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Development Through the Lifespan 1

Development through the Lifespan:

An analysis of physical, social/cultural, environmental, developmental, spiritual, intellectual and emotional development through the various stages of the human lifespan

Talia Dodd-Hegmann

Lamar University

CNDV 5301: C07 AP3


CNDV 5301: HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

STUDENT NAME: Talia Dodd-Hegmann SECTION NUMBER: C07 AP3

ASSIGNMENT FINAL COURSE PROJECT

Prenatal Development:

Physical:

“There is a complex interplay of heredity and environment in physical and behavioral outcome”

(Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 35). Our bodies are made up of cells, each filled with

chromosomes and DNA. Cells in our bodies undergo mitosis, which makes growing possible.

Chromosomes given from the mother and the father determine the child’s physical development.

The genes in our bodies “provide a blueprint or code to the cell for how to produce proteins”

(Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 37). The proteins are the building blocks of the body. Whether

we are male or female is also determined by the chromosomes given to us by our parents. In

addition to our sex, hereditary diseases can also affect our physical prenatal development. “Some

disorders, such as sickle-cell anemia, Huntington’s chorea, muscular dystrophy, and Down

syndrome, are passed on through hereditary mechanisms from parents to children, even when

parents do not have the disorders themselves” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 42).

Social/Cultural:

The social/cultural aspects of the mother can in fact affect the fetus. A woman’s culture could

dictate the foods that she eats, affecting the nutrition of the baby. A preferred culture could also

determine the type and level of medical treatment that a woman receives during her pregnancy


and this could also result in effects on prenatal development. Various cultures have different

preferences of the sex of the child. Some cultures prefer boys over girls and others prefer girls

over boys. These cultural preferences could affect the pregnancy; for instance some women may

choose to abort the fetus if it is not of the preferred sex.

Environmental:

The environment during prenatal development is the mother’s womb, as well as everything

outside of the womb. A mother’s stress could likely affect the baby and cause distress on the

biochemical environment of the uterus. Environmental hazards that can affect the fetus are

alcohol, tobacco, cocaine, marijuana, AIDS, lead, and PCBs. The mother’s nutrition could also

affect development of the fetus. “Counselors can affect the environmental influences on prenatal

development more effectively than we can affect genetic influences” (Broderick & Blewitt,

2010, p. 66). Helping parents understand teratogens and their influences on fetal development is

important.

Developmental:

Our text mentions that “a person will become at least partially channeled even before birth”

(Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 68). Prenatal brain developments, as well as postnatal brain

development are particularly important elements of developmental knowledge. During normal

prenatal development, even in the first three weeks, when implantation occurs, important

developments are occurring; like the formation of the neural tube. From the fourth to the eighth

week is when most organ systems form. From the ninth week until birth, development is still

occurring with the formation of the reproduction system and all of the other systems also

continuing to mature.


Spiritual:

The effect of spirituality on prenatal development is a little trickier for me to explain. A

mother’s spirituality and religion could play a part in the type and level of medical care the

mother receives during her pregnancy. Spirituality could have effects on prenatal development if

the mother chooses to meditate for instance. Research has shown that some meditation

techniques have affected the health of the fetus.

Intellectual:

There have been many studies regarding the influence of heredity on intelligence. Some have

argued that the educational levels of the biological parents could be a good predictor of IQ.

Environmental factors can also play a role in the intellectual development of a fetus. A mother

who abuses alcohol and/or drugs alters the environment of the fetus and then in turn could

damage the cells of the developing fetus; all of this could affect the mental functions of the

unborn child.

Emotional:

The emotional state of the mother can affect the prenatal development of a child. A mother

under extreme mental and physical stress will in turn cause the environment of the fetus to be

changed and put stress on the fetus. Many emotional disturbances that are hereditary could also

affect the prenatal development of a child. Certain emotional disorders could in fact be present

in a child if they are present in the mother. The effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol could lead

to behavior problems. Research has shown that mothers who play music and read to their

unborn children are in fact affecting the child’s emotional and mental development. Soothing,

familiar music and the familiarity of a mother’s voice can cause calming effects on the fetus and

create a more peaceful and stress-free environment.


The Early Years:

Physical:

Physical development is a rapidly changing thing in the early years of a child’s life. Growth is

constant and children are learning about their bodies and what they can do with them and what

their limitations are also. From birth to 3 months, infants are learning to open and close their

hands, kick their legs, and suck their fingers. Anywhere from six to twelve months, infants begin

to learn to use their arms and legs to crawl. Shortly thereafter, infants learn to stand and begin to

walk, hold their own cups, and feed themselves. From birth to five years of age, the physical

development of a child seems endless.

Social/Cultural:

Culture influences children in the early years just as it affects people throughout the lifespan.

The native language is important to the development of a child in the early years also. Research

has shown the language plays a role in shaping the self-esteem. George Herbert Mead expanded

on Charles Cooley’s work and said that “the self-concept of a person becomes internalized

through repeated interactions with others of the same cultural group” (Broderick &Blewitt, 2010,

p.150). During this extremely influential period in a person’s lifespan, children not only adopt

descriptive information about the self from their cultural groups, they also incorporate those

standards, rules, and goals that their family and their culture have determined to be appropriate

ways of behaving and thinking.

Social situations help children at this age learn how to express their emotions in appropriate

ways. Research has determined that during the early years, children benefit from the

socialization with other children of or around their same age. I know that my own four year old


has grown leaps and bounds since starting school at a daycare with other children around her

age. In comparison to my niece, who is staying at home with her mother, my daughter seems to

have benefited from the social situations that she is exposed to on a daily basis and my niece

struggles when placed in social situations that she is not accustom to.

Environmental:

As I mentioned in the prenatal development period section, the environment plays a large role in

the development of a child in the early years as well. Infants of depressed mothers for instance

are a group at a particular risk because their ability to synchronize and adapt to their caregivers is

interrupted. “Depressed caretakers typically show less positive affect than nondepressed

caretakers” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 118).

Developmental:

The development of the nervous system is essential. As I mentioned previously in the prenatal

section, “pre and postnatal brain development are important elements of developmental

knowledge” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 68). The brain starts developing at about 2 weeks of

gestation. “Appropriate stimulation is critical in the late prenatal to early postnatal period for

normal sensory functions to develop” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 109).

Spiritual:

During the early years, spirituality, faith, and religion are seen in some fashion, playing an

important role in the spiritual development of children. At these ages, “children are intuitive,

egocentric, and not logical” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 468). Danger and the fear of

punishment or the unknown is often attached with doing something wrong. During this time in a

child’s life, children are starting to learn about death, sex, and right and wrong. “They may be


overwhelmed by a sense of danger with regard to doing what’s wrong versus right” (Broderick &

Blewitt, 2010, p. 468).

Intellectual:

Even after birth, the neurons in our brains continue to reproduce at a rapid rate. “Nonetheless, it

still appears that most brain growth after birth is due not to the creation of more neurons but to

the formation of synapses, or new connections among neurons” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p.

74).

Emotional:

“One central question is whether there is a biological or evolutionary reason for emotions in

humans” Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 114). Many researchers believe that yes, there is.

Emotions are built into our nature for their survival value. Basic emotions such as fear, sadness,

happiness, anger, and surprise are evident in the early years across a wide variety of cultures.

Even infants do have some basic emotional systems in place at birth; their range of emotional

expressions increases dramatically over the first two years of life. Social emotions, such as

pride, shame, embarrassment, and guilt emerge during the latter part of the second year of a

child’s life. Much of a child’s emotional development depends on the nurturance of adult

caregivers. “All these behaviors facilitate the creation of a social and communicative bond

between infant and caregiver, ensuring that needs as basic as food, shelter, and safety are met”

(Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 117). These behaviors are also important for the development of

an infant’s emotional health.

During the early years, children are learning how to express their emotions in appropriate ways.

When strong emotions like anger or jealousy rear their heads, children are encouraged to talk


about how they are feeling rather than acting out physically. When children do act

inappropriately, by hitting or yelling for example, they are taught that this is unacceptable and

are often modeled the appropriate behavior by their parents or caregivers.

Middle Childhood through Adolescence:

Physical:

During this stage of a child’s lifespan, growth slows down a bit, becoming steadier and more

even. In regards to motor development, we see a greater improvement in this over the preschool

to school years. In elementary school, specifically by the age of six, many children can ride a

bike, skate, climb trees, and even jump rope easily. Shortly after these physical developments

occur, children begin to master writing, drawing, and using tools. Eye-hand coordination also

improves at this stage in a child’s life. Many changes are occurring in the child’s brain at this

time and that helps the achievements occur that were mentioned above.

Social/Cultural:

“Just as children’s knowledge about the physical world and about logical-mathematical concepts

becomes more sophisticated with time, so does their understanding of the social world”

(Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 198). This later development that occurs during this stage of the

lifespan is often referred to as social cognition. Children at this age begin to form their own

ideas about other people and how they reason about social relationships. During this time,

children are also learning the ups and downs of making and keeping friends. The ease at which

children make and keep friends just like the difficulty that some might have in doing this, can be

attributed to strengths or limitations in social cognitive skills. “Social relationships are necessary


for the child to gain experience in learning about others’ points of view” (Broderick & Blewitt,

2010, p. 199). As many of us remember, the middle childhood through adolescence period is a

time to learn the skills of friendship. Learning how to get along with others, be in tune with how

our actions affect other people, and being able to see other’s perspectives are all important

lessons to be learned during this time.

Environmental:

While environmental factors can certainly serve to protect against the negative effects of stress

that emerges at a greater level during this time period, the same environmental factors can serve

to increase the negative effects of stress. To begin with, some youth grow up in chronically

stressful environments. The additional demands of adolescence can become over-burdensome

and puts these youth at greater risk for developing problems such as depression and anxiety,

alcohol or other drug use, teen pregnancy, and violence.

Likewise, just as the presence of social support has a positive influence on stress management,

the lack of social support has a negative effect. Youth who do not feel loved, wanted, or valued

by their family, school, or community lack the necessary social support for the development of

effective stress management skills, and fail to develop the confidence needed to tackle

challenging situations or circumstances. The presence or absence of social support helps to

explain why two youth from the same unsafe community, with similarly abusive family

backgrounds, can turn out so differently. Inevitably, the successful one of the pair had strong

social support from a church member, a community youth group leader, a coach, a teacher, a

grandparent, or even a neighbor. This proves that the environment can greatly affect the child at

this stage in their lifespan.


Developmental:

Children in middle childhood, the years spanning the elementary school period, are still far from

grown up, even though as parents, we often see them as having grown up overnight almost.

“Their growth takes on new forms in this stage, metamorphosing into ever more highly

differentiated patterns of cognitive, emotional, and social functioning” (Broderick & Blewitt,

2010, p. 176). The text makes note that the movement into the school years brings about a whole

new set of developmental challenges for children. At this age, children are spending longer

periods of time away from home and also are faced with more rigorous schedules. They take on

more responsibilities with having to concentrate more on their academics, control their behavior,

and pay attention for longer periods of time to teachers. Children in this age group are “armed

with foundational skills in language, mobility, understanding of self and others, and self-control,

the youngster is now poised to assume membership in a larger social network” (Broderick &

Blewitt, 2010, p. 176).

Spiritual:

During the early years, spirituality, faith, and religion are seen in some fashion, playing an

important role in the spiritual development of children. At these ages, “children can narrate a life

story of sorts.” “Then tend to repeat what they have been taught by parents and other close

adults about truths and beliefs, which then serve as their morals and rules” (Broderick & Blewitt,

2010, p. 468). Our text notes that children at this age “literally see God as a father.” Just like in

the early years, children at his stage in their lifespan still see distinct categories of right and

wrong.


Intellectual:

“When children leave behind the preschool years, they begin to seem much more savvy to

adults” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 178). Unlike before, children are now able to carry out

more complex instructions like the example given in our text: “Take out the dog before you go to

school, and don’t forget to lock the door after you leave.” In the early years, a task such as this

would have been impossible, but now, children are much more intelligent and their cognitive

development is astounding. Children are able to build upon the knowledge that they acquired

previously and still input more knowledge on a daily basis. Children at this stage also begin to

draw logical conclusions in many situations; “the hallmark of the concrete operational child.”

“How advanced a child’s thinking will be and what kinds of content a child can think logically

and strategically about depend on many factors, including general knowledge and quality of

instruction” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 181). If a child has a lot of exposure and experience

with a particular hobby or area, they are influenced by that prior exposure and in turn their ability

to think logically about problems within that domain may be more advanced than in other

content areas.

As noted, cognitive development improves dramatically in the middle childhood through

adolescence stage of the lifespan. A child’s working memory, processing speed, added advanced

logical thinking skills, language skills, and their breadth and depth of knowledge all develop

more and function at high rates at this stage. Additional cognitive achievements during this stage

of the lifespan are more developed number and math skills. “As children in elementary school

are introduced to more formal arithmetic, with its written numbers and standard, stepwise

processes (or algorithms) for computation and recording, they continue to use their informal

strategies” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 194). Children also make great strides in problem


solving tasks. As children get older, they utilize a wider variety of strategies, have more

resources available to them, and tend to plan better; all of these improvements aid in the

cognitive development of children in middle childhood through adolescence.

Emotional:

As we can see by reading our text, cognitive development and emotional development are

closely intertwined. Adolescent emotional development is often characterized by rapidly

fluctuating emotions. Through my many years as a middle school teacher, I can attest to this

statement. The rollercoaster that is a child’s emotional development at this age can be linked to

youth learning to cope with a much larger array of new and unfamiliar situations.

In addition to navigating new and uncharted territory, teens growing up in today’s society are

subjected to increased demands on their physical, mental, and emotional resources. Social

relationships outside the family have exponentially increased with the advent of electronic social

networking. Academic standards have become more stringent. Sports and other recreational

pursuits are more competitive. While teens are learning to cope with these challenges it should

be expected that they will have a diverse range of emotions, and may experience fluctuating

emotions throughout the day or week.

Young to Middle Adulthood:

Physical:

By the stage of young to middle adulthood, most people have reached their full physical growth.

Our five senses function as well as they ever will, our muscle and bone strength is as great as it

will ever be, and our immune systems are at peak protection levels. Differences are seen in how


men and women progress in physical development. Men reach their peak performance on many

skills around a year later than women do.

At this stage of the life span, adopting a healthy lifestyle is of great importance. Those

individuals who “eat right” and live a healthy lifestyle in young to middle adulthood, are less

satisfied with their lives in late adulthood.

Social/Cultural:

“From a developmental perspective, then, the period of young adulthood should be a time when

identity issues are resolved sufficiently to allow a person to make significant progress on two

major tasks: The first is establishing and strengthening bonds with people who will accompany

him on his life journey, and the second is becoming a productive worker” (Broderick & Blewitt,

2010, p. 381). Social learning does not stop after childhood and adolescence, rather in adulthood

one is learning how to make connections with others by establishing intimacy with a companion,

making friends, and continuing to work on one’s family ties. As was mentioned in the early

year’s section, the infancy stage introduces us to the attachment theory. “Despite diminishing

demands for physical caretaking as individuals age, adults continue to need the emotional and

practical support of significant others” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 382). The bonds that we

form with our parents as adults, our lovers, coworkers, and friends even, can all be classified as

adult attachment relationships.

Environmental:

In young adulthood, one must learn to adjust to new environmental pressures that were not

present as a child or adolescent. Environmental pressures of maintaining good health, choosing

the correct career path, political affiliation, and whether or not to marry are all new to the young


adult’s realm of decision making. Before, the child or adolescent was only concerned with

making the right decision for themselves, but now in adulthood, “problem solving must take into

account not only one’s own personal needs and goals but also those of others in one’s life who

have become one’s responsibility: spouse, children, coworkers, members of the community”

(Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 361).

Developmental:

Spiritual:

In young adulthood, “people can recognize inconsistencies and conflicts in the beliefs and morals

they have been taught, and they can think critically about them” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p.

468). During young adulthood, individuals begin to take personal responsibility for making

commitments to religion and spirituality. They begin to see these spiritual commitments as

belonging to their self.

In middle adulthood, “some individuals begin to see both sides of a problem at once and are able

to resolve the conflicts in their beliefs using dialectical (post formal) thinking” (Broderick &

Blewitt, 2010, p. 468). At this time, the middle-aged individual is finally able to appreciate the

unknown. The complexity of the “ultimate truth” is something that an individual in middle

adulthood is able to appreciate.

Intellectual:

In young adulthood, each year brings about the entrance in to college for millions of young

people. This “rite of passage” has come to mark the transition to adulthood for our youth. The

opportunity to continue one’s education beyond high school leads to continuing cognitive

development. Research has been done to the extent of the cognitive growth that occurs in young


adulthood. It has been suggested that “the typical timing of a college education may be ideally

suited to what he assumes is the heightened flexibility and plasticity of the frontal cortex in

young adulthood” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 359). Without a doubt, early adulthood is a

time of great learning in many areas, not just in college, but also on the job. “On the whole,

longitudinal research on intellectual change across the life span indicates that many skills (such

as spatial orientation abilities and inductive reasoning skills) improve throughout young

adulthood, with measures of knowledge acquisition or breadth, such as understanding of verbal

meanings, showing the most improvement in this time frame” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p.

360).

Emotional:

“Midlife brings its own set of challenges, not the least of which is the recognition of “time left to

live,” slowly accumulating losses related to getting older, and often great demands in the area of

family and workplace” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 469). But before we start to worry about

the time that we have left, we begin to realize in young adulthood that we in fact only require

two things to live a happy, well-adjusted adult life: work and love. Both Freud and Erikson felt

that intimacy and generativity were key elements to expressing and developing the self. “More

recent conceptions of how adults achieve happiness or mental health or “wellness” are quite

consistent with the importance that Freud and Erikson placed on love and work” (Broderick &

Blewitt, 2010, p. 381).


Week Five: Late Adulthood:

Physical:

Most people in the late adulthood stage do whatever they can to aid in healthy, successful

continuing development of their minds and bodies. “Maintaining good health becomes more

challenging with age, as the immune system becomes progressively less effective in staving off

cancer and infections and as the cardiovascular, respiratory, and organ systems function less

adequately” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 485). A common physical change that occurs in

older adults are increased sensory deficits like changes in the visual system. Another decline in

older adults is the onset of pain, stiffness, and swelling of the joints and surrounding tissues; this

is characteristic of what we consider to be arthritis.

Social/Cultural:

“The importance of social relationships for well-being is consistent across cultures; when people

feel supported by family and friends they weather life’s difficulties more effectively” (Broderick

& Blewitt, 2010, p. 464). As we read in our text and as we might have learned from our own

interaction with someone in the late adulthood stage, life’s difficulties include loss of loved ones,

careers, sense of worth and purpose even at this stage in the lifespan. Social relationships appear

to be essential ingredients of a person’s well-being. “Receiving social support is clearly linked

to better coping with life’s stresses” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 463).

Social relationships are still important in late adulthood, but sadly aging brings with it the more

and more frequent experience of social loss. Death or debilitating disease two reasons for social

loss, but so is retirement. When people retire they lose contact with the coworkers and peers that

they once saw on a daily basis. Another factor in social loss is distance. People move and


become unable to travel and these factors contribute to the loss of socialization with friends and

family.

Developmental:

One question presented in our text was “how do aging adults adapt to, or cope with, the

increasing losses they face?” Persons in the late adulthood stage have managed to learn to

continue to develop and age successfully in spite of the mounting loss that they will face at this

time in their lives. The three processes of selection, optimization, and compensation are key to

successful development, especially in the later years. The first process is selection. “This is a

process of narrowing our goals and limiting the domains in which we expend effort” (Broderick

& Blewitt, 2010, p. 493). An example of selection would be a man in late adulthood selecting

his family over his career because he could feel that his stamina was waning and wanted to spend

the energy that he did have on his family. The second process is optimization. Optimization is

“finding ways to enhance the achievement of remaining goals or finding environments that are

enhancing” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 493). My husband’s mother recently sold her two

door sports car for a more “family friendly” vehicle so that she could fit car seats in the back for

her grandchildren. This is an example of optimization. The third process is compensation.

“When a loss of some kind prevents the use of one means to an end, we can compensate by

finding another means” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 493). An example of how compensation

could assist with development in late adulthood is given in our text. If a grandfather’s eyesight

was beginning to fail and he could no longer drive his grandchildren around, he would find

another way to entertain his grandchildren; perhaps by creating fun “in home” events like movie

marathons or backyard games. Just as growth, maintenance, and regulation of loss were


important parts of development seen in chapter thirteen, selection, optimization, and

compensation are processes that are key to successful development in the later years.

Spiritual:

“People at this stage live with ‘felt participation in a power that unifies and transforms the

world’” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 468). Most people, with age, become more spiritual or

religious. Many older adults feel compelled to reach beyond themselves, doing and caring for

others for example. Expressions of spirituality through religious practice or compassion, service

to others or passing on wisdom to succeeding generations (generativity) often bring deep

personal satisfaction, comfort, and peace to older adults and thus help them mature more

successfully. Observations of older adults have shown increased reflection, less concern for

material things and more interest in satisfaction with life. Religion and associated activities are

common among older adults and there is a positive relationship between religion and physical

health at this stage in the lifespan. Most older persons report that religion helps them cope or

adapt with losses or difficulties. While other sources of well-being may decline at this stage in a

person’s life, religion may become more important over time.

Intellectual:

Cognitive decline can be contributed to good or poor health. “Many old individuals show no

declines, and some who have maintained good health actually continue to improve cognitively”

(Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 486). One such example of cognitive decline is dementia.

“When cognitive functioning is so severely impaired that it affects our ability to relate to others

and to manage our own daily activities, we are suffering from dementia” (Broderick & Blewitt,

2010, p. 486). Cognitive decline continues to increase as a person nears the end of their life.

“As adults approach the end of their lives, between 6 months and 5 years prior to death, they may


show a substantial decline in intellectual functioning as indicate by scores on intelligence tests”

(Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 487).

In contrast to cognitive decline, is the need to hold on to the memories of the person who we

have been a various points in the past. Autobiographical memory “has particular significance for

one’s sense of self as well as for social interactions throughout the life span” (Broderick &

Blewitt, 2010, p. 489). The importance of letting others know who we were in narrative form

increases in late adulthood.

Emotional:

“Old age is a genuinely difficult situation with lots of sadness and frustration” (Broderick &

Blewitt, 2010, p. 484. The losses often considerably outweigh the gains at this stage in the

lifespan. Despite the losses and the emotional turmoil that they no doubt bring to a person at this

stage of the life span, the socioemotional domain shows significant growth in the second half of

life. Older adults become more selective of the social relationships that they invest their time in

later in life.

“Positive emotional experience is maintained in old age, negative emotional experience is

reduced, and the complexity of emotional experience is increased” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010,

p. 500). Wisdom is also seen to appear as a great force in late adulthood. The following

question was presented in chapter fifteen of our text: “is wisdom associated with particular

behaviors or emotional responses?” Research suggests that it in fact is. Research has shown that

individuals in late adulthood who scored high on tests in the “wisdom” category, tended to prefer

cooperative conflict management and these same people are more inclined to have strong

involvement with others. Emotionally, research has shown that those who possess greater


wisdom do not react as strongly as others in certain situations. “They also seem more committed

than others to pursuits that have the goal of enhancing the growth and potential of both

themselves and other people” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 498).

Summary of Development across the Lifespan:

Physical:

From zygote to birth, development progresses in an orderly sequence. Cells multiply rapidly and

combine to form organs and organ systems that begin to function to sustain life. Physical

development is a rapidly changing thing in the early years of a child’s life. Growth is constant

and children are learning about their bodies and what they can do with them and what their

limitations are also. During the middle childhood through adolescence stage of a child’s

lifespan, growth slows down a bit, becoming steadier and more even.

Social/Cultural:

Many differences between the young and the old are not simply based on physical and cognitive

abilities, but may instead be based on life events associated with family, relationships, and later,

work. We see the attachment theory throughout the lifespan as well. In infancy and early

childhood, the attachment theory centers on a child and their primary caregiver. In the later

years, early adulthood, midlife, and even in late adulthood, we see a kind of adult attachment

theory present. Relationships with friends, coworkers, lovers, and aging parents can all be

classified as attachment relationships. Who we are as a culture, as a people, is an important

concept throughout the life span as well. The way we act socially stems directly from what our

culture has taught us.


Environmental:

Our environment is constantly changing and creating pressures on us from the prenatal stage to

the late adulthood stage of the lifespan. Even from in the womb, we are affected by our

environment. What our mother’s ate, listened to, and surrounded themselves with, in turn

affected us as fetuses in their wombs. Later in early childhood, our environments greatly

affected our every development. In middle childhood to adolescence we are exposed to new

environments and are away from our primary caregivers for longer periods of time. We are

forced to adapt to our new environments and learn to adapt to the new environmental pressures

that we are faced with daily. Later in young adulthood and even into late adulthood, our

development is still influenced by our environments.

Spiritual:

From prenatal to late adulthood, spirituality and/or religion plays an important role in our

development. Many personality theorists believe that religion and spirituality are expressions of

an innate need “to find meaning in life, to create a sense of wholeness or completeness, and to

connect with something larger than the individual self” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010, p. 467).

Intellectual:

As we have seen through our readings, videos, and lectures, we never stop learning and in fact

our cognitive development is continuously changing either for the better or for the worse. From

conception, we begin to develop at a rapid pace cognitively. The brain and its functions begin to

develop extremely early on in our lives. Throughout the prenatal period, cells are forming and

performing specific jobs to aid in cognitive functioning, synapses are firing, and we begin to

learn immediately; how to suck our thumbs, move our limbs, etc. Cognitive develop continues

into early childhood and occurs at a rapid rate. Fine motor skills, problem solving skills,


language skills, reading skills, and social skills are all occurring throughout childhood and

adolescence. Even into young adulthood, our brains are developing and cognitively we are

continuing to change. As we move to the middle adulthood and late adulthood stages of the

lifespan, we begin to see some declines in our cognitive functions.

Final Course Reflection from a Counseling perspective:

Researchers who view development as a slow, continuous process are generally those

who emphasize experience and learning. Biologists, on the other hand, view maturation and

development as a series of genetically predisposed steps or stages. Psychologists like Piaget and

Erikson are examples of biologists who view development in stages. Lifelong development

requires both stability and change. Personality gradually stabilizes as people age. However, this

does not mean that our traits do not change over a lifetime.

Biologists, psychologists, and researchers alike have all asked the same question in

regards to developing through the life span: What is changing across time? A progressive

change is seen across time in everyone’s life. In human development, we see changes in the

physical form and capabilities, cognitive capabilities, moral capabilities, personality, societal

expectations, roles and responsibilities.

Developmental psychology has given us three big issues to ponder. Nature versus

nurture. This issue in particular can be attributed to development throughout the life span. How

our genetic inheritance (our nature) and our experiences (the nurture we receive) influence our

behavior can be seen from the prenatal stage to the late adulthood stage of the life span. The


next issue is continuity versus stages; is development a gradual, continuous process or a

sequence of separate stages? The final big issue is stability versus change. Do our early

personality traits persist through life, or do we become different persons as we age? Personally, I

believe that although some of our earlier personality traits may persist through our life, we do

eventually become different people as we age.


References

Broderick, P.C., & Blewitt, P. (2010). The Life Span: Human Development for Helping

Professionals. (3rd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

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