10 STAGES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

STAGE CHARACTERISTICS TASKS

1. Prenatal Period  Hereditary endowment is fixed
(9 mos. inside the  Sex is fixed
womb)  Greater growth and development
 Hazardous period
2. Infancy  Shortest period of the development Infancy to Early Childhood
(Birth to 2 weeks)  Plateau in the development  Learning to walk
 Preview of later development  Learning to take solid foods
 Hazardous period  Learning to talk
 Learning to control the elimination of
body wastes
 Getting ready to read
 Learning sex differences and sexual
modesty
 Learning to distinguish right and
wrong and beginning to develop
confidence
3. Babyhood  Foundation Age
(2wks to 2 yrs)  Age of rapid growth
 Age of decreasing dependency and
increasing individuality
 Beginning of socialization
 Beginning od sex-role typing
 Appealing age
 Beginning of creativity
 Hazardous age
4. Early Childhood  Troublesome age
(3-6 yrs old)  Less appealing age than babyhood
 Toy age
 Preschool age
 Pregang age
 Exploratory and questioning age
 Imitative and creative age
5. Late Childhood  Troublesome age  Learning physical skills necessary for
(6-11 yrs old)  Sloppy age ordinary games
 Elementary age  Building wholesome attitudes
 Gang age towards one’s self
 Learning to get along with age mates
 Developing fundamental skills in
reading, writing and calculating
 Developing concepts necessary for
everyday living
 Developing attitudes toward socia
groups and institutions
6. Puberty  Overlapping period Puberty & Adolescence
 Short period  Achieving new and more mature
 Time of rapid growth and change relations with age mates of both sexes
 Negative phase  Achieving a masculine and feminine
 Occurs at variable age role
  Accepting one’s physique and using
one’s body effectively
 Desiring, accepting and achieving
socially responsible behavior
 Achieving emotional independence
from both parents and other adults
7. Adolescence  Transitional period
(12-18 yrs)  Period of change
 Problem age
 Search for identity
 Dreaded age
 Time of unrealism
 Threshold of adulthood
8. Early Adulthood  Setting down age  Selecting a mate
(18-40 yes)  Reproductive age  Learning to live with a marriage
 Problem age partner
 Period of emotional tension  Starting a family
 Period of social isolation  Rearing children
 Time of commitment  Managing a home
 Period of dependency  Getting started in occupation
 Period of value change  Taking on civic responsibilities
 Time of adjustment to new lifestyles  Finding a congenial social group
 Creative age
9. Middle Adulthood  Dreaded period  Acceptance of and adjustment to
(40-60 yrs)  Time of transition physical changes
 Time of Stress  Assuming civic and social
 Dangerous age responsibilities
 Awkward age  Establishing and mainitaining a stable
 Time of achievement standard of living
 Time of “empty nest”  Relating oneself to one’s spouse as a
 Time of boredom person
 Adjusting to aging parents
 Assisting teenage children to become
responsible and happy adults
10. Old Age  Period of decline  Adjusting to decreasing physical
(60-death)  Minority group status strength and health
 Role changes  Adjusting to retirement and reduced
 Poor adjustment income
 Desire for renewal  Adjusting to death of spouse
 Establishing an explicit affiliation
with members of one’s age group
 Establishing satisfactory physical
living arrangements
 Adapting to change social roles