Michael Zackery Zdunich PSY 1100

Michael Jordans Early Lifespan Development

Michael Zackery Zdunich

Salt Lake Community College

Lifespan Developmental Psychology PSY-1100

Dr. Pamela Lemons

4-9-2017

1
Michael Zackery Zdunich PSY 1100

Dak and Brianne Jordan were both 26-year-old Caucasian individuals who were very fit

and loved sports. They had just graduated college and were excelling in their careers. Dak was a

physician assistant while his wife Brianne worked as a nurse at the local hospital in Charleston,

South Carolina. They have tons of friends who support them in everything they do, so they were

extremely excited for them when they announced to them that they were expecting a baby. It was

a normal conception and the soon to be parents could not have been more excited to start a

family together. Brianne loved every second of being pregnant she was happy most of the time.

She would talk to her baby and love to feel his every movement.

Average birth takes place about 38 weeks after conception, the fetal brain signals the

release of oxytocin, which prepares the fetus for delivery and starts labor. (Berger, 2014, chapter

2, pg. 61) Brianne gave birth naturally in her own home to Michael Jeffrey Jordan after about 40

weeks of pregnancy. She was in labor for about 8 hours but finally gave birth to a 7 lb. 9 oz. baby

boy. It was a normal, uncomplicated birth the cervix dilated to allow the passage of the babys

head. Michaels head moved into the birth canal next then passing through the opening of the

vagina. The babys body then followed out of the vagina and a loud cry was shouted by Michael

as he gasped for his first breath of air. Michael was the Jordans first child and his room was

already decorated with sports memorabilia on every wall. Michael struggled sleeping as most

newborns do, so Dak and Brianne would take turns throughout the night caring for their new

baby. One consequence of brain maturation is the ability to sleep throughout the night.

Newborns cant do this. Normally, they sleep 15 to 17 hours a day, in one to three hour segments.

Hours of sleep decrease rapidly with maturity. (Berger, 2014, Chapter 3, pg. 98) This only

lasted a few months before Michael began to sleep really well throughout the night. Michael was

a very fast learner and was motivated to start walking which is the most dramatic motor skill.

2
Michael Zackery Zdunich PSY 1100

(Berger, 2014, Chapter 3, pg. 103) He started trying to walk around 8 months and took his first

steps a couple days before he was 10 months old. Dak and Brianne were so pleased with how

their child loved being around other people and would babble to everyone who would listen. A

little after Michaels first birthday his began saying his first words mama and dada while

eventually at 15 months he had a pretty good vocabulary.

In Michaels early childhood (ages 2-6) his brain development happened at a normal pace

therefore improving his motor skills. At the age of 5 you could not find Michael without him

having a basketball in his hand. His love for sports developed at this age and was consistently

playing them. His brain maturation along with myelination, scaffolding, and social interaction

made his vocabulary expand exponentially during this time. (Berger, 2014, Chapter 5, pg. 189)

He was also a very curious child and would ask his parents anything and everything he could.

Michael had a hard time believing things his parents would tell him if he couldnt see it or hear

it. Therefore, he acquired his impressive knowledge through the theory-theory method. This was

the idea that children attempt to explain everything they see and hear to seek reasons, causes, and

underlying principles to make sense of their experience. (Berger, 2014, Chapter 5, pg. 186) This

is one of the main reasons Michael wanted to start school at such a young age. He loved learning

anything and everything he could.

Michael excelled in school and his parents were so proud of him. His teachers throughout

his schooling would rave on and on about how nice of a person he was as well as how motivated

he was to be the best in school. This was Michaels personality he had an intrinsic motivation to

him that pushed him to be the best at anything he did whether it be sports or school. I believe this

had to do a lot with the way his parents raised him. Growing up Michael was raised in an

Authoritative parenting style with one aspect falling in the permissive parenting. An

3
Michael Zackery Zdunich PSY 1100

Authoritative parent sets limits, but they are flexible. They encourage maturity, but they usually

listen and forgive if their child falls short. They consider themselves guides, not authorities (like

authoritarian parents) and not friends (like permissive parents). (Berger, 2014, Chapter 6, pg.

217) The reason Dak had one aspect falling in the permissive parenting category had to do with

them wanting to be Michaels best friend. They wanted him to come to them whenever he had

questions or just needed to talk. They wanted him to try things on his own and learn from his

mistakes. Dak and Brianne never really had to discipline, punish, psychological control, or

socially exclude Michael during his up-bringing because his moral development happened at

such a faster rate than everyone else his age it seemed. He never wanted to disappoint his parents

therefore he never really got in any kind of trouble.

Michaels middle childhood was when his love for basketball took off to whole different

level. His consistent play of basketball throughout these years made him physically fit beyond

his years. He didnt have any of the common health issues associated with children today such as

obesity and asthma as a result from this. In fact, he loved showing off his six pack at 11 years old

to everybody who would look at it. Being part of a team and playing with his friends almost

every day made these years extremely enjoyable for Michael. Everyone around Michael knew he

had a special gift for basketball around this time in his life. He would just do things on the

basketball court that would just leave people in awe. His dad would work with him every day of

the week because he loved getting better and just loved the game in general. Another big reason

for his basketball success was the development of his control process especially his

metacognition. Metacognition is thinking about thinking, or the ability to evaluate a cognitive

task in order to determine how best to accomplish it, and then monitor and adjust ones

performance on that task. (Berger, 2014, Chapter 7, pg. 258) On the basketball court he would

4
Michael Zackery Zdunich PSY 1100

do just that. He would assess the defense the other team was in, and determine how best to beat

the defense. He ability to adjust his game with what the other team through at him at such a

young age is what separated him from the rest of the kids. Michael was friends with everybody

and loved hanging out with everybody. It seemed like every weekend toward the end of his

middle childhood he would have a sleepover with someone. Although he loved hanging out with

his peers he also loved hanging out with his parents just as much. Family time was very

important to Michael as well as his parents. Dak and Brianne would make it a point every year to

at least go on one family vacation. So the family structure and family function provided for

Michael were extremely important factors in the person Michael was becoming. Dak and

Brianne provided the five necessary things their child needed from their families; physical

necessities, learning, self-respect, peer relationship, harmony and stability. (Berger, 2014,

Chapter 8, pg. 292) Michael being raised in a two-parent nuclear family that all loved each other

unconditionally allowed for their family to function best.

During adolescence, Michael began to put on a lot of muscle after going through puberty.

He hit a massive growth spurt between his freshman and sophomore years of high school

jumping for 58 to 63. Michael ate Dak and Brianne out of the house it seemed like during

this time. His body was developing and growing at such a high rate he needed lots nutrients to

keep up. His muscle development and growth spurt combined with his basketball talent that just

continued to grow throughout the years got college scouts drooling over him. His high school

games were packed because everyone was there to watch him play. His junior year of high

school he averaged 26.3 points per game 11.6 rebounds per game and 10.2 assists per game. This

remarkable year by Michael landed him multiple college scholarships to go play basketball and

get his schooling paid for. A dream he had ever since he was a little boy. After a long decision

5
Michael Zackery Zdunich PSY 1100

process he eventually decided he wanted to attend the University of North Carolina. The thing

that made Michael so special as a person is despite all of these accolades and accomplishments

he never once got adolescent egocentrism. Which is where young adolescents not only think

intensely about themselves but also think about what others think of them. (Berger, 2014,

Chapter 9, pg. 333) Michael was a rare case where is personal fable was becoming a reality and

he was so excited for the new challenges and experiences that would come. Dak and Brianne did

an amazing job at raising their child to become a successful, selfless, kind, and caring individual.

Michael was direct reflection on the type of parents they were because according to Berger,

authoritative parents raise children who are successful, articulate, happy with themselves, and

generous with others. These children are usually liked by teachers and peers, especially in

cultures that value individual initiative. (Berger, 2014, Chapter 6, pg. 218) Michael fit these

criteria exactly so I would say Dak and Brianne made great parents. Michael Jordan graduated

high school at the top of his class with a 4.0 GPA, and later that summer moved to Chapel Hill,

North Carolina to begin training with his dream school the Tar Heels of the University of North

Carolina.

6
Michael Zackery Zdunich PSY 1100

References

Berger, K. S. (2014). Chapters 1-9 Invitation to the life span: special update for dsm-5 (2nd

ed.). New York: Worth Publishers.