Psychology

Development is characterized by the element of change wherein it is the process of moving from one state to another. In addition to this, the change in development is deemed as to have a lasting effect, which means that this change is not just any change but fundamental to the succeeding processes. This change in development is also deemed as a growth or progression through certain stages. These stages all point to a common end or goal. In relation to this, human development is characterized as maturity which is fairly demonstrated through action (Infed.Org, 2010, p.1).

Life span development is composed of the stages that human beings go trough. This process is life long and continuous that every human being goes through. From being conceived to childhood, adolescence, adulthood and eventually death, human beings go though certain changes that characterize these stages of development.

As we go through life, we are constantly changing. According to Mark Dombeck, Ph.D as he described life span development

From the moment we are first conceived, to the day we die, we are constantly changing and developing. While some of the changes we undergo are as a result of chance incidents and personal choices, the vast majority of life changes and stages we pass through are due to our common biological and psychological heritage as human beings and are shared by all people (2004, p.1).

From this, development is a lifelong process that all human beings go through. Also, human development is a process that is both influenced by the biological and the social aspect of the lives of human beings.

Development is also described as the mechanism by which human beings successfully respond to the challenges to living their lives as posed by a combination of their biology and social forces. Problems arise when these challenges are not met (Hendry  Kloep, 2002, p.8).

There are basically three major stages of human development namely childhood, adolescence and adulthood. As people go through such stages, they learn to master their bodies in order to communicate, form relationships, to work and to love (Dombeck, 2004, p.1).

In addition to this, Dombeck describes this mastery of the human body and human capacities as
Knowledge about how human lifespan development is supposed to unfold is important because it serves as the base upon which our life problems sit. If we fail to master a working knowledge of how to get dates as a teenager, for instance, we may later find ourselves with a socialanxietyproblem as an adult. If we are not properly nurtured as an infant, we may have difficulty trusting in relationships at all as an adult. Knowing something about how people typically develop themselves over time thus helpsusto place our problems and illnesses into context, and also suggests ways that our problems can be fixed (2004, p.1).

With this, the stage wherein a human being is at dictates what kinds of behavior she exhibits, what kinds of problems she encounters and what kind of solutions she will do about such problems. Overall, the stage of development influences the mind and behavior of the human being. In addition to this, when a problem in one stage is left unresolved and the person moves on to the next stage, problems will arise for the human being when she gets to the next stage of life span development.
Human development is not in the same rate with everybody. Some develop slower than the rest. It is important to note that although development is linked to ages, children develop at different rates and healthy development includes a wide range of ages. Being lagged behind by a few years is not alarming (Oswalt, 2008, p.1).

With this, the focus of the research emerges. The research aims to unravel whether the life span development of human beings are purely linear. The research will look into the question whether skipping one stage is possible in human development. In addition to this, the research will also be trying to study whether going back to a previous stage is possible or not. Furthermore, the study will also be looking at the stages of development and see whether human beings go through these stages at a certain order and do all life span stages have the same end.

The study will be using the stages of human development as written by Erikson (1959). The study will be focusing on the United States society and will be looking at the context of the lives of the people as embedded in the American society.

Children in their childhood stage are to be the focus of the study. Interviews with the parents of the children will be utilized in the case study. The children going through the different sub-stages of childhood are going to be the basis of the study in answering the research questions.

Theoretical Framework
Development is the changes that human beings go through from being conceived until death. The study of development seeks to find answers as to how and why human beings to change throughout life. Life span or human development does not only cover biological and physical developments but also includes emotional, intellectual, perceptual and personality development. Development studies not only the physical development of human beings but also the social and cognitive changes they go through (Cherry, 2010, p.1).

Development has three different but overlapping domains. The first domain is the biological domain which includes the bodily changes, maturation and growth that human beings go through. The second domain is the cognitive domain which refers to mental processes such as knowing, imagining, perceiving, reasoning, and problem solving. The third domain is the psychosocial domain which refers to the emotions, personality and social interactions and expectations of individuals among other human beings (Learner.Org, 2010, p.1).

Many theorists have provided stages of human development but this research will utilize Erik Eriksons theory and focus on the psychosocial domain of human development.

For Erikson, human beings develop by meeting a series of personal and social tasks that must be conquered for further development. These tasks are crises that the individuals must learn to cope with. These challenges are met in the life course thus making development a process that is discontinuous because they appear in stages but are life long (Hendry  Kloep, 2002, p.8).

Erikson provided eight stages of human development. These stages are characterized by the primary aim that the individual must develop. The first stage is the infancy stage which covers conception until one year of age. In this stage, the child aims to develop trust instead of mistrust towards others. The second stage is the early childhood which encompasses one to three years of age. In this stage, the child must learn self-control and autonomy and overcome shame and doubt on ones abilities. The third stage is the play stage which covers three to six years of age. The task in this stage is to develop mastery of the environment the ability to balance ones desires or interests over others needs. In this stage, the child must develop this sense of balance instead of feeling guilty about conflicting interests. The fourth stage is the school age which encompasses ages six to twelve. In this stage, the task of the child is to develop self-assurance and industry. In this stage, the child must conquer inferiority towards others (Hendry  Kloep, 2002, p.8).

The next stage that Erikson stated is the stage of adolescence. This stage encompasses ages twelve to twenty years. In this stage the individual must develop social, sexual and occupational identity. In this stage, the individual must resolve issues with conflicting roles and must overcome role confusion (Hendry  Kloep, 2002, p.8).

Adulthood is composed of four sub stages. The first among the stages of adulthood is young adulthood. This stage covers individual ages twenty to forty years of age. In this stage, individuals must learn to form intimate relationships with other people. The individual must learn to have intimate and mature friendly and love relationships with other people. She must overcome social isolation. The next stage is middle adulthood which ranges from forty to sixty five years of age. In this stage, the individual must overcome stagnation and must do something to impart to the next generation. This may be done through raising children or making contributive works for the succeeding generations. The final stage of the life span development and also adulthood is old age which encompasses individuals ages sixty five and above. In this stage, the individual must achieve integrity through evaluating hisher life positively. In the stage of old age, the human being must overcome the challenge of despair and bitterness (Hendry  Kloep, 2002, p.8)

Statement of the Research Problem
 Are the stages of development purely linear
Is it possible for a person to skip one stage and head to another
Is regression  going back to the previous stage  possible in human development
Is it possible for a person to go through the stages in a different order
Do all the stages have on end goal

Research Objectives
The study aims to answer whether the stages of lifespan development is purely linear. More specifically, the research aims to
Determine the possibility of a person skipping one stage of development and heading to another.
Identify if regression is possible in the stages of development.
Unravel whether it is possible to go through the stages in a different set of order
Determine if all the stages have on and only end.

Scope and Delimitation
The study will be covering one out of the three domains of development. The research will only look into the psychosocial domain of development. The biological and cognitive domains of development will not be tackled so much in the study. These two other domains will only be mentioned in passing for the psychosocial domain of human development will be the primary focus of the study. In addition to this, Eriksons stages of psychosocial human development is the theory that will be used in referring to the stages of development. Eriksons stages are the only one to be used in the study regardless of the vast theories that provided stages of development.

The research will be studying adult American males and females. Their childhood and their experiences in their childhood stage are to be the subject of the study. Only American children are to be studied such because development is culturally determined. Since Eriksons stages of development, and almost all other theories in psychology, is Western based, using the theory on an American context is found to be apt.

Significance of the Study
The study mainly challenges the prevalent view on human development. The research questions the existing theories of human development by posing a challenge on its linearity and its universality. Human development theories are challenged by posing the question on the possibility of skipping a stage or going back to a stage. In addition to this, the theories are challenged because the nature of the order of the stages is questioned and with life span theories being linear, the nature of the end or the goal of these stages is questioned.

In sum, the study aims to challenge the existing human development theories by questioning the linear nature of these theories. In addition to this, the research aims to make a contribution in the understanding of human development by doing a study that proves or disproves existing knowledge on life span development.

Research Methodology
The research will utilize an interview with the respondents. The respondents must be adult Americans and they will be picked randomly. These adults should be normal and are not diagnosed of any disorder. These adults will be subject to an interview and they will be asked about their childhood. From the interview regarding the childhood stage of these adults, the researcher will determine whether these adults skipped, regressed, went through the stages of Eriksons human development in a different order through the stages of childhood. In the analysis, the trends in their development from childhood to adulthood will be used to analyze their behavior as adults. The interview, the analysis and theories on development are to be triangulated such in answering the research questions.