Stages of life

A brief explanation of the human life stages

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CYRIL POTTER COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
TECHNICAL TEACHERS TRAINING PROGRAMME


EDUCATION PSYCHOLOGY



STAGES OF LIFE

An E-boook
Researched & Compiled by:
Angela Jeffrey
Ardith Conway

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 4
STAGE 1: PRENATAL .............................................................................................................................. 5
STAGE 2: INFANCY................................................................................................................................ 6
STAGE 3: CHILDHOOD .......................................................................................................................... 7
STAGE 4: ADOLESCENCE ....................................................................................................................... 8
STAGE 5: ADULTHOOD ......................................................................................................................... 9
END OF LIFE STAGE MARKERS ................................................................................................................ 11
FLY IN THE OINTMENT!! ........................................................................................................................ 13
ENDNOTES & REFERENCES .................................................................................................................... 14

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INTRODUCTION

From birth to death, human beings undergo changes. These changes occur in stages and
become obvious when the human body slowly begins to show signs of wearing down.
Changes results from environmental conditions which impacts the growth and development of
the human mind and body. Change is also visible as our cognitive abilities begin to degenerate,
our metabolism peak then fades, and our physical energy declines.
While some of the changes we undergo are as a result of incidents and personal choices, the
vast majority of life changes and stages we pass through are due to our common biological and
psychological heritage as human beings and are shared by all people.
i

Each stage in the development of the human being differs from the previous and have a specific
set of characteristics, defined by psychologists, as transition takes place from one stage to
another.
Stages of our lifespan are:
1. Prenatal
2. Infancy
3. Childhood
4. Adolescence
5. Adulthood

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STAGE 1: PRENATAL

This extends from the instant when a sperm cell and an ovum connect; its continuous
growth in the sanctuary of a woman’s womb, and her giving birth.
This is the time where the body is developing at its most vulnerable stage of life.

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STAGE 2: INFANCY

Infancy begins at birth and continues until age 2. This stage signals the beginning of
intellectual growth where the child begins to acquire language and have symbolic
thought. The child also seeks to gain control over his/her environment and learns to
make social adjustment.
There are two significant aspects of changes in this stage:
1. There is the period from birth to two weeks which is known as Neonate, that is, a
child under 28 days of age. During these first 28 days of life, the child is at
highest risk of dying. It is thus crucial that appropriate feeding and care are
provided during this period, both to improve the child’s chances of survival and to
lay the foundations for a healthy life.

2. Then there is Babyhood which is the
stage of rapid growth and development,
with changes in body proportions.
While the infant is dependent on adults for
most things, many psychological
characteristics are rapidly developing. During this stage, the bond that develops
between the infant and their primary caregiver is important in terms of the infant's later
emotional development.
The significant events during the Infancy stage are:
 Cognitive development
 Physical development
 Moral development
 Attachment

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STAGE 3: CHILDHOOD

Childhood begins around age 2 and spans two periods within a child’s life.
 Early childhood which begins at age 2 and ends at age 6 and
 Later childhood which covers the years from age 6 to around age 12.

At this stage, the child begins to acquire basic knowledge and skills which are
necessary for a successful adult life as well as building his/her personal and sexual
identity.

The significant event at this stage of life is puberty which marks the end of childhood
and the beginning of adolescence.

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STAGE 4: ADOLESCENCE

Adolescence is a less defined period than childhood because, unlike the other stages of
life, its end is not well defined. While some psychologists considers adolescence to
range between ages 11 years to 20 others consider the stage to begin at age 12 and
ends at age 18.
During this stage the child reaches physical and sexual maturity, experiences
physiological changes and intensifies personal interaction with peers and the opposite
sex.

It is further dominated by seeking independence from parents and developing one's own
identity. Compared to the child, an adolescent's thought processes are more logical,
complex and idealistic.

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STAGE 5: ADULTHOOD

Adulthood is the longest stage of life. It generally begins in the late teens or early
twenties and continues until death. Adulthood sees the establishment of personal and
economic independence, the expansion of personal and social involvement and
responsibility, and the rethinking of social and personal goals.
Psychologists have generally classified adulthood in the following categories:
a. Early adulthood, covering the period age 18 or 20 years to age 40. This is the
stage of establishing personal and financial independence and establishing and
consolidating a career. For many, it is also the time in which individuals select a
partner, develop an ongoing intimate relationship and begin a family. With the notion
of ‘life begins at 40!!!’, in the modern way of life, more and more family settling
occurs closer to 40, after having satisfied all other desires (inclusive of ‘sowing wild
oats’).

b. During the period of middle aged or adulthood (40 years to 60 years). This is a
period of expanding social and personal involvements and responsibilities,
advancing a career, and supporting offspring in their development to becoming
mature individuals. Among some individuals, after settling down in their thirties,
begins to feel a sense of dissatisfaction and also starts experiencing a decline in
physical form. These changes are often called mid-life crises and signal the loss of
youth and the coming of old age

c. Later adulthood (60 years and over), commonly called ‘the aged or elderly’, is a
period of considerable adjustment to changes in one's life and self-perceptions. It is
the beginning of the aging process, evident by the loss of vitality. The primary
concern at this stage of life is maintaining health, until certain death.

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Some individuals lose their sense meaningfulness in life, through retirement. Others
tend to develop interests in social activities such as travelling, visiting places and
enjoying nature.

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END OF LIFE STAGE MARKERS
The end of each life stage is oftentimes identified by ‘marker’ events and/or
experiences.
These are categorized as:
 Biological: birth separates the prenatal stage from infancy; and puberty
Separates childhood from adolescence
 Social: graduation marks a person’s movement from one age group of learning or
training to another; acquiring a job or entering into marriage, promotion
 Cognitive: such as development of meaningful speech, reasoning and decision
making
 Psychosocial: such as childhood forming of attachments; building personal and
sexual identities. Among adults, they expand personal and social involvement,
and reformulate social and personal goals

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FLY IN THE OINTMENT!!
“when you reduce life to black and white, you never see rainbows”
Notwithstanding the apparent popularity of the ‘stages of life’ theories, in the uniqueness
of individual life, we cannot always hold to such an inflexible approach.
Mark Smith (1999), quoting Rutter and Rutter’
ii
, warns
‘our own biographies are likely to show significant deviations from the path laid out by the
theories. ‘Stages’ may be missed out, other ways of naming a phase or experiences may be
more appropriate. The reality is that in any of these domains there is no one universal path,
nor is there some fixed end point – ‘normal maturity’. Detailed studies of socio-emotional
development reveal a different tale: ‘it is likely that children take a variety of paths, and that
adult outcome cannot be sensibly be reduced to differences in levels of maturity.’
iii

In conclusion, the important point to take away is that changes in our bodies as adults,
and the impact of ‘life events’, can have a fundamental impact – and are as significant
to us at that time as many of the changes that happen during childhood.
One of the consequences of this is that ‘development’ may occur at any stage or point
in life – and need not be linear. Different situations and influences will make for
variations in development. Some of these will be associated with age, some with cohort,
some are ‘accidental’.

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ENDNOTES


i
http://www.scribd.com/doc/253117946/Lifespan-Stages#scribd


ii
Rutter, M. and Rutter, M. (1992) Developing Minds. Challenge and continuity across the lifespan, London: Penguin.
iii
Lifespan development and lifelong learning. YMCA George William College