Marcus Monteiro

Psychology 230
Leland J Peterson M.Ed.
December 17, 2015

Self-Reflection on Learning Paper

The purpose of this course was to examined theory and research on adult
development with a special emphasis on insights drawn from positive psychology.
Explored were the developmental tasks of adulthood as well as the transitions involved
in parenting, career development, and aging well. Considered were a variety of
theoretical and practical questions such as: What are the developmental opportunities
of adulthood and late life? What are the factors that lead to happiness and well-being in
adulthood? What is the impact of diversity issues on adult experience? And, how does
knowledge of human development inform the counseling process?
I found that the weekly assignments covering the various stages of adult
development proved to be very interesting. It was especially interesting for me as an
older adult who has already experienced many of the stages we covered. This course
gave me the opportunity to compare and contrast my personal journey to what I learned
from watching the assigned videos, reading the text, and conducting literary research
throughout the course.
The major objectives for this course were to be able to demonstrate a
competency to analyze key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in
psychology; integrate psychological content and skills in career and personal goals;
describe and evaluate the impact of psychological factors on human development; and
express meaningful self-reflection related to learning, career, and personal goals. I have
met the objectives of this course as reflected in the following analysis, personal

perspectives, and artifacts submitted during these past eight weeks relative to the
developmental stages from adolescence to adulthood.
The period of early adulthood
Identify the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes during late adulthood
and late life interpret how mediating variables affect well-being, sense of purpose,
and flourishing.
Having an understanding of the developmental stages from adolescence through
the latter stages of adulthood is essential for understanding ourselves and our purpose
in life. Currently living in the stage of a mature (senior) adult, I can look back to realize
that throughout my transitions I have gained a profound maturity in my expressions and
communications with others. When speaking with an individual or with a group, Ive
been keenly aware of the importance I have incorporated relative to my listening skills.
Even though I have a tendency to want to interject my thoughts at inopportune
moments, Ive refrained appropriately to listen. I always encourage others to express
their feelings and I try my best to maintain eye contact. Im not sure, but I truly believe
that being in the latter stages of adulthood is a major factor. According to (Lang, 2003),
We know that emotions become more salient as adults grow older, as they express
emotions more openly, and both processes are adaptive (Carstensen et al., 1997).
Identify life skills and habits that are empirically related to happiness and wellbeing in adulthood
Synthetic happiness Unit 1
I was surprised that I was wrong in my conclusion for the outcome of the first
study which indicated that significant events, such as winning or losing, have far less
impact, less intensity and much less duration than people expect them to have. (Talks,

2006) Dan Gilbert put the concept of synthetic happiness in a context that just made
sense. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this video and learning something new. I
especially tuned in to the quote by Adam Smith. This quote provided me with much food
for thought; As well, it helped to put the matter of synthetic happiness in perspective for
me.(Monteiro, M, 2015)
Analysis of the transition from adolescence and the initiation into early adulthood
years
Transition from Adolescence and the Initiation into Early Adulthood (Unit 2)
Reflection of my life from 18-30 is very vivid simply because life at that time was
filled with much excitement and I reflect on it often. To answer the question of what were
the markers of adulthood, for me, it was the birth of my first child. Although biologically I
should have and could have been a little older, mentally, I was prepared. I didnt say to
myself, Now I am grown up. Instead, I had no other choice but to say, Now I must
grow up and be a responsible and a single parent. I do not believe that culturally my
experience was much different from others of diverse groups. Culturally, most females
are born with a maternal instinct that kicks in the moment they give birth. As for socioeconomics, I lived a comfortable life; not extravagant, just at an average lower-end of
the middle class. My family (parents) played a significant part of my transition from
adolescence to early adulthood because they ensured that I took full responsibility for
taking care of my child while completing my high school education. At that time
education was more important to them than me.
An analysis of how diversity and social justice issues intersect with normative
theories of development

The Up Series Video 56 Up (Unit 7)

I initially thought that the video for review was going to be the sequel to the 7-up
series that featured the American children. It took me a while, but I finally figured out
that this assignment was meant to introduce me to a whole new set of British children to
review and discuss. I was so looking forward to seeing what became of the children
from the American version but found these childrens life stories just as interesting.
There were many themes presented in the video that were in direct correlation with the
two chapters: Chapter 2: VIA Classification of Character Strengths, and Chapter 4:
Spirituality.
It appeared that in the U.K., its citizens culture is strongly defined by
religion/spirituality, which I felt set the tone, in a general sense, for the mindset and
outcome of the children featured in this documentary. I somehow tied the concept of the
VIA classification of character strengths and spirituality to being a major contributing
factor of the outcome of each of these children throughout the 7-year intervals. I also
noticed that in extreme contrast or comparison to the 7 Up series of the American
children, these children were not subjected to the same hardships in life experiences as
the American children. They were not subjected to living in the violent drug infested
gang riddled danger zone housing complexes as seen with some of the American
children.
The connection I made to Life Worth Livings chapter 4 covering
religion/spirituality was that the majority of the English children either attended a
religious based boarding school or raised in an orphanage founded by a Catholic

organization. Another matter that caught my attention was that throughout the
childrens lifespan, religion and recession appeared to go hand-in-hand. Although the
ranges of the economic social status were not equal, the range of the pendulum did not
appear to swing far and wide as did the pendulum representing the American children.
Diversity Case Study of Betty Lau (Unit 2)
In response to watching the video featuring Derald Wing Sue I wrote, Sue also
described the conclusion of a study conducted on the communication style of the
African American. He stated, The Black mode of communication, ah, tends to be highkeyed, animated, interpersonal, and confrontational. Ah, the characteristics of AfricanAmerican or Black styles of communication tend to be that, they tend to be heated,
higher in volume, and they generate considerable affect. Im in total agreement with
this assessment. Im getting a feel for what lies ahead for those of us who seek a
degree and licensure in professional counseling. I have a lot to learn. As Sue points out,
that to be an effective multi-cultural counselor requires understanding of your world
view, the world view of culturally diverse clients that you work with and your ability to
develop culturally appropriate interventions, strategies and helping styles in working
with a pluralistic society that we currently live in. (Associates, 2003) This video can be
viewed as a powerful learning tool. I loved it!!! (Monteiro, M 2015)
Analyze development during middle adulthood including midcareer crisis,
marriage, and family, the meaning and importance of friendships, and sex and
love
Work and its Role in Adult Development
Shawn Anchor Video

Although this video was full of laughter, there were some pretty serious matters
presented. It was interesting that Anchor provided thought-provoking truths about how
researchers and therapists endeavor to fit the square pegs into round holes by creating
the cult of the average with science. Anchor stated, our business model is if you
come into a therapy session with one problem, we want to make sure you leave
knowing you have 10. You keep coming back over and over again. We'll go back into
your childhood if necessary, but eventually, what we want to do is make you normal
again. But normal is merely average. This was such an interesting and scary thought.
Its scary to me that researchers and therapist want to mold individuals into what they
define as being normalthat the outliers are thought of as test subjects. Why not
empower those that come in for therapy to strive to be at the level of the outliers
instead? After all, Anchor alluded to this himself when he stated, What we're finding is
it's not necessarily the reality that shapes us, but the lens through which your brain
views the world that shapes your reality. And if we can change the lens, not only can we
change your happiness, we can change every single educational and business outcome
at the same time. This means that it is highly possible to accomplishat least that is
how I interpreted it.
I enjoyed listening to Anchor talks about raising someones level of positivity. This
seemed to correlate with my thought on striving to elevate ones mind to the level of the
upper outliers. He stated that the brain reacts by experiencing what is termed as a
happiness advantage. I can agree that working while experiencing a level of happiness
will allow an individual to perform significantly better than they would while in a negative,
neutral, or stressed state of mind. I think that Anchor interjected much humor into his

presentation to elevate our happiness level while watchingI certainly enjoyed and
laughed throughout the entire presentation.

Marriage and Family Unit 4

I found Dr. Gottmans presentation informative and exceptionally interesting.
Before taking this course, I had not heard of the four horsemen of the apocalypse and
what it represented in any other context outside of religion relative to the last book in the
Bible. Gottmans representation is about contempt, criticism, defensiveness, and
stonewalling. I still havent made a connection of why Gottman chose The 4 Horsemen
for his titlebut it doesnt really matter anyway. After watching Gottman define his
concept of the masters vs. disasters, I found myself wishing that I had been exposed
earlier in my life to his theory on what makes relationships succeed or fail. It was so
interesting to hear that the masters point the finger at themselves. Giving it some
thought, it certainly made a lot of sense to me. I saw quite a few connections between
Gottman's Making Relationships Work and the couple from last weeks video. During
their session there was defensiveness, attacking back, and whining. The video clips of
the various couples greatly demonstrated Gottmans 4 Horsemen. We saw couples who
used sarcasm, mockery, and bad humor (contempt), making their partner feel less than.
We saw a partner disengaging in a conversation by looking away or ignoring the other
which can be a relationship killer. I know this to be true because I have been guilty of
this in my relationships. I didnt know that it was referred to as stonewallingI called it
giving the silent treatment. Looking back, I can honestly say that I was somewhat
hypocritical because I always preached to everyone else that communication is key

and a must in making a relationship work. Gottman pointed out things that Im
convinced are directly related to his 70-75% success rate of couples who have gone
through therapy and stayed committed to the relationship. I enjoyed both Gottmans
video presentation and the article, Masters of Love.
About the matter of trust in a relationship, I responded to a classmate the
following. I also wondered how trust, or the loss of trust, would factor into a healthy
outcome for a relationship post Dr. Gottman's therapy. I have experienced a loss of trust
and found that forgiveness was possible but forgetting the cause was impossible. You
were correct to say that when trust is compromised it, "...can be equally detrimental to
the relationship, but would lead to a different set of challenges..." Thanks for sharing
your personal story. It proves to me that a tumultuous relationships can improve through
therapy leading to understanding--much too late for me though.