Life Span Interview-Part 2: Narrative Analysis

Throughout the HSBE I and II courses, you have explored the biological, psychological, and sociological aspects of different phases of the human life span. You have explored life-span development theories that help to explain human behavior. You also have considered how the social environment influences individuals and their behavior.

This week, you apply your learning of the person and the environment to an analysis of an individual's life span. Last week, you conducted a Life Span Interview with one of your colleagues. This week, you complete a narrative analysis based on your interview notes.

A narrative is a story. As you interviewed your colleague last week, several of the experiences your colleague shared may have struck you as being especially pertinent to his or her life story.

For this assignment, you transform your interview notes into a narrative-that is, a life story­-of the colleague you interviewed. You interweave within this narrative an analysis of the life story by applying person and the environment concepts to your understanding and interpretation of that story.

For example, you may identify a life-span development theory that, when applied to your colleague's narrative, helps you to understand his or her development and behavior at that point in the life span.

SOCW 6210: Human Behavior and the Social Environment II

Week 10 Life Span interview

Stage 1: Basic Trust versus Basic Mistrust

• When you were an adolescent, did you trust your mother? YES

• When you were an adolescent, did you trust your father? YES

• When you were an adolescent, did you trust your female friends? YES
When you were an adolescent, did you trust your male friends? YES

• Did you trust your own abilities? YES
How do you describe what your identity was as an adolescent? I IDENTIFY MYSELF AS A MALE FILLED WITH ENERGY

• If you requested something from your mother, what were your expectations? What type of response did you expect? MOST TIMES I GOT WANTED EXCEPT INSTANCES MY MOM COULD NOT AFFORD IT

• Can you remember during adolescence any examples of "giving" in the altruistic sense to someone else? I CANT RECOLLECT

• How do you describe your relationship with peers during adolescence? Did you trust them? Was there mutual recognition (versus isolation)? As an adolescent, did you have trouble going to sleep at night? I TRUSTED MY FRIENDS AND I NEVER LIVED IN ISOLATION. I SLEPT GOOD

Stage 2: Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt

• As an adolescent, describe how you felt about affection, time, and money. I WAS LOVED AND I CARED FOR MY SIBLINGS. ALTHOUGH WE HAD LITTLE MONEY BUT WE WERE ALWAYS CONTENTED. WE HAD A FARM. I HATE GOING TO THE FARM BUT HARVEST WAS MY FAVORITE TIME TO GO TO THE FARM

• Did you tend to hoard things or discard them? Did you throw stuff out of car windows? NO WE WERE DISCIPLINED. NO TRASH WAS ALLOWED OUT OF THE WINDOW.

• When you did projects or other work as an adolescent, did you prefer to do it by yourself or get help from friends or peers? I LIKE WORKING BY MYSELF BUT THERE ARE SOME INSTANCES THAT I HAD TO RELY ON FRIENDS FOR A PROJECT

• Did you get the most respect through cooperation or insistence? YES

• In high school, did you tend to answer questions freely or wait until you were called on? I RAISED UP MY HAND AND I WAS CALLED SOMETIMES AND OTHER INSTANCES MY TEACHER PICKED ON ME

• Were you proud of your accomplishments? ALWAYS

• When you made personal decisions, were you certain you were doing the right thing? NOT REALLY BUT I USED MY BEST JUDGMENT AND LEARN TO ACCEPT MY MISTAKE

• Were there times during adolescence when you were ashamed? YES

• Were you ever afraid of being in an exposed or vulnerable situation? NO

• Did you ever try to get away with things if you could not get caught? AS A KID YES. I USED TO SNEAK TO THE FRUIT FARM TO GET SOME ORANGES OR MANGOES

• With regard to your progress through adolescence, did you feel you were behind time? Needed more time? NO I WAS HIGH SPEED

Stage 3: Initiative Versus Guilt

• Did you enjoy and look forward to new initiatives? YES

• As an adolescent, were you curious? Were you ambitious? VERY AMBITIOUS

Stage 4: Industry Versus Inferiority
• As an adolescent did you seek and get recognition for work well done? NO

• Did you have feelings of inadequacy or inferiority? NO

Stage 5: Identity Versus Role Confusion

• When you were an adolescent, did you remember assessing your strengths and weaknesses? YES

• What did you want to be when you grew up? ACTUALLY I WANTED TO BE A POLITICIAN

• Did you have a lot of peer group involvement? YES

• In adolescence, what were your goals for adulthood? TO BE SUCCESSFUL POLITICIAN OR BUSINESS MAN

• Did you have a love relationship as a teenager? NO

• When you were an adolescent, what was so important in your life that you are willing to commit to it? MY EDUCATION

• When you were an adolescent if I asked you to consider the question "Who am I?" what would you have said? I AM A YOUNG AMBITIOUS TEENAGER

• When you were an adolescent if I asked you to consider the question "Where am I going?" what would you have said? I AM GOING TO BE SUCESSFUL

• As an adolescent, were you preoccupied with the opinion of others? NOPE