Psychology of The Individual

Question: Discuss about the Psychology of The Individual. Answer: Developmental Psychology Adolescence Adolescence is the time in the life of a person when many physical changes start to happen along with some crucial psychological changes, in terms of interpersonal, emotional, social and cognitive psychological developments (Hoffnung et al., 2013). The growing is influenced by the external factors like religion, culture, environment, media and school. Adolescence is marked by three situations of the life stages that include physical, cognitive with emotional and social development. Physical development starts with the beginning of the adolescence and radical changes appear known as growth spurt. Secondary sexual characteristics begin to appear and affect the psychology of the individual regarding his self-realization and development of relationships. With the appearance of the physical signs of development, they start considering themselves as adults and modify their activities and appearances accordingly (Haynie Piquero, 2006). During this period of my life, I experienced several changes as I proceeded towards a sense of independence with a developing physique. I started to develop new interests with occasional moody attitude. Cognitive development is marked by the formation of an intellectual growth spurt and the adolescent becomes capable of thinking about his surroundings and the world and faces the challenges of life more firmly. Piaget described this stage as the stage of formal operations where the process of thought is based on reasoning and the evaluation of the abstract proportions and the alternative outcomes respectively (Hamilton et al., 2014). The level of reasoning is enhanced in this stage that helps the individuals to deal with the worldly aspects. During this stage of my life, my career interests started to increase and my working ability was increased. I got interested in the near future along with the present. Emotional and social development is marked with the sexual and gender development and this becomes the center of concern along with the biological changes. Behavior that is gender appropriate is exhibited and interactions of mixed genders tend to affect the development of the individual. Peers and parents deliver the messages of unacceptable and acceptable behavior (Oberle et al., 2010). This stage of my life was marked by the development of sexual attractiveness concerns and feelings of passion and love. Opinions of parents were ignored and friends became important. My understanding of this stage is that an individual steps into the stage of discovery with adolescence, discovering the world around him and discovering himself with the curiosity and reasoning of an explorer. Older Adulthood Older adulthood is the stage of life where the individual tries to find the satisfaction and meaning of life rather than becoming disillusioned and bitter. The conflict between despair versus integrity is resolved and is marked with or without the physical and mental deterioration (Ebner, Freund Baltes, 2006). Older adulthood is marked by three situations of the life stages that include physical, cognitive with emotional and social development. Physical development in this stage includes the changes in the elasticity of the skin, changes in posture and hair thinning. There are also numerous internal changes that take place in the various organ systems in this stage (Steger, Oishi Kashdan, 2009). My perception for this stage of life is that the psychology of the individual is affected with aging. Interaction and communication become difficult with gradual deficits in the process of hearing and the physical activities are curtailed with the decreased sense of competence. The individual start to feel themselves as fulfilled in the journey of life. Cognitive development is marked by the decline in the intellectual capacity of the individual with increasing age. This is marked by reduction in performance of the tasks that are dependent on processing speeds and reaction time. However, the judgments that are based on experience get refined. My perception of this stage is that although the cognitive skills are diminished with aging, the training process of imaginative technique can improve the performance and reaction time of the individuals. Their experience can play a vital role in the adaptation of the training techniques (Salthouse, 2016). Emotional and social development is another stage of development for the older adults according to the theorists Levinson with Erikson and Erikson. The individual starts reminiscing about his past and reviews their achievements in life, regarding goals and challenges (Riediger Freund, 2008). Relationships tend to develop at retired age and successful aging comes with adaptability. Married life becomes more satisfying and the declines with losses become resilient. My perception of this stage is that individuals in this stage become more pragmatic with reasoning and they tend to enjoy their leisure and social activities more, as they approach the end of their lives. My understanding of this stage is that successful aging begins with social support from friends and family members, as they tend to provide better mental and physical health in the last years of life. References Ebner, N. C., Freund, A. M., Baltes, P. B. (2006). Developmental changes in personal goal orientation from young to late adulthood: From striving for gains to maintenance and prevention of losses.Psychology and Aging,21(4), 664-678. doi:10.1037/0882-7974.21.4.664 Hamilton, J. L., Stange, J. P., Kleiman, E. M., Hamlat, E. J., Abramson, L. Y., Alloy, L. B. (2014). Cognitive vulnerabilities amplify the effect of early pubertal timing on interpersonal stress generation during adolescence.Journal of Youth and Adolescence,43(5), 824-833. doi:10.1007/s10964-013-0015-5 Haynie, D. L., Piquero, A. R. (2006). Pubertal development and physical victimization in adolescence.Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency,43(1), 3-35. doi:10.1177/0022427805280069 Hoffnung, M., Hoffnung, R. J., Seifert, K. L., Burton-Smith, R., Hine, A., Ward, L., ... Swabey, K. J. (2013). Lifespan Development: A chronological approach. Oberle, E., Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Thomson, K. C. (2010). Understanding the link between social and emotional well-being and peer relations in early adolescence: Gender-specific predictors of peer acceptance.Journal of Youth and Adolescence,39(11), 1330-1342. doi:10.1007/s10964-009-9486-9 Riediger, M., Freund, A. M. (2008). Me against myself: Motivational conflicts and emotional development in adulthood.Psychology and Aging,23(3), 479-494. doi:10.1037/a0013302 Salthouse, T. A. (2016). Continuity of cognitive change across adulthood.Psychonomic Bulletin Review,23(3), 932-939. doi:10.3758/s13423-015-0910-8 Steger, M. F., Oishi, S., Kashdan, T. B. (2009). Meaning in life across the life span: Levels and correlates of meaning in life from emerging adulthood to older adulthood.The Journal of Positive Psychology,4(1), 43-52. doi:10.1080/17439760802303127