Life Span Development Thoughts

For week five we read Chapter 8 in our LifeSmart text, Adolescence. In the text we discussed what adolescence is and when it starts, which is normally at the menarche for female or first ejaculation for male (186-187), The physical development of the human body, including puberty and the sudden re-emergence of a growth spurt (189), body image during  and eating disorders during physical development, Cognitive Development, including Piaget, Erikson, Marcia, and Hills’ theories pertaining to the development of the adolescent brain, Social development and the roles of family and peers, sexual identity, and mental health issues such as suicide, substance abuse and stress.             Although I understand Piaget’s premise for believing in his four-stage theory of cognitive development, I still have a hard time grasping the concept that the formal operational stage is the final stage to of full cognitive development. While I do ...

This week, week four of the class, we had to read chapters 6 and 7 in the LifeSmart text, covering human development in both early childhoods (Chapter 6) and middle childhood (Chapter 7). Early childhood taking place during ages 2-6, according to Piaget. However, I do believe it is important to note that according to the text, early childhood education refers to classroom from infant until 8 years-old (138). Middle childhood refers to any child ages 7-11. In chapter 6 the text discusses the physical, cognitive, and social development of children in the early years, language development, gender development, emergence in self-understanding, early childhood education, and the importance of play in the cognitive, social, and emotional aspects of early childhood development. In chapter 7 the text discusses the physical, cognitive, and social development of children in the middles years, the moral development in early and middle childhood, intelligences and multiple intelligences, the abil...

For the third week of class, we had to read chapters 3-5 or the Lifesmart text, with Chapter 3 covering pregnancy and prenatal development, chapter 4 covering birth and the newborn child (birth-1 month), and chapter 5 covering infancy (1 month – 24 months). Chapter 3 gives a brief overview of the biology of human development during pregnancy. Such topics included in the chapter are standard biology, including the significance of chromosomes, DNA, and genes, specific hereditary disorders, prenatal development, and the effects of the environment on the developing fetus, including teratogens, such as infectious diseases and various chemical substances located in the body throughout prenatal development (69,70). Chapter 4 begins to touch base on the beginning of the cognitive development aspect of human development in neonates, or infant from the moment of birth until 1 month (90). Topics included in this chapter include labor stages, childbirth methods, complication during childbirth, s...

The reading completed for the class in week 2 give us readers a brief overview of each of the six major theories of development, along with sources and evidence that validate the beliefs in each of the said theories. In order of recognition, those theories are Psychoanalytical (Freud), Psychosocial (Erikson), Cognitive (Piaget), Cultural (Vygotsky), Behavioral (Skinner, Bandura), Ecological (Bronfenbrenner), and Contextual (Lerner). Although I find each of these theories interesting, and plausible, I found myself having the hardest time accepting the believability in Freud’s theory the most. Mainly because of the basis of simplicity for understanding the developmental content. Although the text mentions that Freud’s psychoanalytic theory is beginning to regain interest (31), my struggle comes in accepting the idea that human development is possibly as simple as an on-going balancing act (ego) of acting in pleasure (id) or in moral (superego). Also, while I do believe that Freud is...