Free Essay

Lifespan Development and Personality

In:

Submitted By ADMadero
Words 1116
Pages 5
Life Span Development and Personality
PSY/300

Life Span Development and Personality

Princess Diana was one of the most influential people of the 21st century. Diana had a peculiar way of flirting with the media that became a unique trademark and she won the hearts of many through her warm and caring actions. Diana brought attention to worldwide causes such as the AIDS epidemic and elimination of landmines in Angola (Rosenberg, 2011). Princess Diana became a role model for many that suffered depression because she herself was a victim to this ailment but the public only saw her positive outlook and caring charismatic way that made her famous. Diana’s depression stemmed from the jealousy her husband portrayed because of the extra media attention Diana received. The media became fascinated by her and that lead her to become the most photographed person of that time. Diana used her positive influence to seek refuge in humanitarian work such raising awareness for AIDS and finding a solution to the landmines that were affecting children in Angola. According to Rosenberg (2011), “In 1987, Diana became the first famous person to be photographed touching someone with AIDS; she made a huge impact in dissolving the myth that AIDS could be contracted merely by touch.” The world was shocked in 1997 when at the age of 36, Diana died in a horrific car accident in Paris. In the following paper I will analyze Princess Diana’s psychological development and discuss issues and support systems that may have influenced her life.
Psychological Developments Princess Diana’s psychological development was definitely influenced more by her environment than by heredity. Rosenberg, (2011) states that, “as a child, Diana grew up in a very privileged family that had a long history of close ties with the royal family.” As the wife of Prince Charles, her title as Princess enabled her to use her fame to bring worldwide attention to social ailments such as AIDS, depression and bulimia. Diana grew up as a privileged child and was not a stranger to the public scrutiny; however having been brought up this way Diana did not know how to express herself or even experience independence. Entering adulthood posed to be difficult time for Diana, she suffered from depression due to losing her paternal grandfather who was the most influential in her life. Diana also lacked the stable emotional foundation when it came to personal relationships such as in her marriage to Prince Charles. The experience in her marriage seemed to have made her public image stronger and noticeable in the eyes of the media. This type of environmental factor paved the way for her psychological development as a public figure.
Issues and Social Support System Princess Diana faced many issues as a child, one may think being brought up in a privileged environment would be easy but for Diana it posed to lead a life of loneliness and depression. Diana was educated in top schools where only children of rich and famous would attend. She attended school at West Heath in Kent and then spent a short time at a finishing school in Switzerland (Rosenberg, 2011). During her adolescence years when development of cognitive and behavioral changes occurs, Diana only knew the solitude in depression. During her tenure in school, Diana’s parents divorced in 1969 and custody was granted to her father. The aftermath of the divorce left an everlasting emotional scar on the princess (Rosenberg, 2011). Princess Diana finished her education in Switzerland and she found herself renting an apartment with two close friends and took a position at a school and worked as a Kindergarten school teacher. The Rosenberg, (2011) website stated, “it was about this time that Prince Charles, in his early 30’s, was under increasing pressure from the palace to choose a wife. Diana’s vibrancy, cheerfulness, and good family background caught the attention of Prince Charles and the two began dating in the mid 1980’s.” Prince Charles and Lady Diana were wed on June 21, 1982 in London, England. Princess Diana later gave birth to her first child and a few years later to her second child. The attention from the public grew and Diana quickly gained the love and trust of the media, but the stresses of Diana’s numerous new roles (including wife, mother, and princess) were overwhelming. These pressures plus the extreme media coverage and post-natal depression, left Diana lonely and depressed (Rosenberg, 2011). All these issues and events in Princess Diana’s life all played a role in her developmental growth and adjustment.
Theories of Personality The two theories of personality that help to explain Diana’s unique patterns and traits are the humanistic theory and the psychodynamic theory. The humanistic theory helped to shape the patterns in her life by interactions between Diana and her environment. This theory’s main concept is that people have the free will to determine how they choose to behave. Abraham Maslow said that people who fall under this category of humanistic theory are “those who are fulfilling themselves and doing the best they are capable of doing” (Snygg & Combs, 1949). The three key ideas of the humanistic theory are: enjoying life and wanting to experience life, being concerned with problems in their world, the ability to change what problems they can accept and the ones they cannot control. These key ideas do relate to the development of Princess Diana. The second theory of personality that applies to Diana is the psychodynamic theory. The psychodynamic theory emphasizes more on the unconsciousness level. Diana’s personality patterns and traits have been shaped by conscious and unconscious events and influences.
Theoretical Approach The theoretical approach that best explains Princess Diana’s behaviors and achievements is the humanistic theory. This theory best describes Diana’s life because of the need for personal growth and the desire to help others. Princess Diana’s environmental factors that contributed to her overall growth allowed her to give back to society in a non-selfish way by using her influence and power to better the world. This theory explains that individual experiences help people to develop into the people that they are. Princess Diana’s experience gave her the will to help others change their lives for the better.
Conclusion
Princess Diana was the most influential person of our time. Diana demonstrated to the world that one can overcome adversity and leave a momentous and meaningful legacy. Known as the “people’s princess,” Diana showed compassion and love to the forgotten members of society and brought awareness to different issues plaguing our world such as AIDS. Although her high profiled life ended tragically, she will always be remembered as an inspiration and one of the most compassionate leaders of our century.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Lifespan and Personality Development

...Lifespan and Personality Development: Middle Childhood Taylor Nail PSY/103 February 02, 2015 Michael Phillips Lifespan and Personality Development: Middle Childhood What kinds of things can affect an individual from the age of 6 to 12 years? There are many things that can affect a person of this age group (middle childhood). During the middle childhood, Social and Moral Development describes that “children either develop a sense of their own competence at a variety of tasks, especially schoolwork, or they come to believe they are not capable of success (n.d.)”. Even though this age group can determine their own success and their own identity, there are factors that can affect these individuals’ physical, cognitive and social, moral, and personality development. There are many things that can affect the physical development in young children during their middle childhood, including environmental influences. With all of the research going on these days, it all loops back around to one issue these children face in the environment; obesity. For example, more and more children are spending more time watching television, and while watching the television they are snacking or having more meal time causing them to increase in weight, ultimately affecting their physical development. This problem increases as the children grow older. “Children’s TV time and home environment factors were assessed longitudinally among 169 families with children followed from 6 to 12 years of age...

Words: 1259 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Lifespan Development and Personality

...Lifespan Development and Personality Development does not only start as soon as we are born, but does not end with adolescence as some may think. Adults also experience cognitive, physical, and social changes along with going through modifications. It has been suggested that adulthood starts at the age of 18, but adulthood can actually be divided into three different periods; early adulthood (18 to 40), middle adulthood (41 to 60), and late adulthood (60 and up). In early adulthood, a persons’ body is still developing. The chest range increases, shoulder length, and height, along with each individual continues to expand his or her physical capabilities. Through the mid-thirties just about everyone will have some type of hearing loss, but during this time most people would will say this these years are the best part of adulthood. In middle adulthood, physical modifications slowly appear. The one that is most common is the loss of sensory sharpness. Individuals become more sensitive to light, more accurate at noticing differences in the distance, and he or she is slower and less able to consider factors. At the age of 40, an individual has more caution then before. In a woman’s late 40’s or early 50’s, a woman will go through menopause, which is the shutdown of her reproductive capability. Estrogen and progesterone also decrease, and her menstrual cycle eventually stops. Most individuals are well into the delayed adulthood before his or her physical functions start to show...

Words: 1397 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Lifespan and Personality Development

...Lifespan and Personality Development Adolescence There are many factors that affect the physical, cognitive, social, moral and personality development in an adolescent. Adolescence as defined in the dictionary, is the transitional period between puberty and adulthood in human development extending mainly over the teen years (RHCD, 1980). Adolescence is the time that can bring various changes physical, social and emotional. Adolescence begins with the onset of puberty. This usually occurs during the ages of twelve to twenty years old. Puberty is the period during which the reproductive system matures. This process is characterized by the increase in sex hormones (RHCD, 1980). Heredity and the environment both plays a significant role in the development of various human traits. Genes are determinants of heredity, and each individual carries genes from the mother and father. Characteristics such as height, weight, skin color, eye and hair color are all determined through the balance of genes in the body. Genes are responsible for cognitive and mental processes as well as physical features (ehow.com). Adolescents undergo a wide range of physical changes in a very short time, which is a result of biological and hereditary factors, but environmental influences are also significant. There are rapid height and weight gains, which generally takes place earlier in girls, more body fat is generated in girls where muscles are developed in boys. Changes in hormone levels trigger...

Words: 1716 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Lifespan Development and Personality Paper

...Lifespan Development and Personality Paper: Middle Childhood Ages Soterica Johnson Psy 103 June 15, 2015 Mary Newhams Lifespan Development and Personality Paper: Middle Childhood Ages The main goal of developmental psychology is to pursue the understandings of and report different aspects of human development. These aspects include development of physical, cognitive, social, moral, and personality. Discussing these aspects in different terms can be a tough task. In this paper I chose to write on one age group. To define this age, I will focus on the middle childhood ages 6 to 12. I will address physical, cognitive, social, and moral as well as personality development. Within these factors I am also considering both hereditary and environmental factors. Middle childhood is the period of life between the years of 6 to 12, where children are going to school, beginning to make friends outside of their families, mastering new physical and mental abilities, and also learning to become independent. During these ages physical development is most important. Growth may be slower during these ages, causing wide differences in height and weight in children. Passing through the beginning stages of life children have already began losing teeth. Middle childhood ages is when permanent teeth began to come in and dental visits have become more frequent. Children of this age group have improved motor skills so they began getting involved in more physical activities. Along with the psychical...

Words: 1266 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Lifespan Development and Personality Paper

...Lifespan Development and Personality Paper David Trejo PSY103 June 13, 2011 Sandy Collins Lifespan Development and Personality Paper An organized study of life’s different cycle phases of human beings is what developmental psychology sets out to accomplish. The psychological development of humans is also described through developmental psychology. Lifespan development study of humans involves psychological, behavior, and genetic alterations from birth to the end of one’s life. How one progresses through life is mainly influenced by environmental and hereditary (nature and nurture) factors that involve cognitive, physical, moral, personality, and social development (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000).  This paper will discuss the influences on physical and cognitive development of middle childhood years (6 – 12 years). As a child progresses into these years, physical, moral, cognitive, personal, and social traits are further developed. All of these traits are imperative in the personality development of humans. Understanding how humans develop traits as physical, moral, and social during the middle childhood years will give insight into lifespan development (Karpov, 2005).  Physical Development Factors During childhood years, the physical development stage ranges from gross motor development skills to fine motor development skills. Hereditary...

Words: 1357 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Lifespan Development and Personality Paper

...Lifespan Development and Personality Paper BY: April Johnson PSY/103 Professor Vincent D’Elia May 31, 2010 Lifespan Development and Personality Paper This paper will focus on the human development stages of adolescence. Adolescence is a very interesting age group to study for the fact this is the development stages from childhood to adulthood. These developments involve the development stages of physical, cognitive, and psychosocial phases. Adolescence, some may say, revolve around the age group 12 to 18 years of age. In detail this paper will focus on the factors that affect physical, cognitive, social, moral, and personality developments. In addition, the paper will as well discuss hereditary and environmental influences of each. According to Wiley Plus, adolescence and adulthood are the times for dramatic and gradual changes. Early and a person’s late teen years a person would experience physical changes in the body itself. What we mean by physical changes is what is called puberty. Puberty can be defined as changes to the body from a child to an adult. Girls and boys will each experience hair growth in places where he or she usually does not see as child, such as pubic, facial, and underarms. Girls start to experience menstruation cycles and breast development. For girl these are signs that she is turning into a woman. Men on the other hand, experience voice changes, muscle changes, and hair growth in many places. With the cognitive development...

Words: 387 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Lifespan Development and Personality Paper

...Lifespan Development and Personality Paper Adolescence, also known as teenage years is a time of dramatic change. Adolescence is a period in one’s life in which major physiological, cognitive, and behavioral changes take place. This phase of life marks a developmental period that follows childhood and comes before adulthood. Adolescence is closely associated with puberty, which is also considered as a developmental milestone, particularly in the western countries. Puberty refers to the period of adolescence when a person becomes capable of reproduction (Carpenter, S. & Huffman, K., 2010). In this paper, I will discuss the various factors that affect the physical, cognitive, social, moral, and personality development of adolescents. Adolescence is a time of rapid physical growth which is illustrated by the drastic growth spurt in the height, weight and skeletal muscles. The actual age may vary but generally occurs somewhere between the ages of 12 through 18. This is a critical stage where a child attempts to become independent, wants to establish their identity and there are noticeable changes in their moods and behavior. During this time in the adolescent’s life, the physical development factors are genetics and nutrition. If the child has genetics that hinder on his or her physical development the child will only develop as his DNA allows. If the child does not have proper nutrition, he or she could be underweight or overweight. This is such a crucial stage for advancement...

Words: 1340 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Freud's Lifespan Development and Personality

...Freud’S Lifespan Development And Personality Life doesn’t stand still. We are in a state of constant change throughout our lives. When we ask ourselves who we are, we think of ourselves in terms of who we are now. But we have been and will be many different people in our lifetime; an infant, a child, a teenager, a young adult, a mature person, and an aged person. Young children understand their worlds in ways that are so different from adults. To understand ourselves fully, we must understand the process of development, the more-or-less predictable changes in behavior associated with increasing age. Both nature and nurture work together in development. Without getting some advice (nurture), a child can’t use a baseball glove correctly. But the child must be physically developed enough to use the glove (nature). You cannot effectively teach children to do much with a glove until age 4 or so, after considerable physical development has taken place (nature). We are creatures of complex combinations of both our nature and nurture (Lahey (2007) page 316, 317 para 1). It is very important to understand that it’s normal for child development to be highly variable, even when they are raised in typical conditions. This is true in two senses: a) There are differences between children in their development b) Children vary in the rate of their own development from one period to the next Parents must make important decisions about raising children that can have a major impact on their...

Words: 337 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Lifespan Personality Development Paper

...Lifespan Development and Personality Jorge Delgadillo PSY/300 February 13, 2014 Professor Melanie Afshar There are many debates regarding nature vs. nurture starting with Plato and John Locke. Some such as Plato believe behavior and personality traits stem from ones genetics which are inherited from parents. Others such as John Locke believe one is born with a “blank slate” which means ones behavior and personality develops based on ones environment. Through examining the life of Justin Beiber, many influences of nature vs. nurture can be found; in addition the behaviorism theory can be applied to his life. Justin Beiber was fortunate enough to have the opportunity of being famous. For him it was not so much being at the right place at the right time, his loving mother put her son out there to be recognized and he sure was. After being signed by Usher as a solo artist his first record was released in November of 2009 and that’s when his life began to make a turn. As a new artist he believed in himself and having a positive image, “All our decisions are based on long-term decisions. I don't want to grow up and lose my young fans, singing inappropriate music” (Beiber). The more famous he became the more money he received and one could see he was becoming star-struck. He always wanted to send out a “positive message” to his fans so that they had someone to look up to since his fans were adolescents. Starting two years after his fame began to raise a scandal...

Words: 1574 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Freud’s Lifespan Development and Personality

...are so different from adults. To understand ourselves fully, we must understand the process of development, the more-or-less predictable changes in behavior associated with increasing age. Both nature and nurture work together in development. Without getting some advice (nurture), a child can’t use a baseball glove correctly. But the child must be physically developed enough to use the glove (nature). You cannot effectively teach children to do much with a glove until age 4 or so, after considerable physical development has taken place (nature). We are creatures of complex combinations of both our nature and nurture (Lahey (2007) page 316, 317 para 1). It is very important to understand that it’s normal for child development to be highly variable, even when they are raised in typical conditions. This is true in two senses: a) There are differences between children in their development b) Children vary in the rate of their own development from one period to the next Parents must make important decisions about raising children that can have a major impact on their child’s emotional and intellectual development (Lahey (2007) page 320, para 6). What forces causes us to change as we pass through life? What factors determine whether we grow up to be baseball players or umpires, musicians or opticians? We will look at the factors that play key roles in the process of development (Lahey (2007) page 316, para 1). Sigmund Freud gave us a language for our dreams, our deep secrets...

Words: 3122 - Pages: 13

Free Essay

Lifespan Development and Personality Paper

...REALITY THERAPY Reality Therapy: A New Approach to Psychiatry by William Glasser, M.D. Click on book title to buy direct from Amazon.com! Reality Therapy (Dr. William Glasser, M.D., 1965), according to Bob Sullo, is a method of counseling based on Choice Theory and aimed at helping individuals gain more effective control over their own lives. Individuals can also use it to improve their own effectiveness. This process has been proven effective in education, parenting, leadership, and management; it lends itself to any situation where people need to learn how to satisfy their needs in responsible ways. Reality Therapy is based on the belief that we all choose what we do with our lives and that we are responsible for our choices. Responsibility is defined as learning to choose behaviors that satisfy our needs and, at the same time, do not deprive others of a chance to do the same. Practitioners of Reality Therapy seek to persuade individuals to look honestly both at what they want and what they are doing to get what they want. An individual who is frustrated, or is frustrating others, is taught to evaluate what he or she is doing and, from this evaluation, learns about and puts into practice more effective (need-satisfying) behaviors. Reality Therapy helps people learn to be in effective control of their lives. It is a noncoercive method of communicating that enhances people's ability to make effective, need-fulfilling choices. Reality Therapy is an ongoing process with...

Words: 1019 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Lifespan Development and Personality Paper

...From ages 6-11 you are considered early middle childhood. Around these ages you start changing your physical development by growing about 2 to 3 inches in height and 5 pounds in weight each year. A female body will mature quicker than the male body. Girls are slightly lighter and shorter than boys at ages 6-8, and then at age 9 it gets reversed. Around the middle childhood age the lower portion of the body is growing fastest, children appear to look long-legged. Girls end up having slightly more body fat and boys have more muscle. Between ages 6-8 the child should be able to do independent things like dress themselves, and tie their shoes. Children also start to develop more independence from their parents. It becomes important for a child to have friends and a social life. They pay more attention to friendships and teamwork. They feel that it is important to be liked and accepted by friends. There is also late middle childhood, which is from ages 9-12. Children at this age become more into have friendships and independence, but there is also a lot of peer pressure at this age. If children are confident with themselves they will be less likely to be bullied. But by now the child will start eating more and can start to become obese. Parents need to make sure that what their child is eating is healthy. The more obese the child gets the less active they get, and they will be picked on for being overweight. They will start to hit puberty by now, especially for girls. They will start...

Words: 1469 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Lifespan Development and Personality of Eva Peron

...Life Span Development and Personality of Eva Peron Rhonda Hager PSY/300 June 18, 2012 Teresa Neal Life Span Development and Personality of Eva Peron Introduction Many factors influence the way a person will develop and the personality they will have. Scientists have long debated on the subject of heredity versus environment and how each effects the way a person develops. Different theories have also been discovered to explain a person’s personality. In this paper we will look at how heredity and environment played a role in the development of Eva Peron. We will also discuss how the different theories of personality explain the woman she became. Influences of Heredity and Environment Eva Peron was born on May 7, 1919 in Los Toldos, Argentina. Her mother, Juana Ibarguren, was the mistress of Juan Duarte, a local land owner. Juana had a large personality. She was the type of person who got what she wanted. She worked in the kitchen of the Duarte house and set her eyes on Juan Duarte. Not long after she became pregnant with her first child. It was not uncommon for men of means in Argentina to have mistresses; instead it was assumed that they would. Juan Duarte provided for Juana and her children to the extent that he could, while keeping them away from his wife and family. Eva was born into poverty and the entire family, mother and five children, shared a one room home (Barnes, 1935). Since she was not from the poorest class of people, her neighbors tended...

Words: 1216 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Lifespan Development

...Lifespan Development and Personality Luis Cervantes PSY/103 January 11, 2016 Susanne Nishino Lifespan Development and Personality Developmental psychology is the study of how human beings age and transform throughout the eight major stages of life. This paper will focus on the physical, cognitive, social, moral, and personality development of individuals found in stage two, (early childhood 1-6 year olds). Through exploring, and examining the countless influences that affect their growth development. The physical growth transformations infants undergo in stage two of lifespan development range from, brain, motor, to sensory/perceptual development, and infant’s overall body height and weight. During the first two years, brain development and the central nervous system experience the most growth increase of any other infant’s body parts. Brain growth and learning transpire simply because neurons grow in size and the number of axons and dendrites, escalate (Carpenter S, & Huffman K. 2013a. pp. 237, 238). Meanwhile on the outside of the infant’s skull the fontanels or soft spots close off (Bjorklund, D. F., & Bering, J. M. 2002., pp. 272- 275). Motor skill development fall into two categories fine, and gross motor skills. Fine motor skill development involves the muscular, skeletal, and nervous systems generating precise operations of motions on the infant hands (Fluetsch, K. 2015 p. 9). Example of fine motor skills, a child’s ability to grasp a fork, spoon,...

Words: 1516 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Human Development

...Human Development Amber Jones PSY 280-Human Growth and Development October 13, 2012 Linda Baker Human Development The growth and development of humans is a very interesting topic to discuss with anyone. There are so many theories that people have on human development and it always makes for interesting conversations. In this paper, I will put focus on the psychoanalytic theory, the stages of psychosocial development theory, and the stages of faith theory. I will focus on the three theories because I feel that they are extremely interesting to the growth and development of humans. To be more specific, I want to focus on exactly what the theories are and how they are important and/or related to the human growth and development. As well, I want to focus on at least on theorist who is known specifically for the theory I focus on. I also want to identify the aspects of the life span from that theory’s perspective. Last, but definitely not least, I want to discuss in detail how the heredity and the environment have influence on human development. By the end of the paper, you as the reader, should have a better understanding of the three theories of my choosing and how human development works. Psychoanalytical Theory The first theory related to human growth and development that I want to focus on is the psychoanalytical theory. With this specific theory, the personality organization and the development of the personality dynamics is he focus. Probably the most...

Words: 973 - Pages: 4