Please make 3 comments in the following 3 peers where you have to: make a minimum of one short paragraph. Whether you agree or disagree, explain why with supporting evidence and concepts from the readings or a related experience. Include a reference, link, or citation when appropriate.
Identitiy development & Personality
Peer -1
While doing the reading this week, what struck me is how much change and personality development really happens in adulthood. This even applies to such socially accepted norms like gender. One study the text cites states that as men and women get older, they are less and less preoccupied with fulfilling the expectations of their gender and may even adopt personality traits generally linked with the opposite sex. This comes in stark contrast with the same respondent's view of themselves earlier on in their life. For example, women in the same study that reported to have developed typically male traits in their fifties said that they were the most "feminine" in their twenties (Mason, 2011, p. 104). If you think about where these women were developmentally, this makes sense. Following the traditional developmental trajectory, theywould have just left the identity vs. role confusion stage of their lives where they're learning their place in the world (including gender) and then entering into the intimacy vs. isolation stage of development where they are forming romantic relationships which often reinforces gender roles, especially in its early stages (93-97). I think it would be interesting to see a study documenting how those with a different sexual orientation would report how "feminine" or "masculine" they feel to see if there is in fact a correlation between this stage of development and how much people "act" their stereotypical gender.
In my observations this week, I was not able to see elderly people adopting gender norms from the opposite sex. That being said, individual personality traits are difficult to observe. One thing I did notice in my observation was the notion of transition. I observed this through the conversation of an elderly caucasian lady talking with her friend about helping one of her other friends transition to an assisted living home. The way she described the transition seemed heartbreaking as she talked about how her friend could not decide what to do with all of the items she had acquired over the years. It was clear that her friend was going through a time of transition with a reexamination of her identity and priorities likely. This anecdote, along with the study about gender roles above, both support the text's idea that "developmental crises, such as that of identity, will be revisited many times throughout adulthood (Mason, 2011, p. 92)."
Reference: Mason, M.G. (2011). Adulthood and Aging. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
PEER -2
After being introduced to this material, I realize that individual differences as well as individual experience would have an affect on the stages of development proposed by Erikson. In the last stage of Erikson model the older person is expected to draw some conclusions on their productivity. As a result he or she either feels contentment and peace or disappointment and despair. Therefore this stage of life highly depends not only on the productivity level, but also on the sense of purpose that was developed throughout the working years. If a person was working towards specific goals, and accomplished them he feels very different then those who barely put any thought or energy into anything, or never set up goals or dreams for themselves. As we have learned last week Socio-economic status plays a role on the way people age. However, another interesting fact that I have learned that some people learn to develop great coping skills that help them overcome financial or other challenges. It looks like the way we chose to respond to a situation eventually builds up our personality. Being better off financially doesn't always mean feeling better about aging process. While finances may give a sense of stability, it won't give automatic development of positive personality traits. As an example, when my husband worked as a taxi driver in NY City some years ago he told me stories how arrogant and grumpy some of the affluent elders can be. In contrast I have couple of neighbors ages 85 plus, who are just surviving on a small retirement plan but who are very kind and constantly offer help. This shows that peace doesn't just come with comfortable living.
The other very noticeable contrast that I have noticed among the elderly is that some of them are very humble, friendly and open for conversation with strangers. They would give you compliments or words of wisdom, or just a smile. Others seem very grumpy and angry. Sadly, they are also easily agitated and can blow up on you for making a wrong move. Now that I have studied Five-Factor Model I see that those traits come from the five traits described by the researchers. The most obvious one is Neuroticism, which is described as irritability, anxiety, moodiness, and sadness. I wonder if some of the older people just slip in to that extreme because they did not make enough effort to develop the positive personality traits such as Openness or Agreeableness. I have also learned that if we do not complete psychological stages successfully we might end up establishing negative identity, loneliness, depression, or any other negative psychological state.
References: Mason, Marion (2011), Adulthood and Aging, Allyn & Bacon publishers
PEER-3
After reading all the theories I was thinking about how they all may apply in different times in someone's life. I thought about how some traits are developed and/or undeveloped. I do think that some of these stages and traits vary by individual differences. In the Erikson theory I always question the time frame in which everything takes place. Some people may develop some traits from middle age while still overcoming traits in the young adulthood stage. For example when I read the theory on young adult I thought, well some people may have issues with intimacy vs. isolation and still might be sorting the two but may show a lot of generativity towards others. Generosity is occurring in middle adulthood according to the Erikson theory.
What I found interesting was, that not every person would come across every stage in Erikson's theory from start to finish. There are many people from different religions; race and age that may or may not agree with ways these theories will apply. I personally think about the stages and noticed although my age fits the young adulthood (20-35) I feel like I'm in a place right now where I am experiencing life from the middle age perspective. I think that as a young Latina women growing up in a society where there was and still is poverty, I mastered growing up pretty quickly. I wasn't in a position to step by step complete everything in young adulthood. Therefore I worked on myself to better prepare myself for my future by improving commitment, love and focus buy moving onto being generous, identifying with myself, connecting with people and having structure and a balance in life. So from my perspective I think that these theories apply to all people differently.