Reflection on Life-Span Development

The importance of human development studies

Most of you are taking Life-Span Development either because it satisfies a degree requirement or because it is a pre-requisite for your major.  However, I hope that after taking this class you have a better appreciation for why studying human development is actually a fairly useful and applicable endeavor, regardless of your career goals and aspirations.   The goal of this term paper is for you to engage in a deep, introspective self-reflection about what human development means to you.  More specifically, I want you to reflect on how your views of human development have changed and/or been reinforced as a result of this course.   To aide you in this task, I have included several questions/statements below that I’d like for you to address and incorporate within the narrative of your paper (note: do NOT simply copy and paste these questions into your paper and then answer them in a list-wise fashion – the final product you turn into me should read like a term paper, not a short-answer essay section of an exam).   Importantly, you must incorporate terms/concepts/theories that were discussed in the lectures/readings throughout this course within your reflection.  You’re telling me how you feel, but you’re also telling me what you’ve learned. As you write your paper, the theme I want you to try to keep in mind is that I’m essentially asking you to reflect on where you’ve been, where you are, and where you want to be with respect to human lifespan development. Where are you in your life right now (developmentally-speaking)?  Is it (i.e., where you are now) what you thought it’d be like when you were younger? Developmentally thinking I would say that I’m in the Isolation vs Intimacy stage. I grew up quickly due to becoming a mother at ayoung age, Companionship and close relationships with another person. Willing to make sacrifices and compromises that the relationship requires. Previously had a sense of isolation due to feeling the lack of being able to form this. Also have some generativity from being a parent and needing to raise him, next generation. CHAPTER 2 – ERIKSON’S STAGES. What did you think the ‘ideal’ age was before you started this class?  Why did you think this? Has it changed?  If yes, then explain what you now think the ideal age is.  If it hasn’t changed, then explain why your initial viewpoint has been further reinforced. In your own words - what is “ageism”? We’re all familiar with gender, racial, and religious stereotypes, but is “age stereotyping” something that was ever on your social radar before you started this class?  What are some of the age stereotypes you possessed before taking this class (please describe the stereotypes you had of at least 3different ‘age ranges’ – e.g., infants, kids, teens, young adults, middle-aged adults, retired adults)?  How has your view of these stereotypes changed? Simply put ageism is discrimination and unfair treatment based on a persons age. Being “too young” to have health issues. Being too young to have a 7 year old. Grandma forgetting things. View has changed. Where do you think the age stereotypes that we possess (either as individuals or as society as a whole) actually come from?  Is there any truth to them? What are some of the more important negative effects/consequences that age stereotyping and ageism have on society?  Are there any positive effects/consequences? Discuss how you plan on applying what you’ve learned in this class – both within the immediate future and also in the more distant future