and ethics. The world is viewed as holding different opinions, rights, and values.  Those that do not promote the general welfare should be changed when necessary to meet the greatest good for the greatest number of people. The principles of such individuals which they follow are abstract and ethical Not concrete like the Ten Commandments. Based on inner conscience rather than on external sources of authority.  greatest good for the greatest number of people. This is achieved through majority decision and inevitable compromise. Democratic government is theoretically based on stage five reasoning.  Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principal Orientation: based on abstract reasoning using universal ethical principles. Laws are valid only insofar as they are grounded in justice, and a commitment to justice carries with it an obligation to disobey unjust laws. People choose the ethical principles they want to follow, and if they violate those principles, they feel guilty.  In so doing, the individual acts because it is morally right to do so (and not because he or she wants to avoid punishment), It is in their best interest, it is expected, it is legal, or it is previously agreed upon. SOCIAL AND EMMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT Social and emotional development: Social and emotional development is the change over time in children’s ability to react to and interact with their social environment. At birth, infants exhibit two emotional responses: attraction and withdrawal. They show attraction to pleasant situations that bring comfort, stimulation, and pleasure. And they withdraw from unpleasant stimulation such as bitter flavours or physical discomfort.  Attachment is the initial stage in social development which is a positive, close and emotion bound with a certain individual. The Measurement and Origins of Attachment That infants form strong attachments to the persons who care for them is obvious to anyone who has ever watched what happens when they are separated from their caregivers.  Characteristics of Attachments John Bowly, 1969 proposed the attachment theory. Described it as ‘a lasting psychological connectedness between human beings’ He shared psychoanalytic view of Freud that early experiences in childhood have an important influence on development and behaviour later in life.  Bowly believed that there are four different characters of attachment such as: ØProximity Maintenance - The desire to be near the people we are attached to ØSafe Haven – Returning to the attachment figure for comfort and safety in the facts of fear or threat. ØSecure Base – The attachment figure acts as a base of security from which the child can expose the surrounding environment. ØSeparation Distress – Anxiety that occurs in the absence of the attachment. Attachment Styles: Strange Situatioan A procedure for studying attachment in which a caregiver leaves a child alone with a stranger for several minutes and then returns. Secure attachment: A pattern of attachment in which infants actively seek contact with their caregiver, and take comfort from the caregiver’s presence when he or she returns  in the strange situation test. Avoidant Attachment: A pattern of attachment in which babies don’t cry when their caregiver leaves in the strange situation test, and are slow to greet their caregiver when this person returns. Resistant Attachment: A pattern of attachment in which infants reject and refuse to be comforted by their caregiver after the caregiver leaves them in the strange situation test.  Disorganised or disoriented: A pattern of attachment in which infants show contradictory reactions to their caregiver after being reunited with the caregiver in the strange situation test.  Social development: Children acquire and practice many skills essential to effective social development. Relationships with other children are formed e.g. at school that involve close affective ties. In contrast to Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual stages, Eric Erikson described the impact of social experience in life span.  ERICK ERIKSON PSYCHOSOCIAL STAGES Psychosocial Stage 1 - Trust vs. Mistrust Infancy: during the first two years of life, an infant goes through the first stage; developing trust is based on the dependability and quality of the child's caregivers e.g. love, warmth food safety. Mistrust develops if the care giver cannot provide adequate love and care, the child learns basic mistrust.  Stage 2 - ` Toddlerhood: Well parented child emerges with self confidence, elated with his or her newly found control e.g. Gaining more control over food choices, toy preferences, and clothing selection. Parents and caregivers can help children develop a sense of autonomy.  Stage 3 - Initiative vs. Guilt Preschool: Children begin to assert their power and control over the world through directing play and other social interactions. Children who are successful at this stage feel capable and able to lead others. The ego equality emerges. Those who fail to acquire these skills are left with a sense of guilt, self-doubt, and lack of initiative.  Stage 4 - Industry vs. Inferiority School age 5-11 yrs. Social interaction emerges and pride. Encouraged and commended children by parents and teachers develop a feeling of competence and belief in their skills. Those who receive little or no encouragement from parents, teachers, or peers will doubt their abilities to be successful and feel inferior.  Stage 5 - Identity vs. Confusion Storm teenage/ turbulent teenage years. The role is in developing a sense of personal identity which will continue to influence behaviour and development for the rest of a person's life. Its adolescence time children explore their independence and develop a sense of self.  Those who receive proper encouragement and reinforcement through personal exploration will emerge from this stage with a strong sense of self and feelings of independence and control. The unsure of beliefs and desires will feel insecure and confused about themselves and the future.  Stage 6 - Intimacy vs. Isolation Early adulthood: Exploration of personal relationship. Successful people form endure relationships and secure ones. Each step builds on skills learned in previous steps. Erikson believed that a strong sense of personality identity was important for developing intimate relationships.  Individuals with a poor sense of self tend to have less committed relationships and are more likely to suffer emotional isolation, loneliness, and depression. Stage 7 - Generativity vs. Stagnation Work and Parenthood: Adults need to create or nurture things that will outlast them, often by having children or creating a positive change that benefits other people.  Success leads to feelings of usefulness and accomplishment, while failure results in shallow involvement in the world. Stage 8 - Integrity vs. Despair Occurs during old age: The focus is on reflection of life. People look back on the events of their lives and assess if they are happy with past life or  regret on the things they did or didn't do. Unsuccessful people are with bitterness and despair whilst successful ones attain wisdom even when confronting death. REFERENCES Baron. R.A (2002). Psychology. Prentice-Hall. Coon, D. and Mitter. J. O.(2010). Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to mind and behaviour with concerpt maps. Belmont, CA: Wadsorth. Witting. A.F (2001). Introduction to psychology 2nd ed. New York: The McGraw Hill.