The Early Adulthood Period - Research Paper Example

According to Levinson’s Stage theory, I am passing through the early adulthood period. This period, according to the theory, is from 17-45 years. Furthermore, there is another division inside the group; that is, the age 1-33 is called novice phase, and 33-45 is called culminating phase. The novice phase has further division into three stages; early adult transition, entering the adult world, and adult transition. In this case, I belong to early adult transition category. Presently, being a young adult, I enjoy excellent health, vigor, and physical functioning. Being a young member of the club, I am really active in its activities as I feel good strength, good coordination, good reaction time and sensations (sight, hearing, taster, smell, and touch). In addition, I feel excellent motor skills and great sex appeal. Also, I think it is important to be in a group and is utmost important for someone to be approved by the society to survive. At this stage, the two major challenges in life are to give up my adolescent way of thinking and face the adult world. To achieve this, I will have to terminate many of my existing relationships, concepts, friendships, and occupational relationships. However, my transition to the next stage of development means a lot of changes in intelligence, expertise, and the ability to learn. In addition, there will be physical difference too. As Araneta (2010) points out, it is natural that I will start redefining my relations including mentor relationship, love relationship, family relationship, and occupational relationship. As I move forward, I am going to reach Midlife where I will be more serious about life. At that stage, out, I will try to reduce the influence of the external world on my life, and will try to strike a balance between the needs of the society and the needs of self. Thus, most probably, I will withdraw from many of the activities of the club to give more importance to my personal life too (pp. 16-21). As I grow older, I have to expect a number of events that can change my life that will enhance my development. Some such events people normally face as they grow older are marriage, birth of children, promotion in jobs, and so on. As I go through these events, it is highly likely that I will withdraw from my activities that I was previously into. Or, at least, I will start questioning the purpose or usefulness of those activities. According to the theory of Loevinger ( as cited in Aiken), I am presently in the Conformist Stage. As I am at this stage, I give much importance to what others say when I take decisions. In other words, I find it utmost necessary to get the approval of my friends and others when I take decisions (pp. 112-115). As a result, I take care of everything I do from my looks, my dress, my words, and even the food I eat. At this stage, one feels it necessary to be a part of the society and be approved by it. In addition, at this age, people tend to see others as stereotypes. Also, this stage marked by the inability to identify others as unique individuals with their own specific interests and feelings. Everyone is considered as a part of the society and the most important thing at this stage is to conform to the expectations of the society. Admittedly, the most important factor that makes me an active member of the club is my fear of exclusion from the mainstream. According to Louw (p. 52), another specific characteristic of this particular stage is shame. This shame takes birth because at this stage, one thinks it is necessary to get the nod of society for each and everything they do. If something is done that may not be liked by the mainstream, one feels shame and in its extreme level, guilt. In addition, when I find my position secure in the society, being able to conform to the expectations of the society, I feel happy, and the slightest hint of getting rejected makes me feel sad. Soon, according to this theory, I will shift to the Self-aware stage. This stage will be marked by an increased awareness about the deeper issues of my life and that of others. Here will identify the fact that despite a group existence, everyone in the group has their own individual thoughts, feelings and existence. It will make me reflect on my own nature that is sometimes against the thinking of my own parents and friends, on issues ranging from God, morality, religion, mortality and so on. Though it may not be that easy to find a satisfactory answer, I will think of these questions and ambiguities. Anyway, I will be able to appreciate the fact that others too have feelings and motives which are often unique and different from the ones that are seen in films and books. In addition, it is possible that I will realize that people do not always think in group; they have their own way of thinking as I have. Thus, uniqueness of human beings will be appreciated. It will be at this stage that I will look into the differences between ‘the real me’ and ‘the expected me’. This will make me prone to having conflicts with my peers and family. In addition, in this internal conflict, I will find many of the activities I presently engage in useless and meaningless. This can be better termed a rise in self-criticism. As a result of this rise in self-criticism, I will become used to checking the viewpoint of all the parties involved in every issue before deciding who is right and who is wrong. At this stage, my attention towards the exterior declines but I will start thinking more about my own personal development and the usefulness of my present club activities. As I further move ahead, I will enter into the Conscientious stage. At that stage, I will become more aware about my responsibilities, and the need for achieving long term goals and high ideals. Here, instead of the group-directed moral principles of my adolescent stage, I will have my own personally evaluated moral principles, and my behavior at every point will be self-educated. Thus, the feeling of shame at the Conformist stage will disappear as I find it more important to act according to the self-developed ideals than according to the peer-enforced rules. However, a necessary evil appears at this stage; guilt. This takes place not because of I violate the social norms, because I am unable to follow my own ideals which I am sure about. As I am able to better self-reflect at that stage, there will be a considerable rise in my conceptual complexity. At that stage, I will experience my own feelings, thoughts and motives in a more accurate and self-developed way and the resolution of these issues will come in my own unique way. Anyway, I will be increasingly aware about the uniqueness of each individual and hence, I will show more and more concern towards mutuality and empathy in relationships. Thereafter, I will move towards the Individualistic stage. At that particular stage, I will become more broadminded about relationships and will exhibit more respect for the autonomy of others. However, as I allow my friends and peers to be what they are, it can affect my relationships, though slightly. However, as I get broadminded, I will be able to understand the reasons behind the change. In addition, there will be a possible decline in intimacy. At this stage, I will be more aware about the inner conflicts and paradoxes related to almost every issue that affect my life. So, for every matter, I will have my own unique ideals and ways of expression. However, these inner conflicts are likely to remain unsolved throughout that stage. Soon, there will be the autonomous stage of life which will be marked by an increased awareness of my own and others’ autonomy. At this stage, I will find adopting my own unique way of expression in every issue a matter of happiness and satisfaction, and I will be able to see these independent paths of all a normal system. So, I will be able to redefine relationships as an interdependent system of mutual support. In addition, by this time, I will the used to the ambiguities of life, and as a part of this realization, there comes the understanding that conflicts of all kinds; both inner and interpersonal, are an inevitable part of life as people possess fluid and multifaceted nature. This understanding will enable me to face and cope with the conflicts of life with better understanding. Finally, this deep understanding of may own inner self will give me the ability to better articulate my own feelings. The next stage of my life will be the Integrated stage. At that point, my ego will develop wisdom too. This will make me more aware about individualistic ego and inner conflicts. This will enable me to reconcile with many of the inner conflicts which are unsolvable and those things in life which are unachievable. The same pattern is seen followed by Erikson in his Stages of Psychosocial Development. According to him Lerner (pp. 432-435), the stage of early adulthood is the psychosocial stage 6 that is marked as ‘Intimacy vs. Isolation’. According to him, this is the stage where people start exploring personal relationships. It is at this stage that people develop close, committed relationship with others. The young adult at this stage is in intimate relationships. So, I have my love life, friends, and work connections. At this stage, the most important things are love and affiliation. However, the possible outcomes of the crisis at this stage are promiscuity and exclusivity. The next stage is termed ‘Generativity vs. Stagnation’ (Lerner). At this stage, I will be focusing more on my career and family. I will develop the feeling that being active in the society and in the family, I am contributing to the world. The possible outcomes of the crises at this stage are overextension and rejectivity. The last stage is ‘Psychosocial stage 8’ that is marked as ‘Integrity vs. Despair. As I reach this stage, I will feel a sense of integrity. This will allow me to look back to my own life with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Here, I will possess a deep understanding of the meaning and purpose of life. In addition, ‘I will have achieved what I want to’ and will have got well used to the remaining ambiguities (Erikson’s psychosocial development theory). However, it is very evident that all people do not experience these stages in the same way. Though this is normal course of development, variation in personality is followed by variation in achievement. As I am not a good ‘go-getter’, I am likely to develop poor relationships which are less committed. So, I am more likely to face emotional isolation, loneliness, and depression in the early adulthood stage. As I interact less with the people in the club, I have less social connections, which, as I grow older, will make me feel unproductive and uninvolved in the world. As I reach the last stage of ‘Integrity vs. Despair’ stage, I am prone to fall into despair as my feeling of integrity and accomplishment are based on my achievements in the previous stages of life. Presently, according to Erickson’s stages of cognitive development, I fall in the Formal Operational Stage. This stage is characterized by the development of the ability to think about abstract concepts. In addition, there will be the development of skills such as logical thought, deductive reasoning, and systematic planning. However, one has to remember the fact that ones biography is likely to deviate considerably from the standard norms. Further studies prove that the different stages can be missed out and the different life events which are associated with age and cohort, and are accidental will have a considerable degree of influence on development. In total, my life will experience a considerable shift in attitude, aims, means, and outlook. The stages ahead will have me look more into my own inner self for answers of social phenomenon instead of blindly following it. In addition, I will find satisfaction from my own self-developed values and principles instead of the norms of cohort. However, the unexpected events that will appear from time to time will have an impact on my development. References Araneta, M. (2010). Inspiring Lives: Personal stories of sustained transformation. US: Xlibris Corporation. Aiken, L. R. (1998). Human development in adulthood. US: Springer. Erikson’s psychosocial development theory. The eight stages of human development. Retrieved from http://www.businessballs.com/erik_erikson_psychosocial_theory.htm Louw, D.A. (1998). Human Development. Cape Town: Pearson South Africa. Lerner, R. M. (2002). Concepts and Theories of Human Development. US; Routledge. Read More