From Birth to Death: Life-Span Development

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Chapter 4

• From Birth to Death Life-Span Development

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Life Events

• Developmental Tasks These must be mastered for
  optimal development (e.g., learning to read and
  adjusting to sexual maturity)
• Developmental Milestones Notable events,
  markers, or turning points in personal
  development
• Psychosocial Dilemma Conflict between personal
  impulses and the social world

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Erik Eriksons Eight Stages of Psychosocial
Dilemmas

• Stage One Trust Versus Mistrust (Birth-1)
  Children are completely dependent on others
• Trust Established when babies given adequate
  warmth, touching, love, and physical care
• Mistrust Caused by inadequate or unpredictable
  care and by cold, indifferent, and rejecting
  parents
• Stage Two Autonomy Versus Shame and Doubt (1-3)
• Autonomy Doing things for themselves
• Overprotective or ridiculing parents may cause
  children to doubt abilities and feel shameful
  about their actions

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Erik Eriksons Eight Stages of Psychosocial
Dilemmas (cont.)

• Stage Three Initiative Versus Guilt (3-5)
• Initiative Parents reinforce via giving children
  freedom to play, use imagination, and ask
  questions
• Guilt May occur if parents criticize, prevent
  play, or discourage a childs questions
• Stage Four Industry Versus Inferiority (6-12)
• Industry Occurs when child is praised for
  productive activities
• Inferiority Occurs if childs efforts are
  regarded as messy or inadequate

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Erik Eriksons Eight Stages of Psychosocial
Dilemmas (cont.)

• Stage Five (Adolescence) Identity Versus Role
  Confusion
• Identity For adolescents problems answering,
  Who am I?
• Role Confusion Occurs when adolescents are
  unsure of where they are going and who they are
• Stage Six (Young adulthood) Intimacy Versus
  Isolation
• Intimacy Ability to care about others and to
  share experiences with them
• Isolation Feeling alone and uncared for in life

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Erik Eriksons Eight Stages of Psychosocial
Dilemmas (cont.)

• Stage Seven (Middle adulthood) Generativity
  Versus Stagnation
• Generativity Interest in guiding the next
  generation
• Stagnation When one is only concerned with ones
  own needs and comforts
• Stage Eight (Late adulthood) Integrity Versus
  Despair
• Integrity Self-respect developed when people
  have lived richly and responsibly
• Despair Occurs when previous life events are
  viewed with regret experiences heartache and
  remorse.

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Normal Childhood Problems

• Sleep disturbances
• Specific fears of the dark, dogs, school, or a
  particular room or person
• Most children will be overly timid at times,
  allowing bullying
• Temporary periods of dissatisfaction, when
  nothing pleases the child
• General negativism
• Clinging to a parent(s) or caregiver
• Reversals or regressions to more infantile
  behavior occur with almost all children (Chess,
  Thomas, Birch, 1976)

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Rivalry and Rebellion

• Sibling Rivalry Competition among brothers and
  sisters
• Childhood Rebellion Open defiance of adult
  authority

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Serious Childhood Problems

• Toilet Training Problems Average age for
  completion is 30 months some children will take
  up to six months longer
• Enuresis Lack of bladder control bedwetting.
  May be physical problem. Much more common in
  males
• Encopresis Lack of bowel control soiling. Not
  as common as enuresis

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Serious Childhood Problems Feeding Disturbances

• Overeating Eating in excess of daily caloric
  needs significant problem because of convenience
  and fast foods
• Anorexia Nervosa Self-starvation or sustained
  loss of appetite that is assumed by some to have
  psychological origins
• Pica Eating or chewing inedible objects or
  substances such as lead, chalk, paint chips, clay
  and so on. Note Eating inedible foods on
  occasion is not uncommon among young toddlers

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CNN Sleep Disorders
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Fig. 4.1 Dramatic differences in physical size
and maturity are found in adolescents of the same
age. The girls pictured are all 13, the boys 16.
Maturation that occurs earlier or later than
average can affect the search for identity.
(Reprinted with permission of Nelson Prentiss.)
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Speech Disturbances

• Delayed Speech Speech that begins well after the
  normal age for language development
• Stuttering Chronic hesitation or stumbling in
  speech. Seems to involve speech timing
  mechanisms in brain NOT parents fault
• Four times more common in males
• May be partially inherited

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Learning Disorders

• Includes problems with reading, math or writing.
  Exists when academic achievement is significantly
  lower than expected for childs intellectual
  level and age
• Dyslexia Inability to read with understanding.
  Classic example is reversing letters
• Affects about 10-15 of all school-age children

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CNN Dyslexia Study
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Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

• Behavioral problem characterized by short
  attention span, rapid speech, impulsivity, and
  rarely finishing work. Much more common among
  boys than girls
• Treatment Methods
• Drugs Ritalin (methylphenidate) Stimulant
  seems to lengthen attention span and reduce
  impulsiveness
• Behavior Modification Application of learning
  principles to change or eliminate maladaptive or
  abnormal behavior
• Reward child for being calm and paying attention

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CNN Hyperactive Brains
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Conduct Disorder

• Affected children are aggressive and harm others
• Engage in vandalism, lying, or stealing
• Persistently violate rules
• Usually in trouble at school, at home, and in the
  community
• Generally have low self-esteem
• Outlook for successful treatment is poor parents
  need to seek professional help for such children

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Autism

• Severe disorder involving mutism (silence),
  sensory spin-outs (watching a faucet drip for
  hours), sensory blocking (not responding to an
  extremely loud noise), tantrums, and
  unresponsiveness to others, among other symptoms
• Echolalia When an autistic child parrots back
  everything said, like an echo
• Rain Man is a decent example on film

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Child Abuse

• Physical or emotional harm caused by violence,
  mistreatment, or neglect
• 3.5 to 14 percent of all children are physically
  abused by parents
• Abusive parents typically have high level of
  stress and frustration in their lives
• About 1/3 of all parents who were abused as
  children mistreat their own children
• One method to prevent child abuse is to change
  attitudes not a parents right to hit or slap
  their child

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Adolescence

• Culturally defined period between childhood and
  adulthood
• Puberty Hormonal changes promote rapid physical
  growth and sexual maturity
• Puberty tends to increase body awareness and
  concerns about physical appearance
• Growth Spurt Accelerated growth rate

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Adolescence (cont.)

• Social Markers Visible or tangible signs that
  indicate a persons social status or role, e.g.,
  drivers license or wedding ring
• Imaginary Audiences People adolescents imagine
  are watching them
• Peer Group People who share similar social status

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CNN Heroin Addiction
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Lawrence Kohlberg and Stages of Moral Development

• Moral Development When we acquire values,
  beliefs, and thinking abilities that guide
  responsible behavior
• Three Levels
• Preconventional Moral thinking guided by
  consequences of actions (punishment, reward,
  exchange of favors)
• Conventional Reasoning based on a desire to
  please others or to follow accepted rules and
  values
• Postconventional Follows self-accepted moral
  principles
• Stage theorist, like Freud and Erikson

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Developmental Challenges for North American
Adults (Gould)

• Escape From Dominance (Ages 16-18)
• Leaving the Family (Ages 18-22)
• Building a Workable Life (Ages 22-28)
• Crisis of Questions (Ages 29-34)

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Developmental Challenges for North American
Adults (Gould) (cont.)

• Crisis of Urgency (Ages 35-43)
• Attaining Stability (Ages 43-50)
• Mellowing (Ages 50 and up)

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Middle Age Issues Mid-Life Crises?

• Menopause Menstruation ends and a woman is no
  longer able to bear children. Estrogen levels
  also drop, sometimes causing mood or appearance
  changes.
• Hot flashes Sudden uncomfortable sensation of
  heat symptom of menopause in some women
• Climacteric When men experience a significant
  change in vigor or appearance may be
  psychological in origin
• Andropause Reduced testosterone levels can lead
  to decreased sex drive, fatigue, and obesity
• Empty Nest Syndrome A woman may become depressed
  after her last child leaves home

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Fig. 4.8 At what point during life are people
most productive? On average, when do people make
their greatest contributions to fields such as
science, literature, philosophy, music, and the
visual arts? No matter how achievement is
tallied, productivity tends to rise rapidly to a
single peak that is followed by a slow decline.
The graph you see here is typical of
contributions to the field of psychology. Fields
such as poetry, pure math, and theoretical
physics have earlier peaks, around the early 30s
or even the late 20s. Other fields, such as novel
writing, history, philosophy, medicine, and
scholarship are marked by peaks in the late 40s,
50s, or even 60s. (After Simonton, 1988.)
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Gerontology and the Study of Aging

• Gerontologists study aging and its effects
• Intellectual Abilities
• Fluid Abilities Abilities requiring speed or
  rapid learning based on perceptual and motor
  abilities may decrease with age
• Crystallized Abilities Learned (accumulated)
  knowledge and skills vocabulary and basic facts

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Gerontology and the Study of Aging (cont.)

• Disengagement Theory Assumes that it is normal
  and desirable for people to withdraw from society
  as they age
• Activity Theory People who remain active
  physically, mentally, and socially will adjust
  better to aging
• Ageism Discrimination or prejudice based on age

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Fig. 4.6 Longer life expectancy will produce an
unprecedented increase in the percentage of the
population over age 65. The boom is expected to
start at the turn of the century and peak by
about 2030 to 2050 (Taebuer, 1993).
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Fig. 4.7 Physical aging, which is biologically
programmed, progresses steadily from early
adulthood onward. Regular exercise, good health
practices, and a positive attitude can help
minimize the impact of physical aging.
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Fig. 4.7 Average performance at various ages for
verbal, numeric, spatial, and reasoning abilities
all fall within the blue area of this graph.
Notice that, in general, mental abilities show
modest gains from young adulthood to early middle
age. After that, they begin a slow decline.
Notice, too, that most abilities at age 70 return
to about the same levels found at age 25. Only
after age 80 do declines become large enough to
make a practical difference in mental abilities.
One exception is perceptual speed (black line).
This fluid ability declines steadily after age
25. (Adapted from Schaie, 1994.)
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Four Psychological Characteristics of Healthy,
Happy Older People (Vailant, 2002)

• Optimism, hope, and interest in the future
• Gratitude and forgiveness an ability to focus on
  what is good in life
• Empathy an ability to share the feelings of
  others and see the world through their eyes
• Connection with others an ability to reach out,
  to give and receive social support

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Fig 4.4 Negative emotions are more common before
age 50 than after. The frequency of positive
feelings tends to increase from midlife on into
old age.
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CNN Alzheimers Babies
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Death and Dying Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

• Ross is a thanatologist One who studies
  emotional and behavioral reactions to death and
  dying
• Ross described five basic reactions to death that
  occur, not necessarily in the following order or
  experienced by everyone

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Five Basic Reactions to Death (Kubler-Ross)

• Denial and Isolation Denying deaths reality and
  isolating oneself from information confirming
  that death will occur. Its a mistake the
  doctors are wrong.
• Anger Asking why me? Anger may then be
  projected onto the living
• Bargaining Terminally ill will bargain with God
  or with themselves. If I can live longer Ill
  be a better person.
• Depression Feelings of futility, exhaustion and
  deep sadness
• Acceptance If death is not sudden, many will
  accept death calmly. Person is at peace finally
  with the concept of death

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Bereavement and Grief

• Bereavement Period of adjustment that follows
  death of loved one
• Grief Intense sorrow and distress following
  death of loved one
• Shock Emotional numbness experienced after death
  of loved one
• Pangs of Grief Intense and anguished yearning
  for one who has died
• Resolution Acceptance of loss and need to build
  a new life

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CNN The Grieving Process
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Happiness

• Subjective Well-Being Feelings of well-being
  occur when people are satisfied with their lives,
  have frequent positive emotions, and have
  relatively few negative emotions
• Happier people tend to be
• Married
• Comfortable with their work
• Extraverted
• Religious
• Generally optimistic and satisfied with their
  lives

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Attitudes Toward Death

• Hospice Medical facility or program that
  provides supportive care for terminally ill goal
  is to improve persons final days
• Living Will Written statement that a person does
  not wish to have his/her life artificially
  prolonged if terminally ill a Do Not
  Resuscitate order to doctors

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Euthanasia

• Passive Death allowed to occur but not actively
  caused
• Active Steps taken, at patients request, to
  deliberately speed death usually by injecting
  drugs that painlessly cause death
• Physician-assisted dying Doctor provides lethal
  dose of drug that patients take to end life

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CNN Assisted Suicide
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Cryonics

• Cryonic Suspension Freezing body (or head)
  immediately after death
• Idea Keep person frozen until medicine perfects
  ways to thaw, restore, and revive person

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