Development during Middle Age - Essay Example

Development during Middle Age - Interview/Essay Middle age, defined as the period between young adulthood and old age, shows visible signs of ageing like decline of physical fitness which results in changes on socio-emotional, physical, and cognitive development of an average individual. Milica Zarkovic Bookman defines Middle age as the period between 40 and 60 years (Bookman, 2000, p. 7).The theories of Erikson, Vaillant, Levinson, and Peck deal with the foretold developments during Middle Age. Besides, theories of these psychologists, i.e. the stage theories deal with the psychological development of middle aged human beings. As middle age is considered as the age of wisdom, emotional stability and social acceptance of an individual, the theories possess ample importance on human psychology and physiology. Here, attempt is to assess the validity of foretold theories by analyzing the findings related to an interview with two middle aged individuals. As it is not fair to disclose the identity of interviewees who co-operated with the interview, imaginary names and professions are used. The first person is George Thomas, my friend, a doctor and the second person is John Mackenzie, my relative, a professor in English Language & Literature. Louise Simmers makes clear that middle age shows emotional change and it may be either a period of satisfaction or crisis (Simmers, 2003, p. 197). Related to the theories of Erikson, Vaillant, Levinson, and Peck, which deals with socio-emotional, physical, and cognitive development of middle-aged people, a questionnaire (see appendix-1) was prepared including fifteen questions that can be answered as yes /no. Then I informed them that they do have the right to refuse to answer any question posed to them. This helped the respondents to have a clear idea about the aim of the interview. The following part deals with the data manipulation and findings derived from the foretold interview. Data manipulation & Findings According to Erikson, there exist a conflict between generativity and stagnation among the middle aged individuals. Neil J. Smelser & Erik H. Erikson concludes that: “Speaking of middle age, Erikson describes even generativity in terms of ego.” (Smelser & Erikson, 1980, p. 161)Erikson, deals with problems of middle aged people, and describes generativity by relating it to ego. The response to the first question proves that both the respondents are generative in their career but feel stagnant in their family life. Bernice Levin Neugarten reflects that middle aged people possess different perceptions, related to their male/female role in family (Neugarten, 1968, p. 4). Again, Erickson comments on individual identity as closely related to one’s social role and commitment. The response to the second question proves that both the respondents are satisfied with their social identity. Ruth F. Craven & Constance J. Hirnle points out that middle age is the stage of social responsibility of an individual (Craven & Hirnle, 2008, p.250). Erickson makes clear that stagnation leads to physical and psychological invalidism. The response to the third question proves that both the respondents feel physically and psychologically invalid. According to Peck, there exist constant conflict between mental flexibility and mental rigidity, socializing and sexualizing human relationships, wisdom and physical power in one’s middle age. The response to the fourth question proves that acquired wisdom is enough to make up physical decline in one’s middle age. Susan Bacorn Bastable reflects that physical changes during middle age badly affect an individual by devaluing his/her self image (Bastable, 2007, p.178).The response to the fifth question proves that middle aged people value their friendship than sexual relation. For the sixth question, response was that past experiences helped them to acquire problem solving capacity. Alan Stoudemire points out that middle aged people are ready to adapt ageing as a natural process (Stoudemire, 1998, p. 244). According to Vaillant; there exists a constant conflict between introspection and transition among the middle aged population. The answer to the seventh question confirms that middle age is the age of deep introspection. Again, answering the eighth, ninth and tenth questions, the respondents agreed that they used to reassess their past, and are so adjusted to their life, are happy with it, and feel that midlife transitions create a little bit stress in their life. But, Hazel B. M. Heath, Patricia Ann Potter, & Anne Griffin Perry reflect that middle age shows fewer changes in cognitive power of an individual (Heath et al, 1995, p. 139). According to Levison, the middle age does have its own unique changes in life structure of an individual. Elizabeth Willems points out that, Daniel Levinson, who formulated stage theory, links human development to chronological age of an individual (Willems, 1990, p.18). The respondents agreed that they have the habit of declining decisions but were able to develop a realistic view of their self. Answering the next question, one of the respondents, who is a doctor, pointed out that he wish to retreat a comfortable life and the other respondent who is a Lecturer pointed out that he does not like to retreat to a comfortable life. Richard T. Knowles & George F. McLean points out that, middle age, related to individual difference, can be an age of productivity or stagnation (Knowles & McLean, 1992, p. 299). The answer to the next question- whether they are overly-organized and busy, revealed the character of the respondents and it proves that the first person was of stagnant character and the other with generative character. Allen Newell, David Steier, & Tom Michael Mitchell points out that: “Performance in reasoning tasks typically shows consistent decline with age.”(Newell et al, 1996, p. 165) It is evident that reasoning skill shows decline with age and it gradually affects performance. Answering the final question, both the respondents revealed that they wish to question the essence/aim of their own life. From the findings, it is apparent that the responses show positive result to the socio-emotional, physical, and cognitive development which is the criteria to measure the development stages formulated by Erikson, Vaillant, Levinson, and Peck. The second respondent is a little bit close to the exact development visualized by these theoreticians. The first respondent is not so positive about life in middle age and he wish to be idle. Malcolm Lewis Johnson, Vern L. Bengtson, Peter G. Coleman, and T. B. L. Kirkwood reflect that one’s status in the family influence one to stick on to the family or not to. (Johnson et al, 2005, p. 432) Besides, beyond the scope of these theories, one’s character and outlook of life molds individuality. Before summing up, it is important to point out that the change in life style related to the development in science and technology badly affects the middle aged people and they fear that they will be forced to suffer hardships in their old age, which is not so far from middle age. But middle age helps an individual to assess one’s own life, to acquire maturity, change in relationships etc. Besides, the health problems related to ageing badly affect the mentality towards life. The manipulation of collected data prove that individual difference decide the success and failure in one’s life. Besides, middle age is a transitional period between adult hood and old age and the theory formulated by Erikson, Vaillant, Levinson, and Peck helps a middle aged individual to assess his self and to take effective measures for further development in future life. So it is evident that middle age is a critical period in one’s life, an age of maturity, age of responsibilities towards one’s self, family and society. References Bookman, M. Z. (2000). The third career: revisiting the home vs. work choice in middle age. Greenwood Publishing Group. Bastable, S. B. (2007). Nurse as educator: principles of teaching and learning for nursing practice. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Craven, R. F., & Hirnle, C. J. (2008). Fundamentals of nursing: human health and function. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Heath et al. (1995). Potter and Perry's Foundations in Nursing Theory and Practice. Elsevier Health Sciences. Knowles, R. T., & McLean, G. F. (1992). Psychological foundations of moral education and character development: an integrated theory of moral development. CRVP. Neugarten, B. L. (1968). Middle age and aging: a reader in social psychology. University of Chicago Press. Newell et al. (1996). Mind matters: a tribute to Allen Newell. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Simmers, L. (2003). Diversified Health Occupations. Cengage Learning. Stoudemire, A. (1998). Human behavior: an introduction for medical students. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Smelser, N. J., & Erikson, E. H. (1980). Themes of Work and Love in Adulthood. Harvard University Press. Willems, E. (1990). Adult commitment: an ethics of trust. University Press of America. Johnson et al. (2005). The Cambridge handbook of age and ageing. Cambridge University Press. Appendix-1 Questionnaire (Questions related to the socio emotional, physical, and cognitive development of middle-aged people) Please tick against your choice (Yes/no) 1. In which area you feel yourself as generative-(career/family) and as stagnant (career/family)? Generative- (career) - (family) Stagnant- (career) - (family) 2. Do you feel satisfied on your identity in your social roles and commitments? Yes No 3. Do you feel any physical and psychological invalidism related to your age? Yes No 4. Do you think that your wisdom related to your age is enough to make up your physical decline? Yes No 5. Do you value friendship rather than sexual relation? Yes No 6. Do you like to make use of your past experience to solve problems in your life? Yes No 7. Do you have the habit of introspection? Yes No 8. Do you reassess your past? Yes No 9. Are you happy with your life? Yes No 10. Do you feel your midlife transitions as much stressful? Yes No 11. Are you in a habit of declining what to do next? Yes No 12. Are you able to develop a realistic view of your own self? Yes No 13. Do you like to retreat to a comfortable life? Yes No 14. Are you still overly-organized and busy? Yes No 15. Do you have the habit of questioning your life? Yes No Read More