Psychology 41 - Life Span Psychology from Infancy to Old Age
Instructor Jill Cohen
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1. Discussion Forum Topic Week 1
2. Discussion Forum Topic Week 2
3. Discussion Forum Topic Week 3
4. Discussion Forum Topic Week 5
5. Discussion Forum Topic Week 6
6. Discussion Forum Topic Week 9 for Chapter 10
7. Discussion Forum Topic Week 10 for Chapter 11
8. Discussion Forum Topic Week 12 for Chapter 14
9. Discussion Forum Topic Week 13
10. Discussion Forum Topic Week 14
11. Exam
Discussion Forum Topic Week 1 Suggested Answer
The period of human development that I am most interested in is the adolescence period. For one, I have my own bout of adolescent problems when I was younger. More importantly, I am interested in this period because of my advocacy on educating the youth about the danger of drug addiction and infectious diseases that can be transmitted through injection drug use. I am well-aware that drug addiction is not a function of biology. There are various risk factors and identifying and managing these can save many adolescents. Because of the need to identify the risk factors, I am interested in gaining deep understanding of the psycho-social development of the adolescents. Related to this, I am interested to know whether the race and economic class of adolescents affect their psychosocial development.
Reply 1
The question you raised is very interesting. In my experience, I really struggle with relating to children because they tend to be easily distracted. I think one reason for this is that children of that age are in constant search for noble or unique experience due to their curiosity that is why they have difficulty focusing on a single task.
Reply 2
Good choice Alexander. I think that by choosing that topic, you will have a personal motivation for taking this class. I agree that it is noteworthy to analyze the relationship between lifestyle choice and health and whether the relationship is more evident during early adulthood than in earlier stages. In particular, I think that the food we eat has something to do with our brain activities and therefore, affects our mood.
Discussion Forum Topic Week 2 Suggested Answers
I find the social learning theory of Albert Bandura as the best one to use in studying the human lifespan development. For one, this theory bridges behaviourism and cognitive learning theories because of its focus on attention, memory and motivation. Bandura also developed the concept of reciprocal determinism which posits that there is a bidirectional relationship between the world and the person’s behaviour. People learn about their environment through observation, imitation and modelling. One drawback of this perspective is that it does not take into account the differences in perception between and among people. For example, something can be perceived as a punishment by one person but as a reward by another. This will have an impact on observational learning. Like any other theoretical perspective, there are questions that are worth asking about social learning theory. If given the chance to meet him personally, I would ask Bandura why are there anti-social behaviors that could not be addressed by reinforcement and self-efficacy training? The question is based on the principle of social learning theory that behaviour is dependent on a model of learned behaviour than a person has received.
Reply 1
We chose the same theoretical perspective. The case of children imitating the acts of those around them and even those in TV shows as well as how adults look for someone to look up to for inspiration and become agents of change, later on, convince me that there exists a reciprocal relationship between a person’s behavior and the world. You also asked an interesting question. A related question could be asked: how do individuals weigh which model of learned behavior to follow? Or whether is this possible in the first place such that the process of choosing which model to follow already becomes a rational process?
Reply 2
I agree that personality is a crucial factor in the ability of social learning theory to explain behavior. This is also related to another drawback of the said theory that it tends to emphasize what happens during the interaction of a person with his/her social world rather than what the person does during that interaction. For instance, social learning theorists view anti-social behaviors as a result of defects in the model of learned behavior being followed, but they will not be able to explain how a person reacts to that model.
Discussion Forum Week 3 Suggested Answers
Of the three stages of prenatal development, I am also most interested in the germinal stage. This is because I came across an article some years ago which states that 60 percent of all natural conceptions never become properly implanted in the uterus, resulting in a life ending even before the woman notices that she is pregnant. It is just so fascinating how a zygote goes through series of processes and overcome challenges in its way to the uterus. During the germinal stage, the cell multiplies until it forms two distinctive masses– one will become the placenta while the inner one becomes the embryo. Because of the sensitivity of the germinal stage, it is worth asking whether environmental risks such as drug or alcohol addiction of the mother also affect the ability of the zygote to reach the uterus.
Discussion Forum Topic Week 5
Of the various approaches that can be used to study cognitive development, the information-processing approach appeals to me most. It appears to be the most interesting to considering that it appears to be empowering for human-beings. It states that individuals process information they receive rather than merely responding to stimuli. Through this approach, the separate components of a complex task are analysed in order to ascertain what kind of ability is necessary for a certain activity and at what age do these abilities develop. As for this approach, I am interested to know whether children with intellectual deficiency also develop the principle of causality and if they are indeed capable of these, what are the mechanisms and processes involved.
Reply 1
You asked a very interesting question. I am also interested to find out why do children differ in their activities in their sensory and motor development in the first place. I’m also glad that you were able to see in your actual experience the topics covered in Chapter 5.
Reply 2
I find the way you and your wife employ guided participation in raising your children. It is true that such activities are a double-edged sword; it gives the children the needed support for their tasks while providing the family opportunities to bond together. In addition to this, I think such an approach cultivates in the child a sense of independence and cooperation.
Discussion Forum Topic Week 6
Lucas is already 10-month old. He smiles whenever he sees his mother and stops smiling when his mother goes somewhere. Noticeably, Lucas does not cry while his mother is away. He is neither happy nor sad. Clearly, Lucas is in the stage of building trust. The fact that he no longer elicits negative emotion when her mother is away means that the infant already developed trust with his caregiver. Lucas’ neutral disposition when his mother is away and elation when he sees his mother again mean that he already developed a secure attachment with his mother. This is further illustrated when he did not react negatively when a visitor came to their house and for a while, had to take care of him while his mother was looking for something. This pattern fits the secure attachment pattern because Lucas clearly developed a sense of stability even with his mother losing from his sights. As for his temperament, Lucas is non-irritable. He plays and smiles graciously. He also responds to person talking to him in a joyous manner. This temperament can also explain why he has a secure attachment with this mother as studies have found that temperament has a direct impact on attachment.
Reply 1
Your fictitious infant is well described. I also find helpful the contrast you made between the approach of the caregiver and the mother and how this could affect the development of trust in the infant. However, I find it interesting how the temperament of your fictitious infant changed within a very short time, from being an “easy” baby to being a “difficult” infant. This is because temperament is considered consistent and enduring and therefore could not change within such a short span of time.
Reply 2
I think that your hypothetical character and condition speak volume about how infants and children are taken care of in some families. This may not be because of lack of care or abandonment but because of some economic considerations wherein mothers also have to work in order to provide for the needs of the family. It is so heartbreaking that there are infants who experience this and this could affect their character later in their life.
Discussion Forum Topic Week 9 for Chapter 10 Suggested Answer
The mother talks about how friendly and resourceful her daughter. She said that her child often take the lead when she and her friends are engaged in dramatic play. The child is clearly in the fourth stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development. During this stage, the child is able to develop his/her self-concept and given the necessray social condition and relationship, the child may succeed in developing a sense of industry. Otherwise, the child develops inferiority complex. In the case of the mother’s child, it is obvious that she overcame the crisis and is able to develop industry. She is capable of relating with her peers and classmates. Their family is a nuclear one and the parent employed ann authoritative parenting style. The daughter is given time to play with other children of her age but is also restrained when there is a school work that needs to be done. The child also has good relationship with her friends. Because of the holistic psychosocial development of the child at her age, she has no recognizable mental health problem.
Reply 1
I agree that the child has a holistic development. It is always good to hear that a child is being supported by his/her family. I think that the family is the most important institution for the psycho-social development of the child. Good description.
Reply 2
Good job on your description and analysis of the child’s psycho-social development. It’s comprehensive and interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Discussion Forum Topic Week 10 for Chapter 11
When I meet an old friend at a grocery store who brought with her an adolescent (my friends said that I could no longer recognize her), I would search for a guy who is tall (around five feet, six inches tall) and one with a unique voice. When I start conversing with my old friend and the adolescent, I would ask the latter what is his preferred course in college and ask him the reason for his preference. If he says social conscience as the reason for selecting the course, I would ask how the competence he will acquire from the course help will solve crises facing the country such as the issue on immigration. We would most likely touch on the concepts of freedom of mobility and social justice. Based on our conversation, I can judge that the adolescent, at his age, is already at the Postcoventional Morality stage of Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning because of his understanding of concepts or principles that are universally accepted such as freedom and social justice. Apart from the intellectual faculty of the adolescent, I would also notice his thin frame and I would ask about his diet. The child would most likely say that he eats irregularly because of his various activities such as playing video games, doing school works, and the likes. The adolescent would also most likely recognize that his eating routine is a health concern that must be modified.
Reply 1
Thanks for your post. I like the description and how it fits the topics covered in Chapter 11. I also like the inclusion of the adolescent’s observation of some of her classmates having bulimia and how it acts as a reason for her to have a healthy eating routine. Nice post.
Reply 2
I like your detailed description of the physical characteristic of the adolescent. The profile really fits the person who is in the adolescence period. Your illustrations of Piaget’s fourth stage of cognitive development and Kohlberg’s moral reasoning are also effective. It is really important that the youth already developed a strong sense of morality in order to prepare them to become active and responsible citizens of this country in the future.
Discussion Forum Topic Week 12 for Chapter 14
In my view, the normative stage model is the best approach to view personality development. This is because culture has strong impact on personality development. Every culture has norms about the right time for major life events to occur. Compared with the time-of-events model, the applicability of normative stage model is more general while the application of the time-of-events model is case-to-case. Because of this, it can be argued that the applicability of the time-of-events model is limited and may vary depending on other factors affecting the individual.
Reply 1
I do agree that the timing-of-events model is restrictive of the development of an individual. Its application is case-to-case.
Reply 2
Thanks for posting. When I was assessing which of the approaches has the least applicability, I was torn between the timing-of-events model and the typology model. I selected the former because I think that it has generalized individuals. However, I do think that the typology model is also restrictive as it assumes that personality is enduring throughout the life span.
Discussion Forum Topic Week 13
If I met a new friend who holds a negative view about middle adulthood, I would tell him that the changes that occur in middle age are normal and that there are coping mechanisms that can be employed to avoid stress or anxious thinking. For example, in middle age we would have reduced level of testosterone. Loss of hearing will also happen called presbycusis. Cognitively, we would have reached cognitive maturity by middle adulthood. We would be successful in our respective careers. One strength of middle childhood is that individuals at this stage are generally responsible because of maturity.
Reply 1
Thanks for sharing a very descriptive and detailed post. While they may be some negative things that happen during middle adulthood, we can still celebrate this stage in our lives because this is the period where our cognitive capacity peaks.
Reply 2
Thank you for sharing a very detailed post. I’m glad that your responses are all guided by the content knowledge of Chapter 15.
Discussion Forum Topic Week 14
While eating in an eatery, I sat beside an old adult who is 69 years old and female. Her name is Mrs. Tina Foster. It might be observable that she already has an osteoporosis as evidenced by her poor stature. She might also have an impaired vision because of her cataract. She might also state that she is suffering from depression because her children and grandchildren are away and that her husband died only three years ago. She would also state that she already had depression when she was an adolescent and that this mental health problem runs in their family. She would also disclose that she is already experiencing memory loss particularly those that involve traumatic events. Mrs. Foster would also tell me that she retired four years ago after working as an accountant for 44 years. She is in the school because she is about to visit a friend who teaches in the university where I am studying.
Reply 1
Thanks for a very interesting and detailed post. Your narration contains the main content knowledge from Chapter 17. Alzheimer’s disease, in my view, is the most devastating mental health condition during the old age. I also agree that there are old adults who struggle to cope with old age because of the decreased capacities.
Reply 2
Your post is very detailed and interesting. I appreciate that you tried to make a contrast in the situation of old adults. Some might have problems with memory loss, but it is good that there are older adults who remain sharp intellectually.
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