Development Stages

Developmental Stages Page 1

Adolescence

Development refers to growth , adaptation and change that occur over the course of a lifetime (Papalia , et . al , 2007 . The human being is never static , from conception to death , physical and psychological change is constantly taking place in all of us . The process of development has been thought of in terms of stages that each of us must go through These stages are characterized by certain behavioral or developmental characteristics that each of us goes through at different rates and even at different ages . Among the

stages of development , no other aspect of the life cycle has commanded as much attention as adolescence

Adolescence can easily be described as the best of times and the worst of times . This stage is affected by the structure of the society in which the individual is raised . Hence , different cultures may have different conceptions of adolescence . Many cultures have rites of passage when the child enters adolescence or adulthood . While in Western cultures , it is a gradual transition from childhood to adulthood Adolescence is marked by changes in the physical , emotional , social and cognitive aspects of the individual

The rapid physical changes occur at the onset of puberty during adolescence the bodily changes often occur at a slower rate . In this stage , due to increased activity of the gonads at puberty , sex glands develop rapidly and become functional , the sex organs mature and the major secondary sex characteristics are more defined . The skeleton stops growing , hence the adolescent reaches his /her mature height in this stage and the various parts of the body gradually come into proportion (Steinberg , 2002 . The physical changes that adolescents experience causes their preoccupation with their physical appearance and of what may be considered as normal

Developmental Stages Page 2

development . Few adolescents are content with their bodies , and this discontent can lead to lowered self-esteems and insecurity . Moreover adolescence discovers their sexuality in this stage and tends to act on it . Adolescents also experience heightened emotional tensions , which may result from the hormonal and physical changes they are going through , it can also be brought about by the social pressures they must face and of which they have not been prepared . Adolescents experience emotional instability from time to time , which results from their adjustments to changes in their lives . Like when they are angered by the thought that they are being treated like a child or treated unfairly . However , they express their anger by sulking , refusing to speak our loudly criticizing those who angered them . While adolescent emotions are often intense uncontrolled and seemingly irrational , it improves with age (Geselle et .al , 1956

Adolescent 's emotions also impact the way they relate with other people and how they view their social sphere . Adolescent 's thought patterns are generally egocentric . Elkind (1967 ) proposed that adolescents assume that everyone else in the world views the world as they do . Adolescent egocentrism has two facets , the personal fable and the imaginary audience . The personal fable is...