Running head: THE CHANGING LIFE

The Changing Life

Shane B. Park
Psychology 1100
December 3, 2016

THE CHANGING LIFE

The Changing Life

In all of my recent studies there is nothing that I have found more interesting than
the study of the human lifespan and development. Kathleen Stassen Berger defines the
science of human development as the science that seeks to understand how and why
people of all ages and circumstances change or remain the same over time (2014, p.
4). Throughout this semester I have taken the time to visit with four different people, all
different ages and in different stages of the lifespan. I observed their development with
several different aspects in mind: physical characteristics, motor development, cognitive
development, language development, and psychosocial development. Throughout this
semester we have studied all different stages of life and several diverse theories in
respect to life stages. Having studied each stage of life and the corresponding
development, both body and mind, the observations I made were found to be rather
interesting.
The people I observed include: Canaan, my five year old nephew (birth through
early childhood); Fiona, my fifteen year old sister-in-law (mid-childhood through
adolescence); Bob, my fifty-eight year old father (adulthood); and Faye, my eighty-two
year old grandmother (late adulthood). As we go through life we tend to experience
many changes. We start small; as an infant we are completely dependent on our
parents or caregivers to meet our every need. As we grow older and progress through
the life stages, we become more educated and are able to become more and more
independent. When we reach late adulthood, it is typical to experience a decrease in
independence and the ability to take care of oneself. I found this to be true in all my
observations across all stages of life.

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Canaan
The early childhood stage of development spans ages two through six. Through
this stage people tend to experience rapid growth, both in body and mind. In most
developed nations children by the age of six are about 3 feet tall, weigh between 4050 pounds, and have adult-like body proportions.
Meet Canaan: the 5 year old, dinosaur loving, super hero fanatic, fart noise
making, crazy kid. Canaan is my oldest nephew and I get the privilege of spending a lot
of time with him. In relation to the average size, he measures up rather well. He weighs
about 35 pounds and is 3 feet fall. He dresses himself and will
adamantly reject any offer for help.
Canaan is a ball of energy you could even say that he has the
energy of the energizer bunny. He has no trouble running, walking,
standing, jumping, summersaulting, and more. Although gross motor
skills are well developed at this age, his precision leaves much to desire.
He doesnt necessarily care if he moves well or with precision, but he
moves a lot and almost never stops moving. His language skills are about what would
be expected for his age. He does not have a large vocabulary and has a hard time
forming full sentences without pausing to gather his thoughts. He can sometimes be
very difficult to understand and may need to repeat himself more than once.
Canaan does not have a long attention span and often moves from activity to
activity rather quickly. He often has difficulty understanding abstract concepts and will
usually take things very literally. As would be expected for someone in his age range,
his imagination flows freely. His average temperament and mood is happy-go-lucky, as

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if there is no care in the world. That is unless its time to go home after spending a few
hours at grandma and grandpas house, then his mood typically shifts to unhappy rather
abruptly. He doesnt show many signs of unhealthy attachment and is not afraid to be
himself. Though he does have a toy, a small stuffed Eeyore (from Winnie the Pooh), that
he used to take with him everywhere and could not be separated from even for a
moment. As he gets older his attachment to this toy, which he affectionately refers to as
his moo-moo, becomes less and less important.
Fiona
Adolescence is usually accompanied by puberty, the period of physical growth
and sexual maturation that signify the end of childhood and the transition to adulthood,
by transitioning the person to adult size, shape, and sexuality. Fiona, my sister-in-law, is
exactly what you would think a teenage girl to be. She is about the right size for her age
and has no apparent physical abnormalities. She wears glasses sometimes, but they
are not required for everyday activity. She wears appropriate clothing, often sweatpants
and a t-shirt for increased comfort. She has no problem dressing herself and making
sure her shoes are on the correct feet.
Fiona loves to dance and can often be found (and heard) dancing all around the
family home. She moves well, without any pain or discomfort. She writes well, eats fine,
and enjoys playing video games on her sisters Nintendo3DS, all of which require fine
motor skills. She usually has no problem staying balanced, but can at times be rather
clumsy and fall when dancing. Her hand eye coordination is fine as well. She uses
verbal speech almost always though there are times when she will engage in non-verbal
speech. For example, if you say something nice about her she will often put her hand

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under her chin so as to say yeah, Im pretty great. She has a large vocabulary and has
a great love for the English language, especially story telling. She is always either
writing or reading another story or book. She can sometimes mix up her words, but Ive
noticed that trend among most people. Overall her language skills are great. Typically
Fiona uses a soft voice, but at times can be loud.
She has good memory and a very long attention span.
She can often be found playing games, reading, or writing for
hours at a time, much longer than I could do. She has great
problem solving skills. She has no trouble understanding most
abstract concepts and uses her imagination all the time. She is
often creating stories, characters, or even a secret language
between her and her friends. She is usually in a good mood I dont know if I have ever
seen her in a bad mood for very long. She has no trouble talking to strangers but at
times can be extremely shy. She doesnt have any personal possessions that she holds
onto, but she is almost always found with some sort of book. She is comfortable in her
own skin and doesnt seem to care much about what other people think of her, other
than the opinion of her parents and maybe her sister. She is open minded, still exploring
the world around her, though she is well aware of her beliefs and where she stands,
both in society and the community.
Bob
People in the adulthood stage of life are all different shapes and sizes and this
can depend on many factors. Bob is just over six feet tall and weighs only 160 pounds.
He has always been a relatively thin individual compared to many other men in his age

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group. His hearing is not as good as it used to be and he will at times ask you to repeat
what you have said or maybe say back to you what you said and get it all wrong. This is
a common occurrence often followed by many good laughs. He wears jeans and a belt
usually with a t-shirt, and sometimes will wear a Polo shirt. He needs glasses for
reading and should probably wear them when driving as well good luck convincing
him to do that. If he doesnt have his glasses, in order to see smaller text he needs to
hold it far from his face to even have a chance at making out what he is reading. He
dresses himself and has no problem tying shoes and ensuring that
they are on the proper foot.
Bob has well developed gross motor skills: walking, running,
jumping, standing, sitting, to name a few. Though he can do these
functions, he cant always do them as well as when he was a
slightly younger adult. When he was a teenager he injured his back
and has undergone a few surgeries which have left him less capable as the years wear
on. At times, he will have difficulty with standing after having been in a sitting position for
an extended period of time. He has excellent fine motor skills like chopping, cutting,
eating with silverware and so forth. He has no problem writing with a pen or pencil and
does it often. He uses verbal speech only, maybe rarely will he use non-verbal
communication. He has a vast vocabulary and uses phrases often that he learned from
his mother, lets go so we can get back among others. He speaks softly in most cases,
but when he is upset he does tend to raise his voice.
His memory is, for the most part, strong though he does forget things every now
and again but otherwise has no trouble in that regard. He has a long attention span and

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can stick with a task until it is completed. I helped my father put up his Christmas lights
in which he exhibited his ability to apply several problem solving skills. For example, he
needed to find a way to string the lights along the roof of the house and then run a plug
from the end of the lights to the plug at the back of the house. He is typically in a good
mood. There are times he can get upset when he feels as though his character is being
attacked or something along those lines. He has no problem talking to strangers and
doesnt have any apparent attachment, though he does always have his wallet and a
comb in his back pocket to fix his hair should the need ever arise. He seems to be
comfortable with who he is but will often react very strongly if you suggest a change to
him or try to teach him something. It is almost as though he feels like he has learned
everything there is to learn about life and there is nothing that his children could teach
him. He is not very open minded, and is very much only aware of his own beliefs and
view of the world.
Faye
Faye is just under five and a half feet tall and weighs below 200 pounds. She
often wears clothes which are expected for her age group. I have never seen her wear
jeans. She often wears some sort of dress pants and a nice blouse and can often be
seen wearing a jacket. She wears glasses and hearing aids to help with her failing
vision and hearing. She dresses herself and doesnt have any problem ensuring that her
shoes are on the correct feet and tied properly.
She can walk, sit, and stand but not with as great ease as Fiona and Canaan.
She has trouble walking for long periods of time and needs assistance when going up
and down stairs as her balance is a little off. She used to bowl with a league twice a

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week but has since stopped as she cannot throw the bowling ball as well as she used to
and is afraid that she may go down the aisle with the ball and slow down her bowling
friends. She writes and eats fine, exhibiting fine motor skills, but her hands dont move
as well as they used to, making her handwriting a little scratchy. She speaks fine and
has a decent vocabulary. She has no problem forming full sentences and pronouncing
words without issue. She speaks softly, unless she is speaking to
someone who cant hear. In those situations, however, the level of
volume in her voice is always appropriate for the activity in which
she is engaged.
Memories are what she lives off of. Her husband passed
away in early 2014 and she has lived alone almost ever since. She
will often reflect on memories of the past in order to keep her company. She has a
strong attention span and is able to stay engaged for the duration of any given activity.
She doesnt seem to have trouble staying awake when she needs to. She is a calm
individual and does not get excited or overjoyed. She can be easily irritated at times, but
not just by having someone with her. She will only really get irritated if she is not
listened to this is most often experienced with small children in her home. She doesnt
have any issues talking to strangers. She doesnt have anything that she holds onto at
all times, other than maybe a wedding ring but that Im not sure about. She is
comfortable with who she is and doesnt seem to have any issues with listening to the
views of others, though I dont think she would make any drastic changes to her beliefs
at this point in her life.
Late Adulthood

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A time of life that has often been on my mind as a concern for my future is that of
late adulthood. Through my own personal experience I have witnessed several people
attempt to avoid the inevitability of late adulthood and the corresponding aging issues
that come along with it. As life goes on your body ages and you are no longer at the
peak of your physical ability which leaves many people no choice than to make every
attempt to avoid aging in all aspects, both physical and mental. My own mother has
made comments about her fear of growing old and being a burden to her children if she
will not be able to take care of herself.
There are many hereditary diseases that affect my family, both physical and
mental. In respect to physical issues there is a long family history of multiple sclerosis
and my mother also suffers from fibromyalgia. Mental illness also runs through my
family, at a more evident rate. There are many mental illnesses that are evident in
several family members from major depression to bipolar depression and paranoid
schizophrenia. Many of these illnesses can increase in severity as your life goes on.
[Multiple Sclerosis] is the most common neurological disorder of young adults; there
are approximately 350,000 people with MS in the United States and an estimated 2
million patients worldwide (Joy, Johnston, 2001, p. vii). Although it can be scary to grow
old and become more dependent on others for basic care, I am at peace with my
outlook on this stage of life.
Reflection
The people that I observed for this assignment were people that I spend time
with on a regular basis. Having the opportunity to take a closer look at these people
whom I know and love with a different idea in mind was a great opportunity. I took a

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closer look into the development of my nephew, sister-in-law, father, and grandmother,
and was able to think really think about their psychological and physical
development and see the way life changes throughout the years. This also gave me an
opportunity to have a lot of great conversations with my wife about raising our children,
especially with the upcoming birth of our first child in January 2017.
In relation to the early childhood stage it is common for children to have
imaginary friends, and though they know the friends are not real they will still tell people
about them. I never had an imaginary friend, as far as I can recall, but my nephew did.
His friend was less an imaginary friend so much as an imaginary girlfriend whom he
named after my then fianc, Amy. He was obsessed with her and would always tell his
mom about the adventures he and his girlfriend had together. It always make me laugh
how much he adored my fianc and would always ask when she would be coming over
rather than me.
Throughout this experience I have been able to view life in an entirely different
light. I never really considered there to be stages of life, at least in the defined manner
in which they are, and as a result was somewhat just going with the flow. The
opportunities given while performing this research made it possible for me to look at my
loved ones in a new light and have helped me look forward to raising my own children
and advancing through my own life as well. This was a great experience!
Conclusion
While each stage of life comes with its obvious disadvantages, there is an equal
level of advantage. There are few adults who see the world the same way they did
when they were children, with trust that every need would be met without even a second

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thought. Though children and adolescents are unable to make a lot of decisions on their
own, they have no need to worry about their lives the same way an adult may need to
worry about theirs. Though adults may have the disadvantage of not being small
enough to climb the local jungle gym, they do have the ability to climb a mountain or
rock wall that was previously unobtainable to them as young children.
Every life is different, every person has a different personality and body, and
everybody has different experiences. The one thing that binds all human life together is
the fact that we are all here on this earth going through this journey together. Looking
back over my own lifespan, and looking forward to the remainder of my life I have yet to
live, I feel excitement and look very much forward to the opportunity to continue to
advance and learn and grow and possibly have an opportunity to teach people as well. I
will be able to take the things that I have learned in this class and put it to good use
teaching my own children and preparing for my future.

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References
Janet E. Joy and Richard B. Johnston, Jr. (2001). Multiple Sclerosis: Current Status and
Strategies for the Future. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/10031/
chapter/1
Kathleen Stassen Berger (2014). Invitation to the Lifespan. Retrieved from Invitation to
the Lifespan, Second Edition.