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Prenatal Development and Birth
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The First Two Years- Cognitive: My First Words
I said my first word, which was "mom", at around 9 months. This is a little earlier than the average infant says their first word, as our text says a recognizable first word usually happens around 12 months. I was able to learn language through listening to others speak and through the development of the language area of my brain. -
The First Two Years- Biosocial: Learning to Walk
I learned to walk at around 10 months old. This means that my gross motor skills, which are physical abilities involving large body movements, were developing at a normal rate. My muscle strength, brain maturation within the motor cortex, and practice allowed me to learn how to walk. -
The First Two Years- Psychosocial: Difficult Temperament
I was the type of baby who cried and was frightened by many things. I was not very happy and was a typcially shy baby. -
Early Childhood- Cognitive: Preoperational Thinking
Around age 2, I entered Piaget's stage of cognitive development called the preoperational stage. In this stage, children have an increase of symbolic thought, especially language and imagination. This is why children enjoy playing make-believe at these ages. I specifically enjoyed pretending that I was a Disney princess. -
Early Childhood- Biosocial: Amygdala Development
At around age 5, I started becoming very scared of the dark and going to bed. I thought there were monsters under my bed that were going to come get me and I made my parents put a night light in my room and check to see if there were monsters. The reason I was so afraid of these things was because I had increased amygdala activity at this point in my development. The amygdala is the brain structure that registers emotions, particularly fear and anxiety. -
Early Childhood- Psychosocial: Emotional Regulation
By around age 5, I was better able to regulate my emotions and keep them at a more appropriate level. In my earlier years, I would get very angry and throw temper tantrums in public. As I got older, I learned that this was not the way to handle things in order to get what I wanted. I was able to handle my emotions in a better way around 5 years old due to the emotional hot spots of my limbic system connecting to my prefrontal cortex. -
Middle Childhood- Bisocial: Neighborhood Games
In middle childhood, I played a lot of games with my siblings and neighborhood friends. We were very active and were constantly running around playing something. We would play football, soccer, ghost in the graveyard, tag, or even make up our own games. It is normal for middle childhood children to play games like these that are active, interactive, and inclusive, it teaches them ethics. -
Middle Childhood- Cognitive: Pragmatics
By age 7, I was able to use pragmatics, which is the practical use of language. This includes the ability to adjust one's language according to the audience. For example, I was always very polite and respectful to parents or teachers, but would joke around and say many different things to my friends. -
Middle Childhood- Psychosocial: Industry vs. Inferiority
By age 8, I think I had developed on the side of industry according to Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. I wanted to try new things, master many skills, and challenge myself. I always wanted to challenge myself by learning how to spell hard words and doing well on every test I took. -
Adolescence- Cognitive: Imaginary Audience
Around age 13, I definitely acted as though there was an imaginary audience watching me at all times. I was self-conscious about what I wore, how my hair or makeup looked, or how I acted. I was convinced that my peers or others would make fun of me if I did not look good or up to their standards. Because of this, I hated going in public when I didn’t look as good as I wanted to because I thought everyone would be staring at only me and noticing that I didn’t look good. However, this is a normal -
Adolescence- Biosocial: “Phase Delayed” Sleep-Wake Patterns
At around age 14, I noticed that I was wide awake during the night and could not sleep, but in the morning and during school hours, I was exhausted and could barely stay awake. This was due to the hormones of puberty affecting my circadian rhythms and altering my sleep cycles. -
Adolescence- Psychosocial: Identity vs. Role Confusion
Around age 17, I had achieved a sense of identity and who I was. I had my own established set of roles and values that I abided by and believed in, separate from only believing in what my parents believed in. I knew somewhat what I wanted to do with my life and what my decisions would be after high school. I had effectively decided who I was and what I wanted out of life. -
Emerging Adulthood- Biosocial: Homeostasis
Homeostasis is the adjustment of all the body’s systems to keep physiological functions in a state of equilibrium. Homeostasis works most quickly and efficiently in emerging adulthood, which is one reason people this age are less likely to get sick. At my current age of 19, I have not gotten sick once this year, which shows me that my body is effectively functioning under homeostasis. -
Emerging Adulthood- Cognitive: Time Management
Time management is something that adults gradually master as their brains develop, so emerging adults still struggle with this task. In college, as opposed to high school, professors assign a set amount of work, and the student has to decide when to get it done. This has been a problem for me, at age 19, as I go through college and attempt to manage my time between work and school. I often lose track of time and have to rush to get something done because my time management skills have not yet fu -
Emerging Adulthood- Psychosocial: Vocational Identity
As an emerging adult at 19 years old, I have held about three temporary jobs already that are not directly related to the career path I want to pursue. This is normal for emerging adults and allows them to get used to the work force and prepares them for their lifelong careers. I have not yet established a set vocational identity, but I know what I want to do in the future and these temporary jobs have prepared me for what working in my career will be like. -
Adulthood- Psychosocial: Intimacy vs. Isolation
By age 26, I hope to be married and to have established a good, loving relationship with someone. Adults normally seek intimacy, which is a close relationship with another human being. Intimacy is mutual, which means adults need to devote time and energy to one another. -
Adulthood- Biosocial: Having Children
By the age of 27, I hope to already be married and become pregnant and have my first child. However, fertility peaks before the age of 25. Women should try to have children before the age of 30 in order to have a good chance of having a child and having them be in good health. -
Adulthood- Cognitive: Selective Expert
By the age of 35, I hope to become a selective expert in the career that I will be pursuing. A selective expert is someone who is notably more skilled and knowledgeable than the average person about whichever activities are personally meaningful. I plan on becoming a school psychologist, so by the age of 35 I hope to be an expert in this field and hope to be able to help children the best I can. -
Late Adulthood- Psychosocial: Integrity vs. Despair
When I am in late adulthood, I hope to be on the integrity side of integrity vs. despair. I hope I am proud of my achievements and do not look back on my life with regret. I hope I do not fall into despair and become depressed that I do not have enough time left. -
Late Adulthood- Cognitive: Memory
As I grow old, I hope to retain my memory and brain power for as long as I can. I will train my brain by doing something each day that helps keep my brain quick and active. It is common for elderly people to lose their memory, so I am going to try my best to not let that happen to me. -
Late Adulthood- Biosocial: Oldest-Old
The oldest-old are elderly adults, generally over the age of 85. I hope to live this long and be in good health, and possibly even become a centenarian. I would enjoy living a long, happy life. -
Death and Dying- Death Year
I predict my death year to be 88 years old, based on the life expectancy calculator I took in a previous module. I would hope to live longer than this by a little bit, so I may change some of my habits in hopes of doing so.