We all travel through the aging process differently. Some people make mistakes and learn from them, while others move on without much thought. Regardless, everybody goes through a period where they look back on their life and reflect on our accomplishments. For most people, this time comes after we grow old, retire, and finally have the time to make those reflections. Erik Erikson describes this stage of life a time of integrity versus despair. Those who believe they have Integrity tend to look back on the past and believe that they have led a successful life; while those In espalier are generally dissatisfied with the life they lived.

Wilma Jane Is In Relearns final stage of psychosocial development, Integrity versus despair. I believe that Wilma Jane has Integrity and will realize when Is reflects back upon her life. Wilma Jane seems to have a lot to be proud of In her life between her big family dinners and Investment In charities. Wilma Cane’s nieces and nephews seem to think that she Is reaching a stage In life where she will feel badly about herself seeing as they say that she looks like “death warmed over. However, she seems determined to not let those things bother her because she is happy with herself and she knows that is what matters.

I believe that is also why Wilma Jane seems to ignore Brine’s comments because she wants to stay happy about her life. Wilma Cane’s younger brother, Bernie, is also going through the stage of integrity versus despair. Although they are in that same stage, Bernie, unlike Wilma, is going through a time of despair. It seems as though he may have been a very happy man when he with his ex-girlfriend, Sheila; however, as Bernie aged he began to look back n his life and become depressed, leading to Sheila leaving him.

After Sheila left, Bernie continued this time of reflection and kinked into a deeper despair. Bernie must have noticed that his mood was dropping so he began to immerse himself In his work and other surroundings in an attempt to feel better about what he has done with his life. Although Bernie has lived a rather successful life with many different interests, Bernie feels as though he hasn’t done anything worthwhile that he can be proud of.

Overview of Life Span Development Jennifer Framer Lindsey Wilson College The process of the development of an Individual’s life span covers a vast age range, beginning during the period between conception and birth and stretching across the individual’s life span. The different periods range from infancy, to different stages of childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Genetically, important characteristics begin to develop as the newborn emerges into the world. Simultaneously, the developing child’s surroundings begin to influence development as well; so much that the genetically developed characteristics can be altered.

Not only does development occur over a period of a many years, it also occurs across three separate, yet overlapping domains. This Is called the biophysically process, and Includes biological, cognitive, and psychosocial domains. Biologically, development Is described via body changes, maturation, and growth. Cognitively speaking, development Is a mental process of knowing; which Includes Imagining, perceiving, reasoning, and problem solving. Psychosocial focuses on the development of emotions, personality, social interactions and expectations.

Biologically, in the infancy and toddlers stage, the body doubles in height and their weight increases four times its amount. The individual’s neurons grow dramatically, thus faster and more efficient message transmission occurs. The experiences that this baby encounters will initiate the brain to more efficiently respond to outside stimulation. Motor skills increase and sensory and perceptual skills begin to develop rapidly. The child, during this stage, encounters vast cognitive developments. It begins with the basic structure of language learned illustrated wrought baby talk.

The very first communication Is Illustrated through crying, cooing and then babbling. These language skills are heightened In that by the age of 1, the child can speak Just a few words and wealth a years’ time, the child Is putting words together to make phrases. The child possesses object permanence, therefore is able them. For example, a child will grasp that the ball they had been playing with still exists even after mommy or daddy takes it away so the child can have dinner. From a psychosocial perspective, emotional responses, independent behaviors, early resonantly traits, and early relation to playmates begins to emerge.

Across the early to late childhood years, an individual encounters drastic developmental changes. Of these changes, the brain is said to be the most dramatic as it reaches it adult weight by the age of 5. I found this to be very interesting! During early childhood the immolation begins to progress at different rates throughout the child’s brain; thus the ability to perform certain activities develop. The child’s physical strength begins to increase and body proportion becomes more adult-like. Their fine tutor skills, such as writing and drawing, begin to develop but at a slow pace.

The motor skills of boys begin to differ from that of the age related girls, as gender differences emerge. During this stage, the child begins to say many words and develops a word bank of approximately 14,000 words. This is when metrification emerges. During the early years of childhood, the recognition of gender differences among playmates begins to develop and their play becomes much more imaginative. Both parenting styles and the child’s environments play such a significant role in the hill’s development. During the early adolescent years, a girl’s growth spurt peaks while a boys is Just beginning.

Sexual maturation heightens during these years, as females begin to menstruate and males to ejaculate. Cognitively, these individuals grow by leaps and bounds. Their identity and sexual orientation begins to emerge and peer pressure becomes very evident. The individual begins to become a planner and has ease in remembering ideals and facts. Cliques are developed among peer groups, individuals begin to stray away from their families and morals and values are plopped. During adulthood physical functioning will increase during an individual’s twenties and will then peak during their thirties.

Body shapes changes again. I Just entered into my thirties, and I can definitely see the changes in my body occurring constantly. Just the opposite of the earlier years, our organs efficiency begins to diminish yearly. I found this to be a scary thought. Physically, our characteristics begin to change as we develop gray hair, wrinkles, and increase in weight and decrease in muscle. Finally, our wisdom and expertise peak! We have many life experiences by this point and they provide us with richness in wisdom.

During the early adulthood years, individuals are concentrated on success in their professions, in finding the perfect mate, and having the ideal family. Across our life span, we encounter many changes. We change on biological, cognitive and psychosocial level. Each individual will encounter these changes at a different pace, at a different age and at a different level. I found this to be very interesting to see the norm of changes that occur over our life span and ultimately compare those to my personal changes and growth thus far in my life.