Tianna Ovard

Psy 1100
Growth and Development
April 29, 2016
The lifetime perspective is a unique perspective on human life, as it views the
entirety of someones life. It used to only be that only the first two decades of a persons
life was studied. It is now recognized that there is more to a human than just childhood
and adulthood that shapes them. There are definitely periods of life that are critical for
learning and developing certain abilities/characteristics, these periods are called Critical
Periods, (Burger, Kathleen.) As there are many phases of life that we all go through, the
development towards these phases include: multicultural, multidimensional, multicontextual, multidisciplinary and plastic. All of which, take into account that there are
many different environmental aspects of our lives that shape us. Human beings are
referred to as plastic, (Burger) because we are moldable creatures. The lifetime
perspective is important because it displays the full process of change throughout a
persons life.
Throughout this course we were taught many different aspects of this lifetime
perspective. The area that helped me the most was chapter 3: the first 2 years. As I
prepare to have children, it helped me to see that there are different phases that a baby
goes through and how to respond to those. This also helped me to have a better
understanding of why babies do what they do and the meaning behind it. In my own
personal life, the attachment theory was most helpful. I always wondered why certain
kids seemed to be completely attached to their mother and others seemed completely
distant. The different patters of infant attachment are: secure attachment, insecure
avoidant, insecure-resistant/ambivalent and disorganized.

Also, during the first two years children are taught through modeling. As they see
a parent, a sibling or even those in their community doing something, they tend to mimic
their behavior. John Bowlby studied this aspect with a bobo doll. A child beat up the bobo
doll and punched it. As they walked out of the room, his younger sibling began to mimic
his behavior by beating the doll as well. As young children are learning to talk, they will
often copy words or expressions that their parents say as well.
This course taught me that parents responsiveness determines attachment type,
(Burger) if the parent tends to ignore their child sometimes, the child will most likely be
insecure or avoidant. If the parents are inconsistent with the child, they will most likely
be resistant or ambivalent. And if the parent is abusive in any form, the child becomes
disorganized. This helped me to realized that as I become a parent, it is in my control as
to what my childs attachment level is going to be.
It is also my responsibility to model correct behavior for my child because they
will begin to do and say similar things as those around them, as they are a product of their
environment.

Work Cited
Berger, Kathleen Stassen. Invitation to the Life Span. New York: Worth, 2010. Print.