Essay on Essentials of Life-Span Development
1) Middle adulthood can be defined either as a separate period of life cycle between the third and fourth decade of life, or as a period of life from 40 to 60 years old. It can be characterized by the intellectual, physiological, socio-political and psychological aspects of developmental age. In this period people should gain certain skills and abilities to acquire positive life experience for the next stage of life. Physiological aspect is described by decrease of physical strength, endurance and attractiveness, the height diminishes after 30 years. The weight of men is stabilizing at this period, while women can gain in weight till the age of 54. Learning abilities of a person begin to come down continuously till 60 years. In middle adulthood people are perceived as members of society that contribute in life quality in agricultural and industrial spheres. So called midlife crisis can be caused by awareness of lost time: it is too late to change job, family life, habits, and his actual life does not satisfy a person.
2) The complication of society in the 20th and 21st centuries leads to creation of more and more social subgroups. Each subgroup has its own morality rates (i.e. flirtation, natural in a nightclub is unacceptable at work). Moral becomes more complicated, it depends on circumstances. The scale of discrimination decreases: we apply “our” morality rates to people of another race, faith, sexual orientation etc. On the other hand, relations between parents and children remind relations between good friends. Morality rates also have changed in the result of technological and economic progress: food abundance depraves people; they throw away surpluses because it is not in short supply any more. The same happens to the air and water: no one thinks about it because there are no problems in this respect. Humanization of society is accompanied by growth of freedom in the morality: for instance, sex is not regulated with moral any more.
3) Fluid intelligence is the ability to apprehend relationships regardless of previous particular experience or precept concerning those relationships. Crystallized intelligence is accumulated knowledge that comes from past experiences and previous learning.
4) Nowadays failing industries and ailing economy cause plural changes in careers of people. These changes force people to look for new jobs and sometimes even to change the field of work. To resist these challenges, it is important to utilize the contacts acquired at the previous job and to choose an industry to work in. A person should remember that some professions are harder to get in later in life. Sometimes new certifications are required.
5) The main need for meaning that guide people is happiness. Happy people enjoy their lives, they do not ask themselves such questions as “what for do I live?” Therefore, the question of meaning occurs when a person is unhappy. He is unrealized in life and cannot find himself. A person can fulfill himself by finding his feet and after that he can become happy. Another need for meaning consists in people’s health: when a person understands the point of his life, he has a reason to take care of his health. There are also such needs for meaning as search of one’s place in the world, person’s influence on reality and goal-setting.
CHAPTER 14
1) Contemporary life-events approach to development emphasizes the process of a life event’s influence on the individual’s development. It depends also on mediating factors, adaptation of an individual to the life event, life-stage context and socio-historical context.
2)The cohort effects is a particular effect that unites a special group of people whose members have similar experiences, were born approximately at the same time, the same demographic tendencies influenced on them and they were exposed to identical events in society. The social clock is a specific timetable or set of norms that defines the age of a person when certain events happen (starting school, getting married, having children, retiring and so on).
3) Costa and McCrae’s study is based on universality. Five personality traits were singled out (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness). It was found that these five traits are remarkably universal for different cultures. A study (it included people from more than 50 cultures) identified that these traits can be used to describe personality. Extraversion includes high amount of emotional expressiveness, excitability, loquacity, sociability, self-confidence. Conscientiousness has such common features as purposeful behavior, high level of thoughtfulness and good impulse control. People with such a trait tend to be mindful of details and organized. Agreeableness includes altruism, affection, kindness, confidence. People high in neuroticism tend to experience concern, emotional instability, melancholy, irritation, moodiness. Openness is characterized with insight, wide circle of interests, imagination.
4) George Vaillant based his study (it was male-biased) of personality through adulthood on Erikson’s stages for midlife and older adulthood. Having studied 268 undergraduates till they were in their sixties, Vaillant found significant growth of personality and change over the adult years. Vaillant named four styles of personality’s adapting to the environment (mature, immature, psychotic and neurotic). People with mature style use altruism and humor to adapt to the environment. Those with immature style react to stress with psychosomatic symptoms. Distortion of reality is typical for psychotic style. People with neurotic style rationalize and repress negative emotions. Also Vaillant found that core personality traits tend to remain fairly stable in adulthood.
5) Grandparents can play different roles in children’s education. The styles of grandparenting depend on the roles they play. There are such styles as “distant person” (communicate with grandchildren only on holydays or family meetings), “roots” (pay a great interest to grandchildren without interfering in their education), “inventive person” (see themselves as the main organizers of fun for grandchildren but avoid more serious interaction with them), “valued elder” (provide information for grandchildren as well as for children), “surrogate parent” (take the biggest part of parents’ duties). Of course, modern profile of grandparents changes because of the social development (a lot of grandparents prefer continue their careers rather than spend time with children). But anyway, grandparent’s attitude depends on their personality. A lot of them continue to take care of grandchildren, stay with children in the evenings, letting parents go out for some time. Grandparents broaden children’s social outlook, give them some part of their rich experience.
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