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Erik Erikson theory of personality development
Erik Erikson theory of personality development
The 1st missionary journey
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“You are only as old as you feel”. Everyone at some time in life has heard this saying. People are more and more resisting the idea of aging. In Betty Friedan’s book, The Fountain of Age (1993), she suggests that a new stage in life is emerging from this trendy resistance of growing old. Many people have tried to put a label on the trend. It has been called the “third-age”, “encore years”, and even referred to as the “second missionary journey”. This time of life that is being referenced is the period of late adulthood. Psychologists, such as Erik Erikson, have referred to this stage in life as a period of new identity. Throughout life, each new experience, each gain or loss, requires a reassessment of one’s identity. The idea of who am I, is often challenged in old age. (Berger, 2008). The days of being able to socially define who we are, by what we do have passed and now it is time to begin that “second missionary journey”. Different from the psychological perspective of aging and this life course, sociologists focus in on ideas of how changes in culture and times have brought about this new “third age”. Their explanations are based mainly on the concepts of generations, such as the “baby boomers” of the twentieth century. Through this distinct concept, the new stage of late adulthood can be better explored and further explained. The areas of who these people are, what they do, and what drives them to do it are of most interest to those not experiencing the same changes. Late adulthood is no longer a site of poverty in the cycle of life, but instead is a chance to redefine oneself as an agent of social change.
The groups of people who make up the new, emerging stage in life are not simply any man or woman in the...
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..., Stephen. "Growing older without aging? Positive aging, anti-ageism, and anti-aging." Generations 25.4 (2002): 27-32. Print.
Katz, Stephen, and Barbara Marshall. "New Sex for old: lifestyle, consumerism, and the ethics of aging well." Journal of Aging Studies 17 (2003): 3-16. Print.
Laufer, Robert S., and Vern L. Bengston. "Generations, Aging, and social stratification." Journal of Social Issues 30.3 (2010): 181-205. Web. 16 Feb. 2012.
Massey, Garth. Ways of Social Change: Making sense of modern times. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2012. 74-88. Print.
McHugh, Kevin E. "The ageless self? Emplacement of identities in retirement communities." Journal of Aging Studies 14.1 (2000): 103-15. Print.
Weiss, Robert S., and Scottq A. Bass, eds. Challenges of the third age: Meaning and purpose in later life. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2002. 41-43. Print.
Takamura, J.C. (1999). Getting ready for the 21st Century: The aging of America and the older
Nelson argues that ageism exists in America due to the cultural bias of American society towards the youth. According to Nelson, American culture encourages the youth to emulate a very individualistic and dominative personality, thereby promoting the idea that the life of the youth is in their own hands. Aging and death are factors that are not in our control, so lack of control causes youthful individuals to lash out in fear towards aging, death, and the elderly. This argument is made stronger by the comparison between modern, westernized culture and a more conventional, eastern culture. Nelson compares the idea eastern cultures promote a sort of reverence towards elders due to their long life and wisdom. In eastern culture, the youth look up to their elders with respect and dignity, while the modernized, western culture promotes a more individualistic viewpoint. By presenting this comparison, as well as the
In transitioning into later adulthood, being in the midlife of one’s life, there can be the crisis one may face and might begin to act abnormal to how they would act before. It can be described as a “midlife crisis.” According to Daniel Levinson, the ages between 40-45 is considered the mid-life transition phase, which can also be considered a crisis period (Levinson 1978, p.21) There are numerous people who in their forties suffer from issues of the structure of their life and might be struggling transitioning from their “peak,” or so they think. Levinson specifically focused on the transitional period in a man’s life where he might be having issues transitioning in now that during this age, a man has more burdens to bear, possibly more responsibility
Hiller, S. M., & Barrow, G. M. (2011). Aging, the individual, and society. (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Prominent musician, Celine Dion, once said, “There’s no such thing is aging, but maturing and knowledge. It’s beautiful, I call that beauty.” To many, growing old is just a natural, beautiful part of life. It is inevitable. It is inescapable. The functionalist perspective of sociology states that the elderly perform a function in order to keep society running with ease. Functionalists focus on the disengagement theory and how people tend to disengage from society as they approach death. Symbolic interactionists focus on how environmental factors and relationships with others affect the aging experience, focusing on the activity theory and the continuity theory (Carl, 2011, p. 220). Conflict theorists focus on the discrepancies that arise between different age groups. They also focus on the economical side of aging and the issues that may arise due to an active elderly population (Carl, 2011, p. 221).
Little attention has been paid to the seniors until the problem of sexual dysfunction became rampant. (Sigelman and Rider, 2009). Older people are often viewed as having lost... ... middle of paper ... ...
Atchley, R. C. (1997). Social forces and aging: An introduction to social gerontology (8th ed.).
In today’s culture, the number of issues that the average person has to face on a daily basis, are astronomical. Millennials, in particular, have been greatly affected by this, so much so that a new phase in the human lifespan has been created just for them! Dubbed “emerging adulthood” by psychologist Jeffrey Arnett, plopped smack dab in the middle of adolescence, and adulthood, this phase captures any, and all doubts that 20-29 year olds are plagued with. From their economic standing, to racial, ethnic, and identity issues, and to disabilities ranging from both mental, and physical, this phase captures every single uncertainty, fear, and qualm that one person can possibly have in a neat little package.
This reflection paper is based on the life history interview conducted on me and a 78-year-old woman who is soon going to celebrate her 79th birthday on Sep 21st. I would call her with a fictitious name “Smita” in the entire paper to maintain and protect her privacy. The interview was about our life. It was divided into six major life categories: childhood, adulthood, identity, the present, aging, and life lessons. Having an opportunity to interview a 78-year-old woman and writing this reflective paper about the life history and experiences had made me realize that I have a lot to learn about the stages of human life. Every individual lives are different and it varies tremendously. As an interviewee my goal was to collect the details of life, different stories, and experiences that makes our life unique from the rest of the people.
Where, women are condemned for ageing more than men are. Media greatly highlights the stereotypical notion of ageing, especially in the aspect of portraying men and women and their social roles through advertisement. I will be discussing the double standard of aging in the media, as well as the double standards that address certain characteristics that promote these stereotypes. In the media, advertisements portray middle age men as having agentic qualities such as, independent, fighters, muscular, aggressive, dominant, energetic, always engaged in exciting activities that show great accomplishments and encourage their active sexual behaviors. Women, on the other hand, are portrayed as having communal qualities such as, dependent to men, softer, thin, feminine, loving, serving as housewives and caring for their husbands.
It is blatantly evident that America is a country in which youth is king. Everyone wants to look young, feel young, and possess that youthful vigor and dynamism that is so highly respected by both the media and by the public. Our shelves are stocked with products to make us appear younger in any way, shape, or form; our most popular reality TV shows revolve around the lives of the young and beautiful. It seems that America’s population has forgotten that with luck, some day we will all become older. We will become those wrinkly, slow, and uncannily wise beings that hover in the background of today’s society. And what kind of life will we find once we reach that invisible point? Today’s elderly are treated with resentment and antagonism that is in appalling opposition to the respect that they deserve.
Late adulthood should be a time in a person's life where they feel fulfilled. They can look back on their memories and be happy with the way they have lived their life. Now, too many elderly people are not satisfied and look at this stage as depressing. Most fear death of either a loved one or for themselves. This topic is interesting to me because elderly people should make the best of their last stage of life. This topic discusses about getting older, the life changes that they go through physically, emotionally, and mentally. We should know more about it so that we can help our family and friends get through one of the best, yet toughest part of our mortal life.
As human beings age, according to Erik Erikson, they go through developmental stages that help to create and transform their personalities. If needs are met and the ego is gratified, then the individual is able to move on to the next challenge. Onward they march in life and in stage until they find the end level: integrity versus despair. This has been categorized as adults 65 years and older by Erikson. Here, people are to reminisce and judge their lives in terms of merit or disappointment. Erikson himself had a lot to comb through in his later years.
“A transition is a discrete life change or event within a trajectory, whereas a trajectory is a sequence of linked states within a conceptually defined range of behavior or experience” (Mitchell, 2003). A life changing event can be categorized as getting married, having a baby, etc. A trajectory event may occur during someone’s educational life, or perhaps during their career. Another life course principle is diversity of heterogeneity in structures or methods. “Matilda Riley’s (1987) research supported a model of age stratification-the different experiences of different cohorts-and so helped to overcome the fallacy of cohort centrism, the notion that cohorts share perspectives simply because they share a common age group” (Mitchell, 2003). Really, these groups are not similar gatherings of individuals, instead they are diverse in aspects such as influential extents like sex, social class, family structure, origin, and belief. Also, the capability to adjust to life course modification can differ with the resources intrinsic in these foundations in the procedure of financial or social wealth or social
Aging and being old was dominated by negative characteristics and conditions such as illness, depression, and isolation for a long time (Eibach, Mock, & Courtney, 2010). At first glance the terms “success” and “aging” seem to be in conflict to each other. When asking people about aging, their answers have many facets that are also found in psychological definitions: successful aging is seen as health, maturity and personal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generativity, coping, and acceptance of age-related limitations. In the psychological sense successful aging is also often seen as the absence of age-associated characteristics (Strawbridge, Wallhagen, & Cohen, 2002). It seems that successful aging means is not aging.