Week 1 An Introduction to Lifespan Development- AKEL

Lifespan Development-An Introduction


Is it just me, or does reading up on Psychology make more sense as you grow older? That's how I felt as I kept turning the pages. To develop in life and to grow, one must change. Not only is there biological change, but there is psychological and even social changes that can occur over the course of the human life. It wont always be good, as bad things can also occur. But don't be afraid because we as humans are not perfect and make mistakes. But we learn from those mistakes and make changes in our lives. 

In chapter one, it is stated that philosophers John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau both had a different view on child development. Locke believes that children are a "blank slate". If I am not mistaken, I took that as parents should take that opportunity and "mold" them into becoming whatever they think is best for their child or help stir them in the right direction. Whereas Rousseau believes a child should learn behaviors, and develop on their own. I have to agree with both but more towards Rousseau. You live, you make mistakes and you learn. That is something that has happened to me many times and continue to learn from mistakes. How else would we change for the better and grow? On page 12 we are told to draw a similar model that contains highs and lows, or peaks and deep valleys to represent good and bad that you may have been through in life. I could not help but notice my peeks were just as much as my deep valleys. But as I hit my late 20's early 30's things take a turn for the better. A living proof that lifespan development (change) is ongoing, from prenatal period to late adulthood and beyond. 

The Mobius Strip. What a delicate way to explain stages of life! It goes beyond mathematics. Parker J. Palmer beautifully explains how the lines represents our inner and outer lives. How true is it that our outer life is basically public. What and how people view us. But the inner line is what actually defines us. And when we make a circle with that line our inner and outer life it "co-create" one another. As Palmer accurately states, "The Mobius Strip is the adult form of the wholeness in which we were born".