Far Eastern University

Institute of Nursing
SY. 2016-2017

Geriatric Nursing

Developmental
Theory
Del Rosario, Charlene V.
Duran, Mary Grace Susana C.
Vito, Liberlyn Anne B.
Sagisi, Victoria O.

BSN 401
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Daniel Levinson: Four Eras of Life.1-2

Roger Gould: 7 Stages of Adult development.3-5

Robert Peck: Theory on Adults Development..6

Robert Havighurst: Development Task7-8

Daniel Levinson: Four Eras of Life

Daniel J. Levinson is a psychologist, was one of the founders of the field of Positive Adult Development.

Levinson is most well known for his theory of Stage-Crisis View, however he also made major contributions
to the fields of:
Behavioral
Social

 Developmental psychology

His interest in the social sciences began with studies on personality and authoritarianism, and eventually
progressed to studies on development.

Greatly influenced by the work of Erik Erikson, Elliott Jaques, and Bernice Neugarten, his Stage-Crisis
view sought to incorporate all aspects of adult development in order to establish a more holisic approach to
understanding the life cycle.

In doing so, Levinson discussed the various developmental tasks and/or crises that one must address within
each stage as well as how they contribute to the progression of development.

Levinson's work on stages of adult life provided the basis for Gail Sheehy's popular book Passages and the
phrase "mid-life crisis." Levinson (1986) saw life as a sequence of eras.

How does Levinson view the 17-22 year old stage?

Preadulthood in Levinson's view "extends from conception to roughly age 22." Starting
around age 17, the adolescent becomes more independent, moving into a stage Levinson
calls early adult transition (ages 17 to 22) that is the "infancy of a new era."

Why is "early adulthood" such a mixed bag?

Early adulthood from about 17 to 45 is the era of "greatest energy and abundance and
greatest contradiction and stress." It is the most productive time of a person's life, during
which one carves one's niche in the adult world. The satisfactions can be rich, but the
stresses can be "crushing." "We incur heavy financial obligations when our earning power is
still relatively low," notes Levinson. Important choices about marriage, family, and work are
made before the person necessarily has enough maturity to choose wisely.

What is the "midlife transition"?

Midlife transition from age 40 to 45 is the source of the popular "midlife crisis" concept.
A person feels more in a race with time, sometimes frustrated by a failure to attain
youthful goals. The individual must either grow as an individual, becoming more
"reflective and judicious," or risk settling into "trivial and stagnant" patterns.
These stages are followed by middle adulthood (age 40 to 60) and late adulthood (65 on)
linked by an intermediate stage: late adulthood transition (60 to 65). Each of Levinson's
"eras" is conceived as a stable state, connected to the preceding era by an unstable
transitional stage, so it is the pattern of saltation and stasis or punctuated equilibrium
again.

How does Erikson's system resemble Levinson's?

Erikson does not divide adulthood into as many different stages as Levinson. Erikson sees
adulthood between the ages of 25 and 64 as one stage in which the challenge
isgenerativity versus stagnation. It is the question of whether one produces something good for
society or falls into stagnant activity in adulthood. This sounds much like the issue Levinson
described in connection with "midlife crisis." For Erikson, there is one last stage between age

65 and death in which the challenge is maintaining integrity and existential identity rather than
despair, in the face of physical disintegration.

Roger Gould: 7 Stages of Adult Development

Roger Gould, M.D. is a board-certified psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and former Head of Community Psychiatry and
Outpatient Psychiatry at UCLA. He is a leading authority on adult development and emotional eating.

In his first book Transformations, Gould presents his view that adult psychological development consists of
the dismantling of the illusions of safety developed in childhood. Goulds theory suggests that these
illusions are confronted in a time-sensitive sequence as one progresses through the life-cycle.

No coherent view has been offered of the progress through time or of the psychological growth and
change of adults. Adults are conceived of as being in dynamic conflict, but without direction. The
resolution of conflict is thought to lead to higher levels of integration and adaptation, but not into a new era
of personality.

Adulthood is a continuation of the separation-individuation process with a distinctive phase pattern

that is tied to the age-related demands of the life cycle and to the contingencies of the situation.

This growth takes place during the transitional periods, as the adult encounters unfamiliar demands and
new situations that require him or her to correct parts of the unrealistic idealized images formed in
childhood. A person who grows a step separates from something that was and becomes a more fully
individuated human being.

Psychological growth takes place specifically between two opposing pulls. One is the need to grow and
adapt, and the other is the need to preserve safety and the illusion of safety. Adult development is the
gradual replacement of the child's sense of safety (which is now an illusion) with actual grown-up safety
anchored in mature decisions. The process of psychological growth gets STUCK when there is a failure of
adoption. When there is a situation in which inner and/or outer reality demands actions, and the action is
not taken, there is psychological pain. Symptoms are a consequence of being stuck and a sign that
adaptation is required.

He proposed a stage theory of transformations that start in the adolescent years and continue until mid-life.
In his view, children trust completely in their parents and believe that their parents will always protect and
nurture them.

7 Stages of Adult Development

1) Stage 1 (16-18 years old)
DESIRE TO BREAK FREE OF PARENTAL CONTROL
Individuals consider themselves part of the family rather than individuals and want to separate
from their parents.
They start to realize that this is a false assumption, and that they are required to make their own
decisions, and to develop self-condence: They have to leave their parents world.
2) Stage 2 (18-22 years old)
LEAVING THE FAMILY; PEER GROUP ORIENTATION
Although the individuals have established autonomy, they feel it is in jeopardy, they feel they
could be pulled back into their families.
They are still convinced that their parents will bail them out if something does go wrong.
During this period they have to confront reality and learn that life is not always just, that
rationality will not always succeed, and that nobody will (necessarily) do for them, what they
cannot do themselves.
3) Stage 3 (22-28 years old)
DEVELOPING INDEPENDECE; COMMITMENT TO A CAREER AND CHILDREN

Individuals feel established as adults and autonomous from their families. They see themselves as
well defined but still feel the need to prove themselves to their parents. They see this as the time
for growing and building for the future.

4) Stage 4 (28-34 years old)

QUESTIONING SELF; ROLE CONFUSION; MARRIAGE AND CAREER
VULNERABLE TO DISSATISFACTION
Marriage and careers are well established. Individuals question what life is all about and wish to
be accepted as they are, no longer finding it necessary to prove themselves.
They might have seen the world as black and white, and they might have been convinced that they
know who they are, and that they have become what they are by their own choice. Now they begin
to realize that things are not that simple and that there are sometimes contradictions between
emotions and rationality. They learn to turn their attention to their deeper feelings and more
complicated selves. That is why Gould called this period opening up to whats inside.
5) Stage 5 (34-43 years old)

 PERIOD OF URGENCY TO ATTAIN LIFES GOALS; AWARENESS OF TIME LIMITATION,

REALIGNMENT OF LIFES GOALS
This is a period of self-reflection. Individuals question values and life itself. They see time as
finite, with little time left to shape the lives of adolescent children.
6) Stage 6 (43-50 years old)
SETTLING DOWN; ACCEPTANCE OF ONES LIFE
Personalities are seen as set. Time is accepted as finite. Individuals are interested in social
activities with friends and spouse and desire both sympathy and affection from spouse.
7) Stage 7 (50-60 years old)
MORE TOLERANCE; ACCEPTANCE OF PASE; LESS NEGATIVISM
This is a period of transformation, with a realization of mortality and a concern for health. There is
an increase in warmth and a decrease in negativism. The spouse is seen as a valuable companion.

Robert Peck: Theories of Aging: The Second Half of Life

Robert Peck, a psychologist who theorized on the second half of life. He suggested that personality development in
older adults faces three challenges.
First challenge
DEFINITION OF SELF VS. PREOCCUPATION WITH WORK ROLES
People who mainly defined themselves through their career must now redefine themselves in other
ways. After retirement, older adults can struggle to find new meaning and structure while exploring
other interests outside of work.
Second challenge
BODY TRANSCENDENCE VS. BODY PREOCCUPATION
As we age, physical abilities decline. That period of adjustment can be difficult in which people must
learn to cope and move beyond physical challenges. If one reaches body transcendence, a person has
accepted the limitations of aging and found happiness by focusing on mental and social activities. In

turn, a seniors preoccupation with their body will cause them unhappiness and hinder personality
development.
Third challenge
EGO TRANSCENDENCE VS. EGO PREOCCUPATION
It is similar to Eriksons last stage of life. The elderly must come to terms with their approaching
death. A person reaches ego transcendence if he or she believes their life has worth and their legacy
will live on after death. By changing the focus to the well-being of others, one can avoid feeling like
he or she lived a useless life (ego preoccupation).
Pecks underlying theme is self-examination. Age and maturity brings change. The ability to adjust to lifes
changes determines ones happiness and development. While Pecks theory focuses on older adults, people of
all ages will reach full development if they can learn to accept the many twists and turns of life.

Robert James Havighurst: Developmental Task

Robert James Havighurst (June 5, 1900 January 31, 1991) was a professor, physicist, educator, and expert on
aging.

Havighurst's educational research did much to advance education in the United States. Educational theory
before Havighurst was underdeveloped. Children learned by rote and little concern was given to how children
developed.

Havighursts main assertion is that development is continuous throughout the entire lifespan, occurring in
stages, where the individual moves from one stage to the next by means of successful resolution of problems
or performance of developmental tasks.

Robert Havighurst emphasized that learning is basic and that it continues throughout life span.
Growth and Development occurs in 6 stages:

1. Infancy and Early Chilhood (Birth til 6 years old)

Learning to Walk
Learning to take solid foods
Learning to talk
Learning to control the elimination of body wastes
Learning sex differences and sexual modesty
Forming concepts and learning language to describe social and physical reality

Getting ready to read

2. Middle Childhood (6-13 years old)

Learning physical skills necessary for ordinary game
Building wholesome attitudes toward oneself as a growing organism
Learning to get along with age-mates
Learning appropriate masculine or feminine social role
Developing fundamental skills in reading, writing, and calculating
Developing concepts necessary for everyday living
Developing conscience, morality, and a scale of values
Achieving personal independence
Developing attitude toward social groups and institutions
3. Adolescence (13-18 years old)
Achieving new and more mature relations with age-mates of both sexes
Achieving a masculine or feminine social role
Accepting ones physique and using the body effectively
Achieving emotional independence of parents and other adults
Preparing for marriage and family life; preparing for an economic career
Acquiring a set of values and an ethical system as a guide to behavior; developing ideology
Desiring and achieving socially responsible behavior
4. Early Adulthood (19-30 years old)
Selecting a mate
Achieving masculine or feminine social role
Learning to live with a marriage partner
Starting a family
Rearing children
Managing a home
Getting started in an occupation
Taking on civic responsibility
Finding a congenial social group
5. Middle Age (30-60 years old)
Achieving adult civic and social responsibility
Establishing and maintaining an economic standard of living
Assisting teenage children to become responsible and happy adults
Developing adult leisure-time activities
Relating oneself to ones spouse as a person
Accepting and adjusting to physiologic changes of middle age
Adjusting to aging parents
6. Later Maturity (over 60 years)
Adjusting to decreasing physical strength and health
Adjusting to retirement and reduced income
Adjusting to death of a spouse

Establishing an explicit affiliation with ones age group

Meeting social and civil obligations
Establishing satisfactory physical living arrangement

From there, Havighurst recognized that each human has three sources for developmental tasks. They are:
Tasks that arise from physical maturation: Learning to walk, talk, control of bowel and urine, behaving in an acceptable
manner to opposite sex, adjusting to menopause.
Tasks that arise from personal values: Choosing an occupation, figuring out one's philosophical outlook.
Tasks that have their source in the pressures of society: Learning to read, learning to be responsible citizen.
The developmental tasks model that Havighurst developed was age dependent and all served pragmatic functions depending on
their age. Over the years, the reception and interpretation of Havighursts theory of developmental tasks have evolved with the
upsurge of new findings. Nevertheless, this theory has remained robust in its testimony that development is continuous
throughout the entire lifespan.

References:
Daniel Levinson
1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Levinson
2. http://study.com/academy/lesson/theories-of-adult-development-levinson-vaillant-neugarten.html
3. http://www.intropsych.com/ch10_development/stages_of_life.html
4. http://study.com/academy/lesson/levinsons-stages-of-adult-development-theory.html
Roger Gould
1. https://quizlet.com/11249057/goulds-stages-of-adult-development-flash-cards/
2. file:///C:/Users/Janetbart/Downloads/PSY201-Week13-PPT-Gould'sTransformations-Rosen.pdf
3. http://www.drrogergould.com/results/press/adult-development
Robert Peck
1. http://www.aginginalabama.org/post/Theories-of-Aging-The-Second-Half-of-Life.aspx
Robert James Havighurst
1. http://www.peoi.org/Courses/Coursesen/nursepractice/ch/ch6a.html
2. http://www.psychologynoteshq.com/development-tasks/