Chelsea Hawkins

PSYC 2330-2: Psychology Across the Life Span

Dr. Susan Brigman
Our Lady of the Lake College
Fall 2013
Final Portfolio
A.1, A.3, B.1, B.4
All in the Family, Smart Move, Remember When, Ah, the Easy Life!
December 5, 2013

A.1. All in the Family

For this writing assignment, I feel compelled to state that I have a mixed family. It was
my mother, my sister and I until my mother remarried. My stepfather came into the marriage
with two sons and a daughter. All of them were basically adults at the time of the marriage. The
reason for this explanation is because I did not want it to seem as though my family was only
composed of my mother, my sister and I. However, I am only going to compare the traits of my
sister and myself. I am only going to use my sister and myself because for a while it was just the
two of us and even now we are still closer to each other than to our other siblings. Not only do
my sister and I look very much alike, but a majority of our traits are similar and we even have a
few major differences.
One major difference between the two of us is our styles. I have always been more of the
tomboy of the family. If it involved sports, I was somewhere around. I participated in
gymnastics, and played basketball, volleyball and softball every season. You would always find
me playing outside from morning to night. However, my sister is the complete opposite of me.
She enjoyed all things considered girly. She played inside with dolls, wore dresses, and even was
a cheerleader in high school. Even now my sister and I are basically opposites when it comes to
style. Well, I will not say complete opposites because over the years I have mellowed my tomboy
look a bit. I am still not a dress person as she is, but I enjoy dressing up in pants and sometimes
skirts. I would say that she has rubbed off on me just a little.
Another difference between us is that my sister is actually more lively and talkative than I
am and always has been. I would fall more into the shy category. You would think that I was
more outgoing as I was so involved in sports and I would be the one who is more socially active,

or at least as social as she was, but that is not the case. I was always more silent. I was the type of
person who was fine with being alone and reading a book. As I have gotten older I find it easier
to engage in conversation with small groups, but even a small classroom full of people is too
much for me. Needless to say my sister made more friends than I did because of my shyness, not
to say that I did not have many friends. I can honestly say that I had more friends when I was
playing sports than I do now.
If I had to define traits that I believe are biologically based between my sister and me, I
would say that they are the values our mother instilled in us. I believe that our sense of humor for
sure is biologically based. Knowing how to laugh your way through a tough situation certainly
helps with stress. We also have in common, what I consider to be a trait, family or the aspect of
family. We were raised to know that family gives you the love and support you need. Another
trait that I would say is biologically based is our mannerisms. Another important value from our
household was respect and validate. It is important to respect other people and your elders, but
when someone is demeaning and wrong it is more important to validate your knowledge and
character. I consider these to be traits because these are just a few major things my sister and I
have in common. Everything else falls under these categories.
The differences between my sister and me I explain to be results of the environment, that
being our styles. I believe it has to do with a generational difference. My sister is a part of the
80s generation where the females were more of the dress up type. However, I was born in the
90s generation where the tomboy was emerging. During my generation it was okay for females
to wear loose fitting clothes. That was becoming the style. Females were even wearing mens
clothes and it was okay. With my sisters generation that would have probably been frowned

upon. In her generation it was skirts, dresses and heels while my generation was shorts, pants and
tennis shoes.
The traits my sister and I have in common and the traits that are different between us are
influenced by the theory of nature versus nurture. Though there is an argument about which is
more prominent, I believe that both nature and nurture work together to influence traits. The
traits we have in common are influenced by nature because they are biologically based. These
traits were passed down from my mother. The traits we differ in are results from nurture,
meaning that they are influenced by our environment. We are all different because of the naturenurture theory. With nature, we begin to share similarities with our parents or rather the people
we share a home with, but that only goes so far. Even twins become different. The difference is
defined by nurture, the environment. Two people can share the same environment and still end
up with different outcomes.

A.3. Smart Move

Earlier this semester I happened to complete an assignment on post-secondary learning,
meaning the way college students learn. I had a hard time coming up with ways college students
learn, but then I found what was called seven styles of learning. I mention this because, with the
exclusion of naturalist, they were exactly the same as Gardners eight frames of mind. These are
the ways that college students learn because by the time they make it to college they have
already developed their own means of learning.
When it comes to doing school work I have always been a procrastinator. I wait until the
last minute to type papers and to study. Some people say that is bad but for me it works. That is
the way I learn. Creating an intellectual profile based on Sternbergs and Gardners categories is
hard for me to do, because I can learn in almost any fashion. I believe that since I am an avid
reader, I will use categories pertaining to that knowledge base.
Using Sternbergs Triarchic Theory, I would have to categorize my intelligence as
analytical and practical. I believe that my performance both at school and work indeed apply
these two forms of intelligence. Also, being that I am going into the healthcare field it is
important to have forms of analytical and practical intelligence rather than just one or the other.
To work in healthcare will require both the abilities of analytical and practical intelligence. I
constantly use my analytical intelligence in school and my practical intelligence at work.
Using Gardners Eight Frames of Mind, I would classify myself as having a verbal and
bodily-kinesthetic frame of mind. As I stated previously, I completed an assignment on styles of
learning which is similar to Gardners Frames of Mind. By the time a student has graduated from
the secondary level on to the post-secondary level depending on what type of learner they are

foretells what form of post-secondary degree they will pursue. I believe that the verbal and
bodily-kinesthetic describe the way that I learn. Being that I enjoy reading it is evident that I
would be classified as verbal. Also, because I was an athlete and enjoyed actually doing work it
would also be evident that I be classified as bodily-kinesthetic.
Based on my profile, I would say that I show significant strength in all four forms of
intelligence I described. I do not feel that I show any weakness in these areas. These strengths
have impacted my experience in school, especially college, tremendously. None of my above
classified forms of intelligence defined the way that I chose my career path. Socially, my bodilykinesthetic intelligence stemmed from my athletic ability allowed me to form relationships social
relationships with others.
Nature and nurture once again play a role, this time in intelligence. Nature and nurture
work together to influence intelligence because some children do follow in their parents
footsteps while others deviate based on their environmental experiences. An example of how
nature and nurture work together to influence intelligence would be the child who wants to be a
lawyer. This child could have come to the decision in one of two ways; one of the parents is
either a lawyer or they go off of what they see on television and in the media. In my case it is
different. My mother is a nurse, but I am going to school for pre-med. I chose this career path
because of my mother; even though it is not nursing it is still the healthcare field. The nature of
television could not persuade me to choose another field.

B.1. Remember When

When I discuss my childhood with other people, I find myself sometimes wondering back
to the good old days where I would wake up early on Saturday morning to watch cartoons and
then go outside and play until dark. No one wants to grow old, but you accept it. I enjoy growing
up and experiencing life as a young adult, but I honestly can say that my childhood was a great
one. Unlike the stereotypical black family, where the father is out of the childs life and the
mother is what holds the family together, my childhood was quite the opposite. I have both a
father and a mother. I also have a few siblings and was supported in all of my endeavors. When I
tell people about my family, I am always told that we are different.
My parents made my childhood fun and eventful. I was never forced into anything. I
always wanted to do and be into everything. My parents, especially my mother, encouraged me
to do just that. She told me to live and enjoy all that I could. My childhood is what has made me
the person I am today. I participated in every sport I could get into, karate, and gymnastics. I also
was involved in girl scouts and other community service programs. I was always busy with
something. We were also avid church members and attended Sunday school, Wednesday night
Bible study, and choir rehearsal every week. My faith is a part of what has gotten me through
everything in my life, especially after the car accident my sister and I were involved in. It
humbles me today to know that we could have died eight years ago, but we are still here with
only scars to remind us of what could have been. I know that having this faith and being
grounded in the church helps to make me the person I am and that I am becoming.
Despite the car accident I was involved in and also losing my grandmother the year after,
I would describe my childhood as active, loving, and exciting. Having a loving family like mine

is what kept me together and going. It is also what pushes me to strive for success. My family is
actually pretty big. My maternal grandmother had 13 children, so as you can imagine I have
many relatives, especially cousins. Plus, I have two brothers and two sisters myself. My entire
family has always spent a lot of time together, which has instilled in me the need to be a familyoriented person because I had many people in my life to support me.
I remember feeling very loved as a child, because I was. My family put on functions for
every birthday or holiday and every Sunday one of my grandmothers many children would cook
a meal and all of my family would gather at their house. We would eat, chat, and catch up and
what has happened since the last time we saw each other, even though it was probably only a few
days. We stayed at their house for hours and everyone was welcome, even neighbors and friends.
After the parents made sure the children had eaten, they sent us on our way outside with games
and toys, which we played until it was either too dark to see or time to go. No one ever left
someones house a way they did not find it. The reason we would stay so long was because the
adults would stay and help clean. These experiences as a child helped create a close relationship
with my family. I believe that this is what has kept my family together.
The authoritative parenting is what made me the responsible and sensible lady I am. My
parents encouraged me to be independent, while still restricting some of my activities allowing
me to explore while still keeping a close eye. Whether you have a good or bad childhood effects
how you will turn out as an adult. My childhood experiences have influenced who I am today. If
I had not had loving and supportive relationships with my parents and other family members, I
am sure that I would not be the person I am today. The development of a child depends on their
family life, whether it be biological or adopted. All of these factors will inadvertently affect the
developmental outcomes in their childhood, adolescence, or adulthood. A child who grows up

without a family and bounces from foster home to foster will most likely feel neglected, but
somewhere down the line will develop a sense of independence from having to hold their own
life together. This child will probably hold their pride most dear to them because they did not
have anything. This child will fall into anything. While a child who may have one or both parents
will have the nourishment of love needed to develop well. They will have a support system and
someone to tell them when they do good and someone to tell them when they are wrong. These
children will probably grow up wanting to be better than average and do better than most. That is
two completely different outcomes for children who might even attend or have attended the same
school. Childhood is the stage that will either set a child up for success or failure.

B.4. Ah, the Easy Life!

When I think about retirement, I think about finally having time to do the things I wanted
to do. I think about being able to travel and still do light work such as volunteering or possibly
demoting to part-time work. There is more down time considered with retirement, therefore I
consider relaxation to be more common. Also, when I think of retirement, or at least my
retirement, I think of having enough money saved to explore the things I wanted to explore but
could not for whatever reason. Retirement is a decision made to enjoy what is left of your left
without working.
Another way I see retirement, which is a concern for older adults on the verge of ending
full-time work, is when you look at so many older people who continue to work past the
retirement age because they cannot afford to retire. I even read somewhere in our textbook there
is a rise in full-time employment and a decrease in part-time employment in older adults who
realize they do not have the funds to enable to afford living in retirement. Some of these people
even work until the day they die. There are even those people who are so caught up into their job,
but get too old and are forced to retire. Also, these are sometimes those who once they retire it is
as if they do not know anything else and die because their bodys age has finally caught up to
them.
I have based my view of retirement not by what is see on television, but on what I see in
life. There are many people who retire with enough money to travel the world and others still
have to work part-time to keep an income. Most of my aunts are already retired. A few of them
work in the office that they opened up together, a couple do volunteer week, and one takes it easy
with a part-time job she actually does not mind. These views on retirement helped me to gain the

idea that working after retirement is not a completely bad thing. What you do after retirement is
your choice. Whether you switch to work part-time or do volunteer work, retirement is what you
make of it.
The impression the media gives of retirement is not completely false but at the same time
it is particularly fabricated. We have young stars who can retire after their first big hit. It is not
that this is a lie, but retirement at such a young age falls short of impossible. Televisions shows
and movies display older people in a demeaning fashion, showing that they are not good for
anything once they age and as soon as they retire their children pack them up and move them
into nursing homes. If the image the media portrayed was true about retirement, than I too would
be leery about life after retirement.
Though it is a long time from now, I envision my retirement to be lax. I plan to invest in
stocks, retirement plans, and have a personal savings account giving me enough leeway to
actually live off of. The plan is to not have any major bills, loans, or car notes and to have all
those kinds of things paid off. My plan is to be financially stable. Socially, I will probably be as
much of a recluse as I am now, unless I happen to be near my family. At this time in my life, I am
more focused on starting a career rather than how the ending of it will be. It is not that I do not
look forward to the time of retirement because I know that when that time comes I will be ready
to retire. At the same time, it does kind of scare me to think about retirement because that will
mean that I am getting into old age. It is important that I plan to be prepared for my retirement,
particularly financially. It is not known what problems may arise, but you need to be prepared for
the unknown.

Retirement for some can be the high point of the life and for others it may be the
downfall. Where some see happiness, others see disaster. When some people retire they have
things all planned out. They know what they are going to do, where they are going to go, how
they are going to go about it, and when they on going to do it. These are the people who can
afford to retire, but even those who can afford to retire may not want to. There are some people
who have to be forced to retire or just retire because they have hit that age. Even though it is less
common in older adults, some can slip into depression about not being able to work. Others fall
into illness, including dementia or Alzheimers. For the most part, I do not know anyone who has
retired and fallen into any of these categories. All of the persons I know that are retired are happy
with their retirement. When I retire, that is all I want to be, happy.

References
Santrock, J. W. (2013). Life-Span Development (14th ed.). New York, New York,
United States of America: McGraw-Hill.

Notes: Introduction
Chapter 1 Notes
I.

Theories of Development
a. Psychoanalytic:
i. Freud & Erickson
b. Cognitive:
i. Piaget: organization and adaption; each step is different
ii. Vygotsky: culture is an important part of cognitive development; kids
learn to think through interactions
iii. Information-Processing: thinking is like a computer
c. Behavioral/Social Cognitive:
i. Behavior/Skinner: change of behavior through rewards and punishments
ii. Social Cognitive/Bandura:
d. Ethological:
i. Behavior influenced by biology
e. Ecological:
i. Bronfenbrenner: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem,
chronosystem
f. Eclectic:
i. Selects from different theories what is best

Notes: Biological Beginnings

Chapter 2 Notes
I.

II.

Evolutionary Perspective
a. Natural Selection & Adaption
i. Individuals of a species that are best adapted are the ones that survive and
reproduce
b. Adaptive Behavior
i. Promotes an organisms survival in the natural habitat
The Nature-Nurture Debate
a. Behavioral Genetics
i. Influence of heredity and environment on individual differences in human
traits and development
ii. Kinship studies
b. Heredity-Environment Correlations
i. Passive Genotype: no choice in genes/environment
ii. Evocative: evoke reactions through genetically passed traits
iii. Active (Niche-picking): pick the environment that matches genetic
inheritance
iv. Shared/Non-shared Environmental Experiences
1. Shared: Siblings common environmental experiences
2. Non-shared: childs own unique experiences
v. Epigenetic and Gene x Environment Interaction
1. Interaction between genes and environment

Notes: Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence

Chapter 11 Notes
I.

The Nature of Adolescence

a. Adolescents face:
i. Biological changes
ii. New experiences
iii. New developmental tasks
b. Influences on adolescents:
i. Ethnic
ii. Cultural
iii. Gender
iv. Socioeconomic

v. Age
vi. Lifestyle differences
c. Physical Changes:
i. Puberty: period of rapid physical maturation, occurring primarily in early
adolescence, that involves hormonal and bodily changes
ii. Sexual maturation, height, and weight
iii. Menarche: first menstruation
iv. Hormonal Changes
1. Increases in testosterone and estradiol
2. Hormones: chemicals secreted by the endocrine glands and carried
throughout the body by the bloodstream
v. Body image
d. Brain Maturation
i. Corpus Callosum: fibers connect left and right hemispheres
ii. Amygdala: seat of emotions
iii. Prefrontal Cortex: involved in reasoning, decision making, and self-

II.

control
e. Sexuality
i. Developing a sexual identity
1. Learning to manage sexual feelings
2. Developing new forms of intimacy
3. Learning skills to regulate sexual behavior
ii. Sexual identity includes:
1. Activities
2. Interests
3. Styles of behavior
4. Indication of sexual orientation
iii. Risk factors in adolescent sexual behavior
1. Drug use, delinquency, and school-related problems
2. Socioeconomic status and poverty, family/parenting, peers
iv. Contraceptive use
1. Increased use of contraceptives
2. Younger adolescents are less likely to take precautions
3. STIs: sexually transmitted infections
v. Adolescent pregnancy
1. U.S. has the highest rates in the world
2. Creates health risks for baby and mother
Adolescent Cognition
a. Piagets theory
i. Formal operational stage
1. More abstract than concrete operational thought
2. Increased verbal problem-solving ability
3. Increased tendency to think about thought itself

4. Thoughts of idealism and possibilities

5. More logical thought
a. Hypothetical reasoning: creating a hypothesis and
deducting its implications
ii. Adolescent egocentrism: heightened self-consciousness of adolescents
1. Imaginary audience: adolescents belief that others are as interested
in them as they are themselves
2. Personal fable: involves a sense of uniqueness and invincibility
iii. Information-Processing Approach
1. Cognitive control
a. Control attention
b. Reducing interfering thoughts
c. Being cognitively flexible
2. Decision making
a. Can generate more solutions to problems
b. Better perspective-taking skills
c. Better at anticipating consequences
d. Can consider credibility of sources
3. Problems in decision making
a. Greatly influenced by social context and emotional state
b. Has ability to make good decisions, but often lacks
experience
4. Critical Thinking
a. Involves thinking reflectively and productively when
evaluating evidence
b. Increased processing speed
c. More strategy knowledge and use
d. Ability to combine information in new ways

Notes: Socioemotional Development in Adolescence

Chapter 12 Notes
I.

Identity
a. Self-portrait composed of many pieces
i. Career and work path chosen
ii. Political, religious, relationship identities
iii. Achievement, intellectual identity
iv. Sexual, cultural/ethnic identities
v. Interests, personality, physical identity
b. Ericksons view on identity
i. Identity vs. identity confusion
1. Psychosocial moratorium gap between childhood security and
adult autonomy
2. Adolescents experiment with different roles and personalities
3. Adolescents who cope with conflicting identities emerge with a
new sense of self
4. Adolescents who do not successfully resolve the identity crisis
suffer identity confusion
c. James Marcia
i. Four identity statuses inferred in Eriksons identity
1. Crisis: has there been a period of exploration in identity?
2. Commitment: has the person made a commitment?

Crisis
Commitmen

Identity
Diffusion
No

Identity
Foreclosure
No

Identity
Moratorium
Yes

Identity
Achievement
Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

3. Identity does not remain stable throughout life

a. MAMA repeated cycles of moratorium to achievement

Notes: Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Adulthood

Chapter 13 Notes
I.

II.

Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood

a. Emerging Adulthood
i. Occurs from 18 to 25 years of age
ii. Characterized by experimentation and exploration
b. Physical Development
i. Peak physical performance occurs between 19 and 26
ii. Show signs of decline around 30
c. Health
i. Have twice the mortality rate of adolescents
ii. Few chronic health problems
iii. Increase in bad health habits
iv. Obesity
d. Regular Exercise
i. Helps prevent chronic disorders
ii. Aerobic exercise: sustained exercise that stimulates heart and lung activity
iii. Benefits physical and mental health
Sexuality
a. Males have more casual sex partners, while females report being more selective
b. Casual sex is more common in emerging adulthood than in young adulthood
c. Married (and cohabiting) couples have sex more often than non-cohabiting
couples
d. Men think about sex far more than women do
e. Sexual orientation and behavior
i. Most likely a combination of genetic, hormonal, cognitive, and

III.

IV.

environmental factors
f. Rape: forcible sexual intercourse with unknown person
g. Date rape: coercive sexual activity with casual acquaintance
Cognitive Development
a. Piagets View
i. Adolescents and adults think qualitatively in the same way
ii. Individuals consolidate their formal operational thinking during adulthood
b. Post formal stage?
i. Post formal thought
1. Reflective, relativistic, and contextual
2. Provisional
3. Realistic
4. Recognized as being influenced by emotion
Careers and Work
a. Developmental Changes

i. Individuals often seek to establish their emerging career in a positive field

Notes: Socioemotional Development in Early Adulthood

Chapter 14 Notes
I.

II.

Stability and Change from Childhood to Adulthood

a. Temperament
i. Individuals behavioral style and characteristic emotional responses
1. Easy and difficult temperaments
2. Inhibition
3. Ability to control ones emotions
b. Attachment
i. Secure: positive view of relationships and easy to get close to others
ii. Avoidant: hesitant about romantic relationships
iii. Anxious: demand closeness, less trusting, more emotional, jealous, and
possessive
Attraction, Love, and Close Relationships
a. Familiarity and Similarity
b. How do we pick a mate? (Filter theory)
i. Geographic
ii. Attractiveness
iii. Social Background
iv. Consensus
v. Complimentary
vi. Readiness to marry
c. Physical Attractiveness
i. Matching hypothesis: we choose partners who match our own level of
attractiveness
ii. Consensual validation: our own attitudes and values are supported when
someone elses are similar to ours
d. The faces of love
i. Intimacy: self-disclosure and sharing of private thoughts
ii. Erikson intimacy vs. isolation
1. Intimacy is finding oneself while losing oneself in another person
2. Failure is to achieve intimacy results in social isolation
iii. Intimacy and independence
1. Balance between intimacy and commitment, and independence and
freedom
iv. Friendship
1. Gender differences in friendships
2. Friendships between women and men
v. Three types of love:

1. Romantic love: passionate love, or Eros

a. Strong components of sexuality and infatuation
2. Affectionate love: companionate love
a. Desires to have the other person near
b. Deep caring affection
3. Consummate love: strongest form of love
vi. Sternbergs Triangle of Love

Infatuation
Affectionate love
Fatuous love
Consummate love

III.

Passion
X
X
X

Intimacy

Commitment

X
X
X

Adult Lifestyles
a. Single adults
i. Stereotypes range from:
1. swinging single to desperately lonely, suicidal
ii. Common problems of being single
1. Forming intimate relationships with other adults
2. Confronting loneliness
3. Finding a place in a society that is marriage-oriented
iii. Advantages to being single
1. Having time to make life decisions
2. Time to develop personal resources
3. Freedom to make decisions
4. Pursue ones own interests
5. Exploration
6. Privacy
iv. Cohabiting adults
1. Living together in a sexual relationship without marriage
2. Lower marital satisfaction and increased likelihood of divorce