At 1 to 2 years the infant is very self centred and may be possessive of toys and that will lead to having a difficulty in sharing toys with others. The infant will play next to other but will not play with them this is known as parallel play, the child will often want to eat what others are eating and will often fly into rages known as temper tantrums. The infant will continuously ask for their parents because routines are very important to them. They have rapid mood shifts; emotions are usually intense but don’t last very long.
At 2 to 3 years the child will refer to its self by its name, it likes to imitate adults and wants to help with chores, it can tidy up its toys, it can dress its self but its better at undressing, it’s still possessive but its learning to share, it becomes frustrated easily, it resists change and seeks approval from adults.
Infants appear to have an in-built tendency to interact with carers. By 2 months they may start to smile at human faces. At 3 months they will respond when adults talk. At 5 months infants can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people. Infants make their first relationships as they form an emotional attachment to carers.
Bowlby (1953) argued that infants have an in-built need to form an attachment with a career. The quality of this attachment may affect emotional development for the rest of the child life. Ainsworth et al (1978) and Marris (1996) argue that the quality of our early attachment influence the assumptions e make about themselves and others. Infants who are securely attached will grow up with the emotional resources needed to cope with uncertainty in life. Infants who are insecurely attached may have reduced ability to cope with stress and major life events.
Delayed development happens when an infant or young child has not shown developments within the expected time range. The term is usually restricted to development within the first five years of life. Delayed development may be caused by issues such as:
- Brain damage (this can happen before and during birth or during infancy)
- Poor social interaction with carers
- Disease
- Visual disability
- Hearing disability
- Poor nutrition
Developmental progress will be checked by health professionals such as health visitors, although parents and GPs may be the first to notice problems. Children who appear to have delayed development will be referred to appropriate specialists for advice or therapy.
Arrested development means development has stopped. The word ‘arrest’ means to stop something or someone. In the past people with a severe mental disability were sometimes regarded as ‘arrested’. But people with a serious learning difficulty can develop and the term ‘arrested’ can be argued to be misleading if used to refer to people with learning difficulty or disability.
My granddad reached all the developmental milestones at the correct ages and showed no problems. In fact he actually started to walk and talk slightly earlier then average being 7 months when he started to talk and 8 months when he was walking.
Childhood 4-9 years old
Physical
Children grow steadily at this time but less rapidly than during infancy. By the age of 6, a Childs head will be 90% of adult size, even though the body still has a lot of growing to do. Reproductive organs remain small until the onset of puberty. Children’s practical abilities continue to develop; at the age of 2, children may be able to run and to climb stairs one at a time. By age 4, children may be able to kick and throw a large ball. By age 6 or 7, a child may be able to skip and ride a bicycle.
At four the child will be able to hop, and speech is easy to understand- most of the time basic grammar rules have been acquired. The child will be able to dress and undress alone because it is becoming more independent, and likes to play dress up games. The child will recognise more colours like blue and green.
At 5 the child can go to the toilet on its own and only occasionally has accidents, the child will now know most colours and will draw people and houses. The child understands the need for rules and fair play and the child can say his name and address clearly and can skip confidently.
Between 6 and 9 the child will play actively with others in its age group in particular it will play running games like tag, dodge ball and skipping. The child can now catch with one hand and is capable of using tools like scissors with ease. The child can tie his own shoe laces confidently and is generally becoming more coordinated. The child enjoys testing muscle strength and the permanent adult teeth begin to develop.
Intellectual
At 4 to 5 years the child will will have a longer attention span and will be very curious and ask many questions and show a particular interest in ‘why?’ the child will enjoy, dramatic play, it will imitate others and will begin to distinguish between fantasy and reality. It will show an interest in its environment like the town it lives in, the city it lives in and the local stores. The child begins to understand the concepts of past, present and future, it also understands basic concepts of colour, number, weight, distance and texture. It learns to copy designs, letters and numbers, it appreciates music, rhythm and stories. It may actually have an imaginary friend that it talks to and plays with all the time.
From the age of 6 the child will be able to read and will grasp basic math concepts and this will lead to it planning ahead and solving problems. The child enjoys planning and building, also it likes to play with its friends and will play cooperatively with them. Reading may become a major interest as well as magic and tricks. It will begin to distinguish between its left and its right as well as beginning to understand time and days of the week.
Emotional Social and Language
Around four years the child will begin to use clear sentences that can be understood by strangers. Children can be expected to make some mistakes with grammar ‘We met lots of peoples at the shops today’. It’s at this age that the child could be bossy but will show signs or being protective of younger children. Also the child will have learned how to ask for help when they need it.
Around 5 and onwards children can speak using full adult grammar. Although vocabulary will continue to grow, and formal grammar will continue to improve, most children can be expected to use language effectively by age 5.
At 6 years and over the child’s vocabulary is continuing to expand, but the child is able to carry out adult-like conversations, is able to use language to explain their emotions.
At 4 to 5 years the child will play more with peers and is able to share and take turns effectively. The child may play loosely organised group games, and will enjoy pretending to be an important adult (mother, father, doctor, police officer etc…). The child wants to please and be helpful and has a growing sense of personal identity. At this stage the child can identify emotions like sadness, anger and fear.
At 6 and over the child likes group activities and team games, they can accept more responsibility and enjoy a challenge. They are likely to have a best friend and like praise and seek approval from adults and peers. They often state a dislike or hatred for the opposite sex and will refuse to have any friends for the opposite sex. They learn to control their fears, and are interested in rules and rituals. They generally enjoy playing with and caring for younger children. They will find criticism or failure difficult to handle and will get angry or upset at it.
Young children are emotionally attached and dependant on the adults that care for them. Children begin to learn social roles and behaviour within their family context. This is called first or primary socialisation. A family environment might provide a ‘safe base’ from which to explore social relationships with other children through play. Children will learn to co-operate with other children. As children grow older they will become increasingly independent and begin to form friendships based on a sense of mutual trust. Friendships become increasingly important as children grow towards adolescence. Children may begin to form social networks or ‘circles’ of friends who like and agree with each other.
Children use their imagination to begin to understand the social roles that other people play. Children begin to imagine a ‘me’- idea of self. Relationships with other family members may influence how a child feels valued – a sense of self worth. They way a child gets on with teachers and friends may influence their self-confidence. The child might develop a permanent sense of confidence or a sense of failure and inferiority.
My granddad showed no problems at all at this stage but he did show that he was a very bright child as he started to confidently hold conversations with people at 4 years and he was able to read by himself confidently at the age of 5.
Adolescence 10-18 years old
Physical
Puberty in girls often starts between the ages of 11 and 13, although it may begin earlier in some girls. Girls generally start puberty before 13 but boys generally start puberty later, often between 13 and 15 years of age. Puberty is a development stage which prepares the body for sexual reproduction. It is triggered by the action of hormones that control sexual development. Both boys and girls may experience a ‘growth spurt’, where they grow taller at a faster rate than before.
The changes that a female go through differ a bit from the boys where some stay the same. They both gain weight and grow pubic hair although boys get hair everywhere else as well, their skin and hair changes.
Girls start their period on a monthly basis, their breasts enlarge, they change shape as increased fat layers under the skin and they become curvier as the hips widen.
In boys their penis and testicles enlarge, their voices ‘break’ and become deeper and their shoulders broaden as muscle strength increases.
Intellectual
At this stage the intellectual development is using logic and an abstract thought process also known as adult thinking. With formal logical reasoning, an adolescent can solve complex problems in their heads. Formal logical operations enable them to use abstract concepts and theories in order to be able to gain an understanding of the world beyond their own experiences. Abstract thinking enables us to think through complicated ideas in out head without having to see the concrete pictures.
Emotional Social and Language
During adolescence a person’s sense of self-worth may be more influenced by other adolescents than by the family. Adolescents will copy the styles of dress, beliefs, cultural values and behaviours of their network of friends. Historically, adolescence was seen as a time of ‘storm and stress’. Adolescents had to cope with the development of their own sexuality (the impact of sex hormones at puberty) and the social transition to full independence from the family. Recent research suggests that many adolescents experience a smooth transition to adult roles without serious conflict with parents.
During adolescence this sense of self continues to develop. An adolescent needs to develop a secure sense of identity. Identity theory was first proposed by Erikson (1963). A person needs a clear understanding of identity in order to feel secure when working with other people or in order to make a loving sexual attachment. This may be a stressful time as self-esteem may depend on the development of identity.
My granddad started puberty at the right age and didn’t show any difficulties at this stage and although he was really bright he was made to leave school at 16 and this affected his self esteem because he was considered to be not as good as his brother and in fact he was just as clever.
Adulthood 18-65 years old
Physical
By early adulthood physical growth is almost complete and the body is at its peak. Between the ages of 20 and 30, young adults are able to perform better in almost every physical measure. They have: more muscle tissue, better eye sight, better hearing, better sense of smell, greater oxygen capacity and a more efficient immune system. Athletes and footballers, for example are, at their peak in their twenties. Hair loss varies tremendously throughout adult life. Some men begin to experience it as early as their twenties; others will never experience it at all.
In their thirties an adult will begin to have wrinkles as a result of the loss of elasticity and reduced functioning of the oil-secreting glands. Their bones will become weaker as there is a loss of calcium in them this process is called osteoporosis; in women this is greatly accelerated by the menopause. The fertility will also gradually decline particularly in woman usually beginning in their mid-thirties.
In their forties their vision decreases because the lens in the eye begins to thicken and can lead to poor close vision and at this stage many people need glasses for the first time. Again fertility declines as women go through the menopause; men experience a gradual decline of valuable sperm. Their height begins to decrease as the disks in the spine begin to compress. Smells will become harder to distinguish.
Finally in their fifties they will not be able to hear very high or very low voices or sounds.
Intellectual
As with physical development, most intellectual processes are at their peak in early adulthood. However, it is also thought that the intellectual peak lasts longer and the decline is slower. It is now widely agreed that intellectual development continues throughout adult life and that without realising it they continue to learn and develop (you learn something new every day). Many adults continue with their learning and this in turn enhances their intellectual development. This may be by going to college or through professional development as part of their employment.
Memory is a key part of intellectual development, because without memory, how would they remember tasks that they have learnt and then link these to one another to form concepts? Without memory, all they learn would exist in isolation and make little sense.
Emotional Social and Language
During early adulthood, friendship networks continue to be very important. For most people, early adult hood is dominated by the formation of adult sexual partners and by the need to find employment or establish a career. For many people marriage and parenthood represent major social developments in their life. Many adults in their forties and fifties experience time pressures that may limit their social activity. Mature adults may have to split their time between work, care of parents, other family commitments and wider social activities. Some mature adults report a reduction in the amount of social activity due to these pressures.
Erikson argued that the key task of early adulthood was learning to cope with emotional attachment to a sexual partner. This may involve not being too self-centred or defensive and not becoming emotionally isolated. Later on adults may face a risk of emotional ‘stagnation’ when they lose interest in social issues. According to Erikson, the development task is to stay emotionally involved with social life.
It was at this life stage that my granddad first showed signs that he was suffering from deafness and this would have impacted him because he wouldn’t have been able to hear what was going on around him and he might have lost some of his independence. Another nock to his self esteem happened when he was 20 when his brother died in a cricket accident not long after leaving home.
Older age 65+
Physical
Ageing is the natural process of becoming older, it results in gradual changes in the various tissues and organs which prevent them from functioning as efficiently as they could because of: cell loss – of these cells which, when damaged or worn out, are not renewed, e.g. nerve cells, teeth; the inaccurate repair of tissues; the accumulation of unwanted matter in the tissues, e.g. cholesterol in blood vessels and finally a reduced immunity.
Normal processes of aging are: As a person grows older, wrinkles develop, because the skin become less elastic and loses the thin underlying layer of fat. Skin also becomes drier and more fragile; Hair on the head usually turns grey and becomes thinner and thinner. It may be lost all together from the top of the head, especially in men, although this does happen to a few women. There is a tendency for women over 65 to develop facial hair; Calcium and protein are lost from the bones and they break more easily. This condition is most common in post-menopausal women. It may be possible to delay the condition by a diet rich in calcium and vitamins, and by hormone replacement therapy; It is usual to lose height, mainly because the intervertebral discs become thinner, and also if the posture becomes bent; The bent posture shown by some old people may be due to a health problem (e.g. Parkinson’s disease or osteoporosis), to habit or to painful conditions such as backache, aching joints and sore feet; the joints gradually start to stiffen and movement becomes more difficult. When the weight-baring joints are damaged by arthritis, movement may also be painful; Muscles gradually weaken and lose their power, and greater effort is required to perform the same task. For this reason, very energetic sports such as football are replaced by golf and bowls. Movements become slower due to the combined efforts of muscle weakness and stiff joints. Poorer co-ordination may make movements unsteady. Arteriosclerosis is the hardening of the arteries; this condition reduces the blood supply to the various organs. A poor blood supply to the leg may result in cramp of the calf muscles on walking, or in gangrene (death of tissue) of the toes; The amount of air that can be breathed in and out of the lungs steadily falls, therefore reducing the supply of oxygen and the removal of carbon dioxide. With some people, even slight movement results in breathlessness – a condition that develops earlier and faster in smokers; Although, the number of brain cells decreases throughout life, this doesn’t necessarily have a marked effect as there are many millions of brain cells left. It may become more difficult to remember recent events than to recall what happened many years ago; With increasing age, the lens loses its elasticity, causing difficulty in focusing on close objects. The change to the lens become obvious when the individual whose sight has been normal has to hold a news paper at arm’s length in order to read it; It is quite common for older people to notice that they are gradually becoming deaf. Loud and low sounds can be heard but people’s speech is difficult to understand. This is because the high-pitched sounds of the consonants ‘l’, ‘t’, ‘d’ etc cannot be distinguished. Shouting at a person with a form of deafness doesn’t help but speaking slow and clearly does. Much deafness, however, is caused by wax in the ears, this is why many older people tend to go and get their ears syringed and finally there is a tendency for the sense of smell to decrease with age. When this is happens the person will not be able to detect such things and escaping gas, bad food, or smelly conditions in themselves and the house. They also lose some of their sense of taste as this mainly depends on the sense of smell.
Emotional Social and Language
Following retirement, older adults have more free time. However, many older adults may choose to increase their involvement with close friends and family rather that extend their network of social contacts.
Erikson argued that older people need to develop a sense of self that enables them to cope with the physical changes associated with ageing and death. People who fail to make sense of their life might experience emotional despair.
It was at this stage that my granddad was diagnosed with terminal cancer and this really affected him because he had to come to terms with the fact that he was going to die and leave his family behind.
End of life/ Life expectancy
My individual recently died from cancer at the age of 72. He had had cancer from November 2012 and had chemotherapy and at various times had long stays in hospital due to the chemotherapy not working very well. An additional problem that he had was that he had blood clots on his lungs which were causing him to not be able to breathe properly. In the last few days of his life he was in hospital and was becoming very confused and was nearly in a coma. His life expectancy changed through out the course of his treatment as originally the doctors and nurses didn’t think that the chemotherapy would work. His life expectancy went from 3 months to 18 months then back to 4 months. His had a peaceful end to his life and was falling asleep as he died.
Factors influencing development
The factors that effected the development of my individual were firstly genetic factors. My individual (my granddad) was born with brittle bone disease which means that his bones are more likely to break. This condition is genetic. Often the problem is passed on from parents but it could develop from a genetic mutation. Brittle bone disease could lead to osteoporosis. Brittle bone disease lead to my granddad having to have a hip replacement on both his hips during adulthood. Also his mother suffered from a stroke and this is probably what caused the blood clots that my granddad had on his lungs causing him to die.
Another influence is the biological influences before birth. My individual’s mother had a diet that was high in sugar and fat it increased his risk of heart disease later in his life. His mother drunk and smoked during the pregnancy which could have affected his size but it didn’t have any effect on him. Thinking back the fact that his mother smoked is probably when caused his genes to mutate and for him to have cancer in older adulthood.
Another influence is the environment. My granddad had great access to recreational facilities with a sports ground being a short walk from the house. The sports ground had multiple football teams and clubs, it had cricket and tennis and he was really into his sports and in the end played semi-professionally. So in his late teens leading to adulthood he was physically fit and healthy.
Another influence would have been his education. He had a really good education as he attended Grammar school after passing the 11 plus exam. Out of every one in his class who sat the 11 plus exam he was the only one to pass and so had to start grammar school without any friends. That would have affected him in a social way because he would have had to start and make some friends. He was a very mischievous boy at school and was asked to leave at 16 after his O levels (GCSES) by the head.
The final potential influence is his lifestyle. My granddad never really had a poor diet as such but during his cancer and chemotherapy he couldn’t eat as much because it made him feel ill very easily and he was suffering from indigestion. None the less he chose to try and eat a good diet that was balanced and not too high in fat, salt or sugar.
Predictable and unpredictable life events
The predictable life events that affected my granddad were marriage and parenthood
Marriage is a predictable life event because most people at some stage in their life will get married. Getting married will have had both positive and negative effects on granddad. It will have affected him positively because he will have made an emotional attachment with someone who cared about him and who he felt he was going to share the rest of his life with. My granddad got married at the age of 23 after being with my nana for 18 months. The negative ways in which it would’ve affected him would be he would have had to make compromises, he may have felt threatened by intimacy and sharing possessions, and he might have felt that he had a loss of independence.
The other predictable life event I am going to write about is parenthood. My granddad became a parent at the age of 26 to his first child on 6th May 1966. He then had another child on 10th march 1970. This again would have had positive and negative effects on him. The positive effects could have been that he would make intense emotional relationships and would have strong attachments to the children. The negative effects could have been that he was scared of responsibility, he would have lost out on sleep which would have affected other aspects of his life as well and his social life would be disrupted so that he could help to look after the children.
The unpredictable life events that affected my granddad were bereavement and illness
Bereavement can be an expected or an unexpected event depending on when and which family member or friend has passed away. As we get older we expect to lose our parents or our partners but we do not expect to lose a child, sibling, parent or close friend when they are young. In any of these situations a grieving process takes place and people experience a range of emotions. My granddad lost his brother at the age of 20. His brother was away with some friends when he was hit in the chest with a cricket ball during a game of cricket. The positive learning is that he was able to cope with a new lifestyle without his brother. The possible risk of stress is that he might have felt are resentment or depression, grief at the loss or failure to adapt to the new lifestyle.
The other unpredictable life event in my granddads life was that he was diagnosed with cancer in November 2012. Most people experience some type of illness in their lives but often it is not serious but sometimes people can develop a life threatening or terminal illness that they will not recover from. The news of the illness will have made granddad feel anger or depression and failure to adapt to the new lifestyle that he will have had to live with. The positive effect on his learning was that he was able to adapt to the physical change by using a wheelchair when needed or a walking frame.
Theories of ageing
Activity theory
Writing in 1966 Bromley argued that older people needed to disengage, but they also needed to remain ‘active’ in order to prevent disengagement from going too far. Bromley said: ‘It is not sufficient merely to provide facilities for elderly people, they need to be educated and advised to make use of them and encouraged to abandon apathetic attitudes and fixed habits.’ Bromley argued that it was important to remain mentally active and maintain an interest in life and maintain and interest in life and enjoy the company of others by spending time with family members and friends. Too much disengagement will lead to ‘stagnation’ and a loss of mental and physical skills.
Havighurst (1963) states that if people keep actively involved with others in a social network, they will be more satisfied with their life. Being an active member of society maintains mental and physical health.
Some individuals prefer to live alone and be independent. Not everyone wants to be active. Not everyone is able to participate in a social network. Those with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease may have difficulty in maintaining social contacts. People with limited mobility may not be able to go out of the house. Only those able to afford to will participate in activities.
This theory states that if people keep actively involved with other in a social network, they will be more satisfied with their life. Being an active member of society maintains mental and physical health. According to Havighurst (1963), ‘in its latest projections the Office of National Statistics indicates that nearly a third if the labour force will be over 50 by 2020. Businesses increasingly need to recognise the benefits of age diversity in the work place.’
Disengagement theory
Disengagement means withdrawal from involvement with family members and others. In 1961 two authors called Cumming and Henry put forward a disengagement theory that older people would naturally tend to withdraw from social involvement with others as they got older.
Cumming argued that older people would suffer a reduction in social contact as they get older and become increasingly individual and lea concerned with the expectations of others. He argued that it was appropriate and healthy for older people to withdraw from others as it was a natural part of ageing.
The theory of disengagement fits in with the ‘springboard’ view of life and suggests that loosing contact with other people is an inevitable consequence of biological decline and that withdrawing from people is a natural and appropriate response to aging. However, there is little statistical evidence to suggest that this is a general rule for everyone.
While many researchers today do not agree with disengagement theory, it is important to remember that when Cummings and Henry first proposed the theory in 1961 there was no internet or text messaging; many older people didn’t have access to a car and quite a few would not have even had a phone in their time.
The physical and psychological effects of ageing
Physical changes
There are many different physiological effects that are associated with ageing.
One physical change is the change of skin, bones, muscles and joints. The skin becomes thinner and less elastic. Due to it becoming less elastic the skin appears wrinkled. This is because there is less fat stored underneath the skin so the appearance becomes looser. The skin can be damaged due to the sun if the skin is not protected. It is the ultraviolet light in the sun which can damage the skin. The bones become less dense and are therefore more brittle. With the bones being more brittle they are more likely to fracture. Joints become stiffer and may become more painful when moving. This is because the cartilage on the end of the bones has started to become thinner. When growing older a person can lose height. This is because the cartilage in between the vertebrae in the back bone has separated and this makes spine more compressed leading them to lose height. Also as people become older they may become less active. This means there muscles may become weaker.
Another physiological change that can happen is the degeneration of the sensory organs. Someone’s sense of balance can be affected as there sensory organs deteriorate. Also someone’s ability to smell and taste weakens. This means that smells become less prominent and are harder to detect. Over time someone’s vision can decrease. This means that someone’s ability for their eyes to focus starts to become less powerful. This starts to happen at the age of 45 and by 65 years old power of your ability to focus is that low, the person may find it hard to read any small print. There are multiple different eye conditions that can occur as someone becomes older. Two of these conditions are Cataracts and Glaucoma. A cataract is when the lens becomes hard and cloudy. As the lens grows hard it becomes hard for the lens to change shape. This can lead to blurred vision. Generally the average age for someone to start forming cataracts is 50-60 years old. By the age of 75 most people have a form of cataracts. Glaucoma is another eye condition that decreases vision in your eyes. It is a build up of pressure in the optic nerves. The build up of pressure is caused by a blockage in the optic nerve. This means that there is a decrease in vision from the eyes. This condition can cause a lot of irreversible damage to the sight. As people get older there hearing also decreases. Their ability to hear a range of frequencies decreases. It is mainly high pitched sounds that elderly people are less likely to hear. The optimum age for having the best hearing is the age of 12. Sounds can decrease in volume by the nerve cells in the inner ear may become less sensitive to noise or they may become to die which can result in hearing loss.
Another physiological change that happens in the body is hormones and the menopause. As mentioned on Page 20, the menopause is a decrease in hormones which stops you from having periods and the ability to have children. Because there is a change in the amount of hormones in your body there is a higher risk of developing osteoporosis. The environment and your lifestyle can influence you risk of developing this condition.
The cardiovascular system is another major physiological change that happen whilst someone ages. The heart is there to pump blood all of the way around the body. But some peoples arteries narrow and this means it is harder for blood to be pumped around the body. These arteries are narrowed by fatty deposits called atheroma. These arteries can also harden meaning there is flexibility in the artery. There is a condition where is happens and it is Atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis can result in the body having high blood pressure. Having high blood pressure puts the person in greater risk of having a stroke or a heart attack. The hardening of the arteries means the heart has to work harder and this can cause pressure on the heart. When the heart works harder the Atheroma may break away from the wall. This can cause blockages causing extra pressure on the heart. When the atheroma blocks an artery this is called Coronary Heart Disease. If the blockage causes too much pressure then a heart attack may occur.
The respiratory system is another physiological change that happens during ageing. When blood is not being pumped around the body correctly and efficiently breathlessness may occur. As you grow older the muscles in your chest and diaphragm will become less strong. This can cause the efficiency of the lungs to decrease. There are a number of different lung conditions. Emphysema and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease are just two of the conditions. Emphysema is a condition where the alveoli in the lungs become damaged. This means less air can be held in the lungs causing shortness of breath. This condition is mainly found in people who smoke. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is when there is an obstruction that stops the airflow to and from the lungs. Over time this can become worse and due to a lack of oxygen the person may appear to look blue.
The nervous system changes through the process of ageing. As you get older the number of nerve cells decreases and the ones left can’t transmit their signals as easily. There are many different conditions that can develop due to the loss of nerve cells. One being Motor neurone disease, this is a rare disorder that cause nerves to deteriorate, resulting in weakness and loss of muscle tissue.
There are many cognitive changes that can take place as someone is ageing. As we grow older there is a loss of nerve cells this means that there is a reduction in the number of connections in the brain. This doesn’t mean that the person is less bright or unable to think for themselves. It just means that people may take a little while longer to think of their replies to questions and they may forget a few things but this is not to be confused with dementia.
Arthritis is a common condition which includes damage to the joints within the body. The cartilage that covers the end of the bones wears thin. This causes pain and stiffness and can strict movement of the joints.
Psychological changes
Not only are there physical changes in health there are psychological changes too. Psychological changes can effect on confidence and self-esteem. Dependant on what we have experienced when we have been growing up can depend on what we are like during old age. An example of how past experiences can affect confidence in the future is when someone goes into retirement. For some people retirement is can be a really relaxing time where someone may have a sense of freedom and able to travel if they have had a very busy adulthood. But retirement can also take people away from any social contact that they might have had at work and also may not have the financial security that someone might have had in the past. Both of these circumstances can affect someone’s confidence and self-esteem. Something else that may knock someone’s confidence and self-esteem could include losing someone who means a lot to you and having to learn to live alone. Also having an illness for a long period of time and maybe having to spend time in hospital can knock someone’s confidence.
Nature/Nurture Debate
Historically, some philosophers and theorists have argued that we are born to be the way we are. Other theorists have argued that it is the way we are brought up and influenced by our surroundings that makes us the way we are. The historical argument is known as the nature-nurture debate.
The nature side of this debate is to do with the biological inheritance. Heredity is the biological transmission of both physical and mental characteristics form parents to offspring, e.g. eye colour. The sperm cell and the egg cell each contain their own distinctive genes also called the genotype.
A genotype is the full complement of chromosomes in a human body cell containing the genetic characteristics of an individual. At conception, the egg cell’s 23 chromosomes combine with the sperm’s 23 chromosomes to form 46 chromosomes and 23 pairs.
Chromosomes are long strands of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) which is a chemical ribbon that tells all cells what to do. The genes are short stretches of the DNA located in the chromosomes.
An example of a disease linked in with the biological influences is cystic fibrosis, which is passed onto the child if both parents have the genes. Down’s syndrome is when an extra chromosome is present. It is a chromosomal abnormality not a genetic disease.
The nurture side of the debate is to do with the influences in our environment.
In the nurture side of the debate covers Lifestyle factors, social factors, physical environmental factors and psychological factors.
Lifestyle factors are the choices that an individual makes for example whether they use drugs or smoke, whether they drink alcohol excessively, whether they eat a balanced diet or whether they exercise. If the individual chooses to make the wrong decisions then their quality of life may become compromised and affected in many ways. For example someone who eats a poor diet or does no exercise will become overweight or obese which will cause them to suffer from secondary illnesses and other problems like not being able to move.
Social factors are the ways in which an individual is influenced by their friends, family, social class, the health service, their community group, whether they socialise or not and their cultural beliefs. They ways in which people are affected by their friends and family are the pressures that are put on either by peer pressure or family life. If an individual is under lots of pressure from their family life they will not be able to socialise effectively and if they are under lots of pressure from their friends they may make decisions that they regret later in life. An individual’s cultural beliefs will affect their social group because some might have set times when they can’t socialise for example during festivals.
Physical environment factors are what is around us for example; air and water quality, noise pollution, access to employment, income, education and safe neighbourhoods. The air and water quality will affect and individual because if the water or air is polluted then the individual could become ill. An individual living in an unsafe neighbourhood will be scared to leave the house so therefore they will live in terror and fright on the other hand someone in a safe neighbourhood will be happier and feel better about leaving the house.
Physiological factors influence how a person sees themselves. Psychological factors include: self esteem, self concept, the relationships with family/ partners/ friends and stress. If someone has poor relationships with the people in their life they will have a low self esteem and a poor self concept this will make them feel really bad about themselves and will influence their daily activities because they will not think much of themselves.
In conclusion an individual is influenced by both the environment and their biology (nature and nurture) and both are equally important. In fact the environment can be used to counteract inherited diseases because advice and medical support can be given to overcome the worst effects of inherited diseases. The environment can by both a negative and a positive influence on an individual’s life. An individual who doesn’t exercise, will become obese and that will lead to having them having a low self esteem which is a negative influence on their life. But an individual who exercises might socialise with friends in the process will have a good self esteem which therefore is a positive influence on their life.
My granddad was obviously influenced by his biological network as he had to have his hips replaced in his older age due to the fact that he had brittle bone disease which was passed down from his mother. Another genetic disorder that he inherited was blood clots. In the end the blood clots were on his lungs causing pressure and stopping him from being able to breathe and that was one of the final things that he died of.
My granddad chose the lifestyle factors that impacted his life in a positive way and his was a healthy young man when he was playing semi-professional football from the age of 19 or 20 until he was 27. He never smoked or abused alcohol and this was a good choice on his part because he didn’t develop any related illnesses but eventually his liver was affected by his cancer but for a while the liver was able to resist the cancer but there became a point when there was too many small tumours in the liver that it started to shut down.
My granddad had really positive social influences on his life the only time that something happed that would have affected him in a negative was when his brother died but he didn’t let that ruin his life he learnt to cope and moved on and tried to live a normal life. He was a bright child so did well and was the only child to pass the 11+ exam from his class so he had to start the grammar school by himself which would have impacted his social life because he had to make new friends after leaving his old ones behind.
He may not have had a brilliant physical environment because there were quite a few people living in his house and it was very crowded. He had a really good education and overall achieved I think 7 O-levels at the end of his 5th year at grammar school. He was able to get employment after leaving at 16 after being told to by the head teacher. It was at this point that he became an apprentice to become a mine surveyor.
His psychological influenced would have impacted at various times in his life. The key example of this would have been when the head of the grammar school asked him to leave after getting his O-level results. His self esteem would have taken a knock when his brother died because he was very close to him and had in a way lost a best friend and a brother. In the last few months of his life when he was really ill with his terminal cancer he refused to let it get in the way of his self esteem and always stayed positive and made sure that everyone else was too. This impacted him in a negative way but he refused to let it influence him negatively and looked forward to when we would all get together and he would make games for us all to play and his face really lit up when he saw that they were being enjoyed and this would have really boosted his self esteem making him feel really valued.
In a way he was a very positive individual due to his upbringing thinking that there was always someone worse off than he was. He never let any bad news get in the way and stayed positive right to the very end. His way of life was very limited particularly in the last month or so but due to his nurturing as he was growing up he wouldn’t let it affect him or get in the way of what he wanted to do.
Bibliography
Author: Elizabeth Haworth, Heather Higgins, Helen Hoyle, Sian Lavers, Carol Lewis
Title: Health & Social Care Level 2 BTEC First
Place of Publication: Harlow, Essex
Publisher: Pearson Education Limited
Year: 2010
ISBN number: 978 846 90681 7
Author: Carolyn Aldworth, Marilyn Billingham, Peter Lawrence, Neil Moonie, Hilary Talman
Series editors: Beryl Stretch, Mary Whitehouse
Title: Health & Social Care Level 3 BTEC National
Place of Publication: Harlow, Essex
Publisher: Pearson Education Limited
Year: 2010
ISBN number: 978 1 846907 46 37
Author: Richard Landsdown and Marjorie Walker
Title: Your Child’s development from birth to adolescence
Place of publication: London
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Year: 1991
ISBN number: 0 7112 0646 5
Class work sheets
development, growth, culture, life course, reflexes, infancy, cognitive, discrimination, puberty, developmental norms, maturation, life expectancy, conception, adulthood, childhood, physical, nature, holistic development, old age, pregnancy, social, adolescence, delayed development, intellectual, nurture, emotional, development, growth, culture, life course, reflexes, infancy, cognitive, discrimination, puberty, developmental norms, maturation, life expectancy, conception, adulthood, childhood, physical, nature, holistic development, old age, pregnancy, social, adolescence, delayed development, intellectual, nurture, emotional, development, growth, culture, life course, reflexes, infancy, cognitive, discrimination, puberty, developmental norms, maturation, life expectancy, conception, adulthood, childhood, physical, nature, holistic development, old age, pregnancy, social, adolescence, delayed development, intellectual, nurture, emotional, development, growth, culture, life course, reflexes, infancy, cognitive, discrimination, puberty, developmental norms, maturation, life expectancy, conception, adulthood, childhood, physical, nature, holistic development, old age, pregnancy, social, adolescence, delayed development, intellectual, nurture, emotional, development, growth, culture, life course, reflexes, infancy, cognitive, discrimination, puberty, developmental norms, maturation, life expectancy, conception, adulthood, childhood, physical, nature, holistic development, old age, pregnancy, social, adolescence, delayed development, intellectual, nurture, emotional, development, growth, culture, life course, reflexes, infancy, cognitive, discrimination, puberty, developmental norms, maturation, life expectancy, conception, adulthood, childhood, physical, nature, holistic development, old age, pregnancy, social, adolescence, delayed development, intellectual, nurture, emotional, development, growth, culture, life course, reflexes, infancy, cognitive, discrimination, puberty, developmental norms, maturation, life expectancy, conception, adulthood, childhood, physical, nature, holistic development, old age, pregnancy, social, adolescence, delayed development, intellectual, nurture, emotional, development, growth, culture, life course, reflexes, infancy, cognitive, discrimination, puberty, developmental norms, maturation, life expectancy, conception, adulthood, childhood, physical, nature, holistic development, old age, pregnancy, social, adolescence, delayed development, intellectual, nurture, emotional, development, growth, culture, life course, reflexes, infancy, cognitive, discrimination, puberty, developmental norms, maturation, life expectancy, conception, adulthood, childhood, physical, nature, holistic development, old age, pregnancy, social, adolescence, delayed development, intellectual, nurture, emotional, development, growth, culture, life course, reflexes, infancy, cognitive, discrimination, puberty, developmental norms, maturation, life expectancy, conception, adulthood, childhood, physical, nature, holistic development, old age, pregnancy, social, adolescence, delayed development, intellectual, nurture, emotional, development, growth, culture, life course, reflexes, infancy, cognitive, discrimination, puberty, developmental norms, maturation, life expectancy, conception, adulthood, childhood, physical, nature, holistic development, old age, pregnancy, social, adolescence, delayed development, intellectual, nurture, emotional, development, growth, culture, life course, reflexes, infancy, cognitive, discrimination, puberty, developmental norms, maturation, life expectancy, conception, adulthood, childhood, physical, nature, holistic development, old age, pregnancy, social, adolescence, delayed development, intellectual, nurture, emotional, development, 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Jack Littlewood-Kinder
6th July 1940 - 9th April 2013