Alice Benningfield

DQ 1

Developmental psychologist Robert Havighurst stated that the developmental tasks for middle-aged adults are threefold:

1) managing a household,

2) child rearing, and

3) managing a career.

Drawing on principles you have learned in this course, speculate on how you will accomplish these tasks.

Developmental psychologist Robert Havighurst came up with a model that is backed with bio psychosocial factors. which have substantial influence on the tasks performed by a person at a particular stage (Newman & Newman, 2014). The task of managing a household is socio-culturally driven as it engages the meeting of the social oriented responsibilities. The duty of performing child rearing invokes the foundational bases of social-cultural phenomena, which provide outlined guidelines on how children can be brought up appropriately. The endeavor of managing careers is a psychologically driven task, which empowers an individual to realize his or her economic goals and objectives in life. To efficiently accomplish the these tasks, the following criteria are important to ponder upon; delegation, role identification, adapting, and improving. Improving on activities which reduce the duration spent on performing duties. It is important to consider the path and plan to be embraced when involved in such undertakings and regularly reviewing the methods used to verify if it is working effectively and efficiently (Baltes&Schaie, 2013).

Baltes, P. B. &Schaie, K. W. (2013).Life-span developmental psychology: Personality and socialization. Burlington: Elsevier Science.
Newman, B. M. & Newman, P. R. (2014).Development through life: A psychosocial approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Tonya Klemmer

DQ 2

Developmental psychologist Robert Havighurst stated that the developmental tasks for middle-aged adults are threefold:

1) managing a household,

2) child rearing, and

3) managing a career.

Drawing on principles you have learned in this course, speculate on how you will accomplish these tasks.

Havighurst believed that adults continue to experience developmental tasks well into adulthood. Uhlendorff (2004) shared Havighurst's definition of a developmental task as, a task in which the individual has to and wants to solve a particular life period. Havighurst's theory is based on a biopsychosocial perspective stating that these developmental tasks at each stage are influenced by a person's biology, psychology and sociology. This has gone on to be very important when gathering information for the mental health treatment of a person. He believed that development occurs throughout a person's entire lifespan. Havighurst reported that a person will achieve the next stage once they have experienced successful resolution of their performances in everyday life.

According to James, Witte, and Galbraith (2006), Havighurst claimed that as much as 90% of?an adult's waking time is spent in one or more of a dozen plus roles.

In regards to accomplishing the three tasks of managing a household, child rearing, and managing a career a person must learn to balance each of these tasks in order to experience success, thus leading them to the next developmental stage. As a middle age woman, I have had to learn to balance all three of these tasks. At times it is a give and take, meaning that I may have to change my work schedule in order to attend to something within in my home or one of my children's activities. Based on the previous materials discussed, I have had to learn to prioritize my values, development time management, and set goals for both myself and my family in order to successfully manage all three of these areas.

James, W.B., Witte, J. E., & Galbraith, M. W. (2006). Havighurst's Social Roles Revisited. Journal of Adult Development, 13(1). 52-60. Doi:10.1007/s10804-006-9007-y

Uhlendorff, U. (2004). The Concept of Developmental Tasks and its Significance for Education and Social Work. Social Work & Society, 2(1), 54-63.
Kimbrilee Schmitz

DQ 3

Discuss the physical and cognitive changes that take place in late adulthood, and explain how to offset some of the negative developments of adulthood and late adulthood.

In late adulthood there are many physical and cognitive changes that occur. Skin starts to look wrinkly because cells do not reproduce at the rate that they used to. In late adulthood, movements are slower and may be more painful. Eyesight, reaction time and hearing also decrease with age. Physical disabilities and disease increase with age. It becomes more difficult to recover from injuries and fight off diseases. Cognitively, the brain becomes less efficient as an individual ages. At this point in an individual's life memory decreases (Berger, 2014). The coordination of thoughts and planning decreases, taking more time to plan and is often noticed in slower speech and lagging of conversations.

To offset some of the negative changes in late adulthood, an individual needs to eat healthy foods and exercise. Doing these things can help an individual in late adulthood both physically and cognitively. Physically these activities keep the body mobile while not adding excess weight which can increase the likelihood of problems, physically. Cognitively, these activities help with a healthy brain, and decrease the likeliness of losing brain functions. Individuals with high levels of education or vocational skills seem to decline less cognitively than other individuals (Berger, 2014). While some diseases and disorders that lead to these changes are not preventable, leading a healthy lifestyle can help stave off some of these negative changes that occur in late adulthood.

Reference:

Berger, K. (2014). Invitation to the life span, 2nd ed. New York, New York: Worth Publisher