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Why a Timeline
I have chosen to represent the developmental stages of life on a timeline to emphasize the way humans pass through milestones and rely on their pasts to move them into their present and future. -
Introduction
While our development can be understood as distinct stages on a timeline, our growth is actually somewhat cyclical and interdependent; each stage that we pass through influences the stages to come. In general, there are seven main developmental stages: infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood. As a result, our development is a lifelong process comprised of physical, cognitive, and social-emotional maturations. -
Infancy: Physical Development
As an infant I was born prematurely and weighed 4 pounds. During infancy, however, my weight tripled and I gained nearly an inch in height per month. I also experienced developments in gross motor skills; I learned to roll over, crawl, and even stand during infancy. -
Infancy: Social Emotional Development
All infants are born with an innate temperament that is visible in their responses to the surrounding physical and social environment. Though I do not remember, I like to think I was an easy tempered infant, rather than difficult or hard to warm up. As an easy tempered infant, I had a somewhat regular sleep schedule, I ate regularly, and experienced a good fit with my caretakers and environment. -
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Infancy
From ages 0-2 we are the in the first stage, infancy. Infancy is primarily characterized by rapid physical growth, the beginning of sensorimotor development, and the visibility of an individual's temperament. -
Infancy: Cognitive Development
As an infant, I experienced developments in my sensorimotor skills, per Piaget's theory. I did not yet have a sense of object permanence, though, so I loved playing peak-a-boo with my parents. I also loved when my mom used infant directed speech with me and talked in a higher voice. Eventually, I even spoke my first word - "mom!" -
Early Childhood: Physical Development
Most young children experience a phenomenon at this time called infant amnesia, in which they can no longer remember events from infancy likely due to the immaturity of the hippocampus. Despite this fact, I advanced my fine and gross motor skills during early childhood and figured out I was right-handed. I also gained coordination and control over my body. -
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Early Childhood
During early childhood, generally defined from ages 3-6, I experienced physical development at a slightly lower rate than in infancy, but I went through great cognitive and social emotional development with the stage of preschool and kindergarten. -
Early Childhood: Cognitive Development
I began preschool during my early childhood and was in Piaget's Preoperational stage. This age was characterized by egocentrism and error-making. Preschool was also a time for academic preparation and socialization; I learned pragmatics, such as what is appropriate to say to others and how to understand the fact that other people experience emotions. -
Early Childhood: Social Emotional Development
Early childhood is an important time for the development of self-regulation, empathy, and morality. With these new skills, I practiced effortful control and began to make quality friendships. Through cooperative play, I found a best friend. I likely picked a a girl as my best friend because of the rigidity of gender schema during this developmental age. -
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Middle Childhood
Overall, middle childhood is a period of stability and contentment. Physical development continues steadily, cognitive development enters Piaget's concrete operational stage, and friendships flourish on account of increased socialization and higher levels of self-regulation. -
Middle Childhood: Physical Development
During middle childhood, I lost most of my baby teeth and started to wear glasses. Interestingly, nearly 1/4 of children become nearsighted at this time, like I did. In addition, with the vast improvement of my fine and gross motor skills, I was able to join sports teams, dance groups, and experience group participation. -
Middle Childhood: Cognitive Development
Cognitively, middle childhood was a time in which I started to think systematically and scientifically about how the world works. In school, my classes were divided into different subjects where we learned conservation and seriation, vocabulary and grammar, and reading and math skills. As a result, I was newly able to compartmentalize what I was learning and gain some organizational skills -
Middle Childhood: Social Emotional Development
Due to my greater capacity for self-regulation and empathy, I was socially and emotionally content at this stage of my life. I made friends through group activities, but liked girls over boys. Trust was important in my friendships, and our playtime was rule-based and structured. Popularity was also a concern, and I valued the ability to be sociable. Lastly, conflict with my siblings peaked because I wanted to feel independent and I did not want to share a room with my little sister. -
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Adolescence
In sum, adolescence was a time of change, introspection, and instability. Most notably, puberty leads to many physical changes. While cognitive reasoning improves, adolescents to a lot of internal thinking. Social relationships are complicated by a decline in self-esteem. -
Adolescence: Physical Development
During puberty an increase in sex hormones leads to the growth of primary and secondary sex characteristics. The normative timing of such pubertal events impacts everyone differently. As a girl, I went through puberty relatively early and felt embarrassed, whereas boys felt embarrassed if they went through puberty late. In addition, some of my friends exhibited signs of disordered eating at this time and focused on the food they put into their bodies more than ever before. -
Adolescence: Cognitive Development
Despite drastic physical changes, our information processing abilities improve during adolescence. With the development of hypothetical-deductive reasoning I was able to test out solutions to problems systematically. On the other hand, the notion of an imaginary audience made me feel like others were paying attention to how I looked and behaved, which heightened my feelings of insecurity; I even started to wear makeup to school at this time. -
Adolescence: Social Emotional Development
As an adolescent girl I experienced a lowered self-esteem and defined my self-concept by my sense of physical attractiveness. Because I got a phone at this time, I used social media more than ever, which influenced my self-esteem. I also started to spend less time with my family and more time with my friends, so peer intimacy became important to me. I had a group of friends to spend time with, but bullying was also prevalent during this stage. -
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Young Adulthood
In many cultures young adulthood is delineated by accepting responsibility for oneself, making decisions, and being financially independent. Intelligence generally peaks and intimacy and maturity become important parts of one's life. -
Young Adulthood: Physical Development
After physical development reached its peak during emerging adulthood, signs of physical aging now begin to show in young adulthood. Definitions of young adulthood vary across cultures, however most consider responsibility and independence to be particularly important. -
Young Adulthood: Cognitive Development
Although my physicality may define during this stage, cognitive development and intelligence reach their peak. For example, expertise is often first reached at this time. By young adulthood I will hopefully have picked a certain occupation and gained extensive knowledge in that specific field. Interestingly, adolescent IQ can be a relatively accurate predictor of occupation and intelligence. -
Young Adulthood: Social Emotional Development
Erik Erikson found that young adulthood was characterized by the dichotomy between intimacy and isolation. Many young adults become intimate with another person at this time, in which one would unite a newly formed identity with another person in a committed relationship. The Theory of Love also says that passion peaks in this stage and commitment and intimacy grow steadily. -
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Middle Adulthood
In general, middle adulthood or midlife can be seen as a time of stability and satisfaction. Although certain aspects of physical development can have a negative impact, parts of intelligence increase and self-development reaches a positive point of maturity. -
Middle Adulthood: Physical Development
Physically speaking, middle adulthood is a period of steady decline. For example, both hearing and vision tend to worsen. In addition, reproductive changes occur. As a woman I will likely go through menopause in this stage. Although menopause varies across cultures, all women tend to welcome the end of monthly periods. As a woman, I should also be wary of osteoporosis in middle adulthood. Midlife health can also predict health through the rest of the life span. -
Middle Adulthood: Cognitive Development
Midlife cognitive development brings about both positive and negative changes. Fluid intelligence, meaning the speed of responding to new information, unfortunately declines in this stage. Crystallized intelligence, however, increases. Crystallized intelligence is the accumulation of culturally-based knowledge. As a result, expertise peaks and I will hopefully be able to rise to the top of my profession; I will feel job satisfaction and authority in the workplace. -
Middle Adulthood: Social Emotional Development
Midlife is a very positive time for self-development; I will have mature self-knowledge and feel higher levels of self-acceptance. As a result, identity struggles lessen. Middle adulthood is also a stage marked by generativity, in which I will feel a motivation to contribute to the well-being of future generations, especially as a parent or grandparent. Marriage quality and community involvement and socialization also improve. -
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Late Adulthood
Although the period of late adulthood is infamous for its signs of aging and physical and cognitive decline, it is also a time of status, respect, and authority in many cultures across the world. During this stage of life, I will likely feel positive emotions and high self-esteem. -
Late Adulthood: Physical Development
Since aging is a long, continuous process, gerontologists often divide late adulthood into 3 stages: young-old, old-old, and oldest-old. By 2065 I will be a young-old adult, even though my functional age will be more important at this time. In this stage I will experience graying, hair thinning, weight loss, and possibly teeth loss. In order to stay healthy I am going to exercise regularly, maintain a healthy diet, and avoid unhealthy behaviors. -
Late Adulthood: Cognitive Development
Late adulthood is generally a period of attention and memory decline. However, not all types of memory decline. The most significant deteriorations are in working memory, long-term memory, episodic memory, and source memory. Despite this fact, mental health exercises can slow cognitive decline. I will enjoy games such as crossword puzzles and sudoku. Late adults are also praised for their wisdom, or "expertise in the conduct and meaning of life." -
Late Adulthood: Social Emotional Development
As older adults become accepting of their past and present selves, self-esteem increases. Erikson believed the main struggle now is between integrity and despair. If I reflect on my life and accept the outcome happily, I will feel integrity. But, if I look back and feel regret or bitterness, I will experience ego despair. As a late adult I will also value emotional well-being in my relationships and I will feel close and affectionate towards my grandchildren.
