MY LIFE DEVELOPMENT

Brittany Serpico

Concordia University

HS 555

28 February 2013

STAGE OF LIFE Birth to 24

months

BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES Born Sunday, 8-14-1988, at 3:09am

weighing 7lbs. 4.5 oz. and 19 in. long, with blue eyes and brown hair.

First words “ma-ma-ma” at 6 mos. Rolled around room, stood up and

crawled at 10 mos. First steps at 1 yr. According to Santrock (2012) locomotion refers to when an “infant develops the ability to crawl, walk, run as they are developing their loco motor skills to explore and expand their social world” (p.318).

COGNITIVE PROCESSES Played “peek a boo” at 8 mos. According to Santrock

(2012) “face-to-face play may include vocalizations, touch, and gestures” (p. 318).

Recognize self in mirror. Santrock notes this behavior as self-recognition. (p.340)

Put different shaped blocks through matching holes at 13 mos. Build with blocks at 15 mos. Santrock (2012) explains this as information processing or joint attention, which is when the “caregiver and infant focus on the same object or event” (p.318).

Use writing utensils (ex. crayons) at 18 mos. Santrock explains this event from Piaget’s Cognitive Theory as the preoperational stage, which is when “children begin to go beyond simply connecting sensory information with physical action and represent the world with words, images, and drawings” (p. 22).

SOCIOEMOTIONAL PROCESSES Reached for people at 7 mos. Develop bond with parents. “Attachment

is a close emotional bond between two people” (Santrock, 2012, p.317).

Basic cry, anger cry, pain cry. My primary emotions were present, which include “surprise, interest, joy, anger, sadness, fear, and disgust” (Santrock, 2012,p.304)

STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT 2-5 years old Photos below: (Left: me at 2yrs; Right: my

kindergarten portrait)

BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES Balance and coordination from

horseback riding. According to Santrock (2012), “participation in sports can provide exercise, opportunities to learn how to compete, self-esteem, persistence, and a setting for developing peer relations and friendships” (p.158). It is also a great way to exercise to help prevent obesity.

COGNITIVE PROCESSES Started horseback riding lessons and

showing at 5 yrs. “Niche-picking refers to finding a setting that is suited to one’s abilities” (Santrock, 2012, p.61).

Asked Mom about heaven and God. I am asked to name objects. Santrock

(2012) calls this event as labeling, “the identifying names of objects” (p. 293).

SOCIOEMOTIONAL PROCESSES Had similar friends with my younger sister,

playing with neighborhood kids. “Shared environment experiences are siblings’ common experiences” (Santrock, 2012, p.61).

Recognize differences in skin colors of people of other ethnicities. “Ethnic identity is an enduring aspect of the self that includes a sense of membership in an ethnic group” (Santrock, 2012, p.357).

Homesick when leave home or when parents leave me “Separation protest is when the child cries when the caregiver leaves” (Santrock, 2012, p.306).

STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT 6-11 years old Photo: below (right)- me drilling in the Blue Shadows

Mounted Drill Team

BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES Played Tee-ball and won 1st place overall

for the skills competition. Started to ride in a Mounted Drill Team

at 11 yrs. Learned to swim.

COGNITIVE PROCESSES Learned to play violin in 5th grade. My father is

a musician therefore this is an example of passive genotype-environment correlation. This “occurs when children inherit genetic tendencies from their parents, and parents also provide an environment that matches their own genetic tendencies” (Santrock, 2012, p.60).

Learning and memorizing drills for Mounted Drill Team at 11 yrs. Know the lingo and jargon in equestrian team. This dialect is “a variety of language that is distinguished by its vocabulary, grammar, or pronunciation” (Santrock, 2012, p.289).

SOCIOEMOTIONAL PROCESSES Recognized for meekness as a positive

character trait by my teachers. Was sad when my best friend left my school

after 5th grade going into middle school; I had to make new friends.

Grieved for death of grandfather. This is an example of contemporary life-events approach. Santrock defines this as “an approach emphasizing that how a life event influences the individual’s development depends not only on the event but also on mediating factors, the individual’s adaptation to the event, the life-stage context, and the sociohistorical context” (p.361).

STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT 12-15 years old

BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES

Reached puberty. “Menarche is a girl’s first menstrual period” (Santrock, 2012, p.92).

More active in fitness and strength training.

COGNITIVE PROCESSES Understood Christianity and what it

means to be a Christian. Discovered that flashcards are useful for

studying and maintaining knowledge for exams.

Not sure of future occupation. “Identity diffusion is the status of an individual who has not yet experienced a crisis or made any commitments” (Santrock, 2012, p.354)

SOCIOEMOTIONAL PROCESSES Made new friends at church; joined

youth groups at church when I first attended in 8th grade. As Santrock (2012) suggests, I am an adolescent and I start to hang out with heterosexual groups (p.329).

STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT 16-19 years old

BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES Started wearing makeup to enhance

natural beauty. Seriously injured my back by

slipping/falling at my restaurant job. Had X-rays on my back and doctor says I

have Spina Bifida Occulta. According to Santrock (2012), “this Gene-linked abnormality is an incomplete development of the spinal cord” (p. 57-58;67).

COGNITIVE PROCESSES Started working at restaurant and also

as a caregiver. Graduated high school as a

Valedictorian, which boosted my self-esteem. “Self-esteem refers to global evaluations of the self, self-worth, or self-image” (Santrock, 2012, p.345).

Planning for college and major life goals. “Possible selves are what individuals might become, what they want to become, and what they are afraid of becoming” (Santrock, 2012, p.344).

SOCIOEMOTIONAL PROCESSES First “boyfriend” in junior/senior years of high

school. Started dating in groups, “which is common and reflects embeddedness in the peer context” (Santrock, 2012, p.329).

Made friends with coworkers at restaurant job. Developed passion for caring for elderly when I became a caregiver. Emotional competence involves a number of skills such as having awareness of one’s emotional states, detecting others’ emotions, having empathetic and sympathetic sensitivity to others’ emotional experiences” just to name a few (Santrock, 2012, p. 303).

STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT 20’s Photos below: (Left- me, my parents, received my

Bachelors; Right- me and my boyfriend now)

BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES Starting to notice grey hairs and began dying

hair. Treatments for my back pain include massage

and physical therapy. I’m having to exercise more in order to

maintain fitness or lose weight and also watching my diet. Started a caloric restriction, which evidence has shown in animals that have increased their lifespan by doing so (Santrock, 2012, p. 139).

Less sleep than I used to get when I was younger. “Eight hours of sleep or more per night are necessary to be at your best the next day” (Santrock, 2012, p. 113).

COGNITIVE PROCESSES I’m more conscious of my appearance (ex.

weight and fashion). I compare myself to others, which is what Santrock (2012) calls social comparison (p. 341).

I’m thinking about my future career and goals in life: marriage, family.

Earned my Bachelors degree at age 24 and plan to have my Master’s degree at age 26. This is an example of identity achievement, which is “the status of individuals who have undergone a crisis and have made a commitment” (Santrock, 2012, p.355).

SOCIOEMOTIONAL PROCESSES Drinking alcohol socially, but in controlled

settings. Santrock (2012)defines self-regulation as the “ability to control one’s behavior without having to rely on another’s help” (p. 348).

Had numerous dates with different guys and few serious relationships. I experienced infatuation, which is “if passion is the only ingredient and intimacy and commitment is low or absent” (Santrock, 2012, p.333) .

Current relationship is very serious. I’ve found consummate love: which includes passion, intimacy, and commitment” (Santrock, 2012, p.333)

MY PRESENT FAMILY: ME, MOM, DAD, MY YOUNGER SISTER AND HER

TWO SONS

STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT 30’s Photos: below (left: me and hopefully my future

husband; right: me and my older nephew)

BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES  Hopefully will have had one or two kids

and live with my future husband.

COGNITIVE PROCESSES Hopefully comfortable and satisfied with

meeting my goals of having a career and starting my own family. “Life review involves looking back at one’s life experiences, evaluating them, interpreting them, and often reinterpreting them” (Santrock, 2012, p.344).

SOCIOEMOTIONAL PROCESSES Hopefully have a few close friends who

share the same stage in life and be happily married with kids. “Socioemotional selectivity theory states that older adults become more selective about their social networks” (Santrock, 2012, p.310).

STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT 40’s

BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES My body not able to get back to the way

it was before kids even with workouts.

COGNITIVE PROCESSES Advance in my career because of my

expertise. Santrock (2012) defines expertise as “the extensive, highly organized knowledge and understanding of a particular domain” (p.233).

SOCIOEMOTIONAL PROCESSES Develop more relationships with clients

and colleagues.

STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT 50’s (Thrifty Fifty)

BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES Join ballroom dance club for leisure

time. Santrock (2012) defines leisure as “pleasant times when individuals are free to pursue activities and interests of their own choosing” (p.502).

COGNITIVE PROCESSES Find new hobbies to keep my mind and

body active. Experience midlife crisis. “Trying to cope

with the gap between the past and the future, that threatens life’s continuity” (Santrock, 2012, p.360).

SOCIOEMOTIONAL PROCESSES Attend my grown children’s weddings. Become a grandparent. According to

Santrock, “grandparents play an important role in the lives of many grandchildren” (p. 479).

STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT 60’s

BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES Take afternoon naps Make more doctor appointments.

COGNITIVE PROCESSES Prefer more quiet time for prayer and

reading for entertainment. My life review reveals a life well spent,

my integrity achieved. “Erickson’s Theory Integrity vs. despair is when individuals experience in late adulthood and they look at their past” (Santrock, 2012, p.22).

SOCIOEMOTIONAL PROCESSES Retire from career and enjoy retirement

with my husband as we bond together again.

Santrock (2012) says that some adults in their sixties don’t retire, while some do retire but pick up volunteer work.

STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT 70’s

BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES

Required to take all kinds of medications.

COGNITIVE PROCESSES Create a living will for my family

someday when I die. “This document is designed to be filled in while the individual can still think clearly; it expresses the person’s desires regarding extraordinary medical procedures to sustain the life when the situation becomes hopeless” (Santrock, 2012, p.566).

Pray to God more and ask for forgiveness and thank Him for everything He’s done in my life, for anything I’ve ever achieved, and for things given to me.

SOCIOEMOTIONAL PROCESSES Enjoy family gatherings with my children

and my grandkids someday.

STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT 80’s and older

BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES May have cancer of some sort. Receive hospice care. “Hospice care is a

program committed to making the end of life as free from pain, anxiety, and depression as possible” (Santrock, 2012, p.567).

Inevitable mortality.

COGNITIVE PROCESSES Make sure I’m right with God before I

die. May become more forgetful. “Tip-of-the-

tongue phenomenon is when individuals are confident that they can remember something but just can’t quite seem to retrieve it from memory” (Santrock, 2012, p.289).

SOCIOEMOTIONAL PROCESSES Have closure and make peace with

family members. Communication during the dying

process. “Most psychologists stress that it is best for dying individuals to know that they are dying and that significant others know they are dying so that they can interact and communicate with each other on the basis of this mutual knowledge” (Santrock, 2012, p.576).

REFERENCE Santrock, J. A Topical Approach to Life-

Span Development, (2012), 6th edition, McGraw-Hill Company, New York, NY.