1. Preschool (3 - 6)
1.1. Physical
1.1.1. Preschoolers steadily and rapidly grow and advance in physical ability. Their bodies become less rounded and more muscular. They tend to eat less than during early childhood and can generally regulate food intake appropriately when a variety of healthful foods are available. Preschoolers are quite healthy and usually only succumb to minor illnesses; accidents and environmental hazards are the greatest threats in this period. Brain growth is rapid and myelination of axons increases the efficiency of neural communication. The brain also develops lateralization as the two hemispheres adopt specialized tasks. Preschoolers develop a preference for handedness. Boys’ and girls’ gross motor skills usually diverge, with boys tending towards tasks that require strength while girls tend towards tasks that require coordination. Children learn how to throw and catch balls, run, use forks and spoons, and tie shoelaces
1.2. Cognitive
1.2.1. According to Piaget, the preoperational stage introduces the development of symbolic function as well as intuitive thought. In this stage, children tend towards egocentric thought and centration. Vygotsky believed that children’s cognitive development was significantly influenced by culture and society, and he developed the concepts of the zone of proximal development and scaffolding. Piaget viewed children as independent when developing views of the world, whereas Vygotsky felt culture and society were primary influences. Preschoolers rapidly increase their linguistic ability, develop an improved sense of grammar, and shift gradually from private to social speech. Television can influence aggressive behavior tendencies if such behavior is viewed. Preschool educational programs can be beneficial and can prepare children for effective learning during later schooling.
1.3. Social/Emotional
1.3.1. According to Erikson, preschoolers enter the initiative-versus-guilt psychosocial stage, during which they develop self-concepts, beliefs about themselves derived from self perceptions, their parents’ behaviors, and society. According to Freud, preschoolers go through the phallic psychosexual stage. Racial, ethnic, and gender awareness begin to appear in this period. Preschoolers develop friendships based on personal characteristics, trust, and shared interests. Their forms of play become more sophisticated, interactive, and cooperative over time, relying more on social skills. The different parenting styles include authoritarian, permissive, authoritative, and uninvolved, and each are associated with different effects on children, authoritative usually leading to the best results. According to Piaget, preschoolers are in the heteronomous moral development stage, during which rules are seen as invariant and unchangeable. Social learning approaches emphasize reinforcement for moral actions and the observation of models with high morality. Psychoanalytic theories focus on empathy and helping others to avoid guilt. Exposure to aggressive models can lead to increased aggression in preschoolers, which subsides as self regulation improves.
1.4. Personal Notes
1.4.1. I did not attend preschool and I don't remember much of anything before kindergarten. I did enjoy hanging out in our backyard garden, and I liked to run around and play with our family dogs. I was pretty healthy and full of life mentally and physically. My parents got divorced, but I still was able to see both parents regularly. My slightly younger brother and I would often hang out and play together. Kindergarten was pretty fun, and I made a lot of friends :)
2. Infancy and Early Childhood (Birth - 3)
2.1. Physical
2.1.1. The average newborn weighs about 7 pounds and is about 20 inches tall. Newborns are essentially helpless and are still developing at a rapid rate. By the age of 5 months weight is around 15 pounds (25 inches), at 12 months it’s around 22 pounds (30 inches), at 24 months it’s around 28 pounds (36 inches), and at 36 months it’s around 32 pounds (39 inches). The major principles of physical growth are the cephalocaudal and proximodistal principles, the principle of hierarchical integration, and the principle of the independence of systems. The nervous system develops billions of neurons and neuronal interconnections. Synaptic pruning reduces the numbers of both neurons and their interconnections. Behaviors are integrated by developing repetitive rhythms. Most of the initial time is spent sleeping, eventually entering into states of wakefulness and sleep. Reflexes exist, which are genetically determined physical behaviors. Gross motor skills that are developed include rolling over, sitting, and walking and these are followed by fine motor skills, such as grasping. Nutrition heavily influences physical development, and proper nutrition is required to properly develop; breast feeding is encouraged during infancy, and solid foods are more emphasized in toddlerhood. Sensory abilities are well developed, and capable perceptions include depth and motion, colors and patterns, distinct sounds, pain and touch, and the specific sound and scent of mothers. The multimodal approach to perception describes how sensual perceptions are integrated and coordinated.
2.2. Cognitive
2.2.1. Piaget’s theory of human cognitive development covers cognitive development from birth to adolescence. The sensorimotor stage (from birth to about age 2) involves a gradual progression through simple reflexes, single coordinated activities, interest in the outside world, purposeful combinations of activities, manipulation of actions to produce desired outcomes, and symbolic thought. Cognitive growth involves increasing sophistication of encoding, storage, and retrieval of information. Early memory capabilities are evident, although our understanding of their duration and accuracy is unclear. Infants understand many adult utterances and engage in prelinguistic communication. Children utter their first words between 10 and 14 months and rapidly increase vocabulary from then on, particularly during a spurt near 18 months. Learning theorists believe that basic learning processes account for language development, whereas nativists like Noam Chomsky believe humans have an innate language capacity, and interactionists suggest language is a consequence of both environmental and innate factors. Infant-directed speech helps children due to the style of speech, which consists of short and simple sentences.
2.3. Social/Emotional
2.3.1. Infants appear to express and to experience emotions, which broaden in range and increase in complexity. Infants develop the ability to decode nonverbal facial and vocal expressions of others. They develop self-awareness after about 12 months and begin to develop a theory of the mind by 24 months. Attachment is critical during infancy and early childhood. This positive emotional bond between children and a caregiver can significantly affect relationship and social development throughout childhood and even as an adult. Infants and caregivers will mutually adjust to each other’s interactions, known as reciprocal socialization. Infants react differently to other children compared to inanimate objects, reacting positively to peers as they develop their social skills. According to Erikson, during infancy individuals go through the trust-versus-mistrust stage of psychosocial development, during which infants develop a basic sense of trust or mistrust in their caregivers. If successful, infants develop trust that forms the basis for a sense of identity. Following this stage is the autonomy-versus-shame-and-guilt stage, which if successful will develop self-sufficiency in toddlers. According to Freud, infants go through the oral psychosexual phase, and toddlers go through the anal phase. Unique temperaments emerge, which encompass characteristic levels of arousal and emotionality. Gender differences become more pronounced as infants and children age. Childcare away from home can significantly affect social development.
2.4. Personal Notes
2.4.1. I was born in Hanover, NH at 3:15 am, kicking and screaming. I was plump, had big bright green eyes, and soon developed blonde-brown hair. I was not particularly active or rambunctious, and I loved my rabbit fur blankets. I developed physically very appropriately, which I attribute to breastfeeding and cloth diapers. I was the 3rd child born in our family and was joined by two other siblings in the next few years. I learned later that both my parents were psychologically troubled, and I formed what appeared to be an anxious and avoidant attachment.
3. Middle Childhood (6 - 12)
3.1. Physical
3.1.1. Height and weight increase gradually but steadily and are influenced by genetic, social, and nutritional factors. Muscles develop, and baby fat is lost. Proper nutrition promotes healthy physical, social, and cognitive development. Gross and fine motor skills continue to improve. Coordination and manipulation skills advance to near those of adults. Gross motor skills include biking, swimming, skating, and ball handling, and fine motor skills include writing, typing, and fastening buttons. Threats to safety include physical accidents due to increased activity as well as those related to surfing the internet. Many children have limitations to vision, hearing, and speech that can impact social relationships and school performance.
3.2. Cognitive
3.2.1. According to Piaget, school-aged children are in the concrete operational stage, characterized by increased use of logic. The concept of conservation is understood. Children improve their memory ability and develop metamemory. They can take multiple perspectives into account. Vocabulary, syntax, and pragmatics improve. Metalinguistic awareness develops and language is used for self-monitoring. Reading, speaking, listening, writing, reasoning, and mathematical skills are developed during school. However, learning disabilities can arise and are taken into account when teaching children with them. ADHD can also pose problems during structured and crowded school settings.
3.3. Social/Emotional
3.3.1. A greater sense of self awareness develops along with understanding of unique personal characteristics. According to Erikson, children enter the industry-versus-inferiority stage, during which they compare their self-worth to peers by recognizing differences in characteristic abilities. They use social comparison to judge status, use psychological self-concepts, and develop internal standards of self worth. According to Kohlberg, morality moves from a focus on rewards and punishments to a focus on social conventions and rules and then on a sense of universal moral principles. According to Gilligan, girls follow a different moral progression than boys. Boys and girls engage increasingly in same-sex friendships, with boys tending toward groups and girls tending toward pairings with similar status. Understanding of friendship changes from an emphasis on shared interests to consideration of personal traits, then to intimacy and loyalty. Social problem-solving and information processing can improve interpersonal skills and increase popularity.
3.4. Personal Notes
3.4.1. I was one of the more active kids in my school. Gym class and recess were my favorite times of the day, and I played organized sports year round. I developed a proficiency in math and logical approaches to problem-solving. I hated reading, and I showed signs of ADHD but did not ever get a diagnosis. I found it hard to focus on school work naturally, but I really liked activity so I gravitated towards sports and video games. I regularly hung out with a group of about half a dozen friends who also played sports, which we played regularly
4. Adolescence (12 - 20)
4.1. Physical
4.1.1. Adolescence is the time period when children enter puberty and experience rapid physical growth including that related to sexual function. Girls and boys begin the adolescent growth spurt around ages 10 and 12, respectively, entering puberty around ages 11 and 13, respectively. Primary and secondary sexual characteristics develop, and girls develop breasts while voice deepens in boys. Proper nutrition is essential to fuel the rapid physical growth, and various environmental influences can lead to obesity or eating disorders. Adolescents often experiment with alcohol and illegal drugs to deal with stress or fit in with peers. Many adolescents contract STDs before graduating high school, partly due to ignoring safe sex practices.
4.2. Cognitive
4.2.1. According to Piaget, adolescents enter the formal operations stage, which is characterized by abstract reasoning and experimental, logical and abstract approaches to problems. Thought processes are more relative than absolute; verbal mathematical and special skills improve. Adolescents think hypothetically, divide their attention and monitor thought through metacognition. They are egocentric and feel they are always being observed and evaluated by their peers or an imaginary audience. They often develop personal fables about their uniqueness as well as a sense of invulnerability that encourages risky behavior. Academic performance is influenced by gender, socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity. The prevalence of technology and computers has influenced the content of what is learned, the attention span and ability to learn, and the strategies that are taken to learn.
4.3. Social/Emotional
4.3.1. Self-concept during adolescence becomes more organized, broad, and abstract, taking into account others’ perspectives. According to Erikson, adolescents enter the identity-versus-role-confusion stage, during which they attempt to discover who they are and define their identity. Social comparison and acceptance are very influential and can lead adolescents to succumb to peer pressure and destructive behavior. They often experiment socially and try on different “hats” to experience potential identities and social groups. Online activity, attire, and interests can be heavily influenced by various social pressures. Adolescents also desire autonomy, which can lead to conflict between them and other family members. Adolescents often experience depression, which increases the risk of suicide. Social segregation based on race, socioeconomic status, and academics develops. Sexuality becomes important and influential in forming identity as dating begins, and it is often a dominating influence. Dating and sex introduce adolescents to intimacy, romance, and commitment.
4.4. Personal Notes
4.4.1. Adolescence for me was marked by familial conflict. For a variety of reasons, I became less sociable, started indulging in video games, and gained quite a bit of weight; I found a certain degree of comfort in my grandmother's desserts (cinnamon buns were my favorite). During puberty I grew to a slightly taller-than-average height, but I didn't gain much muscle growth. I was still coordinated and enjoyed playing sports, but I was quickly surpassed athletically. I still had a few friends, but didn't really hang out with them outside of school. Poor me. I also began to focus primarily on school and video games, kind of a strange combination. I developed some strategies to effectively focus on school, and it kind of became my goal to dominate high school academically at the expense of a social life, to spite my mother, whom I really didn't get along with. I succeeded.
5. Early Adulthood (20 - 40)
5.1. Physical
5.1.1. Physical characteristics and abilities including strength, skeletal and bone development, senses, coordination, and reaction time peak in the 20’s, although the brain continues to grow. In Western societies obesity has become increasingly prevalent and problematic. Individuals with physical disabilities face physical challenges as well as psychological and social challenges. Stress due to societal pressures and constant negative thought can significantly affect health and contribute to illness. Using effective relaxation and problem-solving strategies can reduce stress and the physical deterioration it promotes. Violence is a significant risk in early adulthood, although in the mid-30’s, disease replaces accidents as the leading cause of death.
5.2. Cognitive
5.2.1. Early adulthood is characterized by postformal thought, characterized by interpretive, subjective and realistic thinking. As life experience accumulates, thought becomes more flexible, subjective, and practical. According to Schaie, people pass through five information usage stages: acquisitive, achieving, responsible, executive, and reintegrative. Long term goals are developed related to career, family, and society. Higher education is started and completed, which can greatly improve intelligence and problem solving ability. Modern views of intelligence also encompass practical and emotional intelligence. Creativity peaks during early adulthood, and they can approach old problems with new perspectives. Major life events can provide opportunities for growth and cause adults to rethink their views of the world.
5.3. Social/Emotional
5.3.1. According to Erikson, young adults enter the intimacy-versus-isolation stage, which is characterized by the development of intimate relationships and partnerships with others. Early attachment and emotional development throughout childhood will influence adult relationships. Self identity is largely based on family status and career choice. Marriage and starting a family can provide immense satisfaction and fulfillment, which overshadow possible reduced feelings of happiness and increased stress that life events present. There are different types of love, and Sternberg developed a theory composing three component spectra: intimacy, passion, and commitment, proposing that true and long lasting love requires a high degree of all three, the levels of which change over time. Successful marriages involve visible affection and effective communication without emphasizing negativity. There is a sense of interdependence with shared interests and agreement on role distribution. First-year students may experience first-year adjustment reaction, characterized by psychological symptoms including loneliness, anxiety, and depression. According to Vaillant, young adults reach a period of career consolidation where they focus on their careers. Ginzberg proposes a three-stage period of career development, and Holland describes how personality affects career decisions. The nature of a career or job, the degree of status it provides, the level of value to others it provides, and the intellectually stimulation it offers will contribute to its satisfaction.
5.4. Personal Notes
5.4.1. I discovered my two passions in life: nutrition and distance running. In addition to school, I began focusing pretty much all my attention on these two subject, at the expense of my social life. I entered college six years ago and have been continually learning a ton every year. More recently I have addressed a bunch of psychological shit I accumulated throughout childhood and adolescence, and it feels incredibly freeing to move on from all that crap. I feel like I missed the previous stage of social development, which is not easily reproduced at age 24 in college, but still doable. I competed for 4 years in NCAA cross country and track & field, and I'm pretty well coordinated, fit and healthy. I feel I have above average cognitive ability, primarily in "left-brained" skills like problem solving, logic, organizing knowledge, and practical application. I wish I could write more easily and with more elegant prose. For the remainder of this stage, I plan on becoming a dietitian or a clinician so I can focus on helping others with my vast accumulation of nutrition knowledge (nutrition biochemistry is amazingly complicated, yet incredibly fun for me to learn and apply). I'm not focused on prestige in my career, and I don't suspect I will become caught up in all the material distractions out there, but we'll see.
6. Middle Adulthood (40 - 65)
6.1. Physical
6.1.1. Middle adulthood is marked by noticeable physical changes including appearance and abilities. Vision and hearing declines, height reaches a peak and begins to gradually decline. Bone mass and density gradually declines. Generally, middle adulthood is a period of good health, but chronic diseases may begin to develop, including arthritis, diabetes, CVD, and cancer. Weight may increase and strength decreases, although proper nutrition and exercise can dramatically prolong the length of peak physical wellness. Reaction time slows, but performance in complex tasks generally remains unchanged due to increased abilities related to experience. Women experience menopause and men experience male climacteric, which brings gradual changes in reproductive systems.
6.2. Cognitive
6.2.1. Cognitive abilities remain high during middle adulthood as they accumulate more knowledge, experience and wisdom. There may gradual loss in cognitive ability in certain areas like long-term memory retrieval, but overall competence remains high. Intelligence appears to be divided into components, some of which decline while others remain steady or may even improve. Expertise in a particular career or interest area usually develops as experience increases. Memory may decline, although it is believed that inefficient long-term memory retrieval may really be inefficient storage.
6.3. Social/Emotional
6.3.1. Usually at some point in middle adulthood individuals have a realization that their physical peak has passed and death is approaching. This may not be at all dramatic, but it may cause adults to reevaluate their priorities in life and shift their focus from their goals of young adulthood to an increased emphasis on relationships and contribution. Career views shift from goal-oriented ambitions to inner satisfaction, and career changes are common. Personality traits are generally stable over time and adults may find increased tranquility and decide to spend more time on their hobbies. According to Erikson, adults go through the generativity-versus-stagnation stage, during which they begin to focus more on others, future generations, and how they can contribute and make a difference in their world rather than remaining focused primarily on themselves. This usually begins with an emphasis on any children they may have, who are approaching or may have already reached the time to move out. Following a dip in marital satisfaction during childrearing, satisfaction usually improves and remains high during middle adulthood, incurring a new level of commitment. Successful marriages usually are based on friendship; they believe they are each other’s best friend. Partners feel the other is interesting and that they share each other’s values and support each other’s goals. Divorce is common, but in some cases it leads to greater satisfaction if they marry a more appropriate partner later on. After menopause and freed from the potential of new children, feelings of sexuality change, and couples can enjoy a new level of intimacy and pleasure.
6.4. Personal Notes
6.4.1. I recently read a book on minimalism, and it emphasized five areas of life that make it fulfilling: health, relationships, passions, growth, and contribution. I love this idea and I am committed to continually evaluate my life to make sure I am focusing on what truly matters; in my case according to this model I feel I need to work on relationships and contribution. From my history of life without much social involvement, I recognize how important relationships are to emotional well being. I have focused on developing effective communication and interpersonal skills (albeit from an analytic approach), so I feel I will be able to form durable relationship and help others do the same. I really enjoy my state of health since discovering my passion in nutrition and I love to improve myself in all areas including cognition and behavior habits, so I feel I will remain physically and mentally healthy during this period. I practice meditation in addition to regular exercise because I feel managing stress is of equal importance to sound nutrition when considering health.
7. Late Adulthood (65 - 100)
7.1. Physical
7.1.1. Late adulthood is marred by wrinkles and gray and thinning hair. Height and bone density declines. Muscles weaken and the skeleton becomes more fragile. The brain shrinks, and the heart pumps less blood throughout the body. Reactions slow, and sensory acuity diminishes. Cataracts and glaucoma may affect the eyes while hearing loss is common. Chronic health diseases are common, particularly CVD, arthritis and cancer. Mental disorders may arise, including depression and Alzheimer’s disease. Proper diet, exercise, and low stress can promote wellness during late adulthood, and sexuality can continue throughout the life span.
7.2. Cognitive
7.2.1. Cognitive declines are usually marginal until aboutthe 80’s. Cognitive abilities can be maintained through continual stimulation in such forms as intellectual pursuits, ongoing education, problem solving, and fun variety. Short-term memory and ability to remember specific events may decline while other types of memory may be unaffected. Fluid intelligence declines with age, but crystallized intelligence remains steady and may even improve with age. Diseases such as dementia can develop that affect the mind and cognitive ability, but normally the major influences on cognitive decline include environmental factors, information processing declines, biological factors, and internal motivation.
7.3. Social/Emotional
7.3.1. According to Erikson, older adults enter the ego-integrity-versus-despair stage, during which they go over their life accomplishments to develop a feeling of integrity if consider their life successful and fulfilling. Alternatively, unfulfilled lives can lead to dissatisfaction, despair, depression and hopelessness. Social settings change as they may not be able to live and support themselves without assistance any longer. Disengagement theory suggests that elders gradually withdraw from the world, whereas activity theory suggests that the happiest elders continue to be engaged with the world. Continuity theory combines the two and offers a useful approach to successful aging. A successful model for aging suggests combining selective optimization with compensation. Core personality traits remain consistent, and slight changes may occur. Retirement and life-review can lead to adjustments in self-concept and self-esteem. Ongoing pursuits during retirement including cultivating and maintaining relationships can lead to satisfaction. Monetary stress, physical incompetence, changes in living arrangements, and technological changes can bring about stress, and societal disregard for the elderly can lead to negative emotional wellness. Peck focuses on three tasks during ate adulthood, Levinson focuses on potential liberation and self-regard, and Neugarten focuses on coping strategies of aging. Family relationships are often very important to those of late adulthood, including those of siblings, children, grandchildren, and intimate friends, all of which provide valuable social support.
7.4. Personal Notes
7.4.1. Who knows what the world will be like in 40 to 50 years. Hopefully nothing catastrophic has happened, even though I'm kind of baking on it happening. I feel that physically and mentally I will be as youthful as many people half my age. Hopefully I will have had a successful family and still have a great relationship with my wife (or lifelong girlfriend). I hope to be able to contribute to the world, I suspect using my knowledge and experience with health and nutrition in addition to psychological issues during childhood. I will continue to emphasize what truly matters in life and will try to share this with others.
8. Death & Dying (100th birthday)
8.1. Physical
8.1.1. Physical deterioration culminates with death. Functional death is characterized by a cessation of heart beating and breathing, while brain death is characterized by a lack of brain activity. The definition of death has changed due to medical advances allowing resuscitation of people who would have previously been considered dead. Some characterize death as a loss of ability to think, reason, or feel, thus losing the ability to live as a conventional human would. Death can occur at any point throughout the lifespan due to a variety of factors. Hopefully, death occurs in a relatively painless manner after a fulfilling life of 100 years. Death in old age may result from chronic disease or simply an inability by the body to continue operation.
8.2. Cognitive
8.2.1. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross devised five steps related to attitude of dying: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, but these may not be universal. Some individuals create living wills and may choose to avoid an excessively prolonged dying process. In some cultures euthanasia and assisted-suicide are allowed when the individual concludes that s/he no longer wants to live. Issues surrounding dying are highly controversial because it may not evident whether morality extends towards how we should allow others to deal with their own death. Most people in the United States die in hospitals, but increasingly folks are choosing home or hospice care during the end of their lives.
8.3. Social/Emotional
8.3.1. Following a death it is routine to hold a ceremony to celebrate and/or mourn the loss of the individual. If the death is expected, as is often the case in late adulthood, then there may be less grief and sadness and more of a recollection and celebration of a complete and fulfilling life. Funerals help people acknowledge the death of loved ones (bereavement), recognize their own mortality, and allow them to move on with their lives. Grief refers to the emotional response to a death, and can be variable in people. In many cases there is a progression of denial, sorrow, and accommodation or acceptance. Different cultures have different perspectives on death, what happens to the soul after death, and how we should treat death. In the U.S. death is viewed as being undesirable, which is probably rooted in evolutionary biology, and it is often avoided intensely. I suspect that when I’m 100 years old I will have achieved enough in my life and contributed enough to others to consider my passing as appropriate and necessary to keep the life cycle continuing.
8.4. Personal Notes
8.4.1. My view on death I suspect may be different than others. As someone who has spent a great deal of time contemplating the significance of my own death, I feel like even though I am currently only 24, I have already reevaluated my life in a manner that has refocused my attention more on what truly matters, so by the time I'm 100 I'm sure I will have lived a fulfilling life. I've often said that my ideal death would be something like heart failure immediately following me breaking the world record in the marathon, but if I were to live to 100, I think I would want to die either while doing something I love, or the typical peacefully in my sleep. Above all else, I do not want to prolong the dying process because it really benefits nobody. It wastes resources and people's time, and I shouldn't have anything significant left to do, and I'm going to die eventually anyways. I already feel at peace over the idea that my death is required for the cycle of life to continue, so I will approach death as the culmination of a fantastic life, hopefully one that is worth celebrating.