Adulthood Interview Essay

Background/IntroductionThe following interview was conducted with the subject known as George who is in the middle adult stage of life. George is 48 years old and is an auto mechanic. He lives at home with this wife and two daughters in San Diego, California. George is in Erik Eriksons seventh stage of psychosocial development which is the Generativity vs. stagnation stage. In this stage, work and p arenting are important factors that affect his life.Physical CharacteristicsPhysical Characteristics weight and height health overall/concerns physical activity overall living/ eraseing patterns patterns of consumption (i.e., alcohol, caffeine, smoking) significant changes in sexuality from young adulthood stage in menopause sleep patterns sexual dysfunction/satisfaction are they above or below life expectancy accidentsAs a person grows in age, along comes physical changes and possible health problems. In Georges case, he appears to be rattling physically fit however, I wise to(p) fr om the interview that he previously had some health issues that involved hospitalization which caused him to lately change his dietary habits. George was at risk of having a series of colon cancers and constantly had excruciating stomach pains. After being hospitalized for three days, the results showed no incontrovertible signs of cancer but his doctor gave a strict diet and urged him to exercise more regularly. When asked ab break through his current eating patterns and physical activities, George revealed that he makes an effort to eat more vegetables and fruits and has cut off on fried foods and carbohydrates. He withal makes sure to take a walk to the park near his home with his wife every day after dinner. George does not smoke but he does occasionally drink alcohol and caffeine. His alcohol and caffeine consumption is low which is wherefore they do not have a significant impact on his health. He described that as he gets older his sleepingpatterns have been changing as we ll. He used to be able to stay up past midnight but now he gets tired very easily and must sleep before 10 P.M.Cognitive CharacteristicsCognitive Characteristics Piagets sub-stage changes in intellectual abilities speed/accuracy of information processing (you can use a memory test) changes in creativity/learning gibe to Piagets theory on the formal operations stage, adolescents should have the capacity for flexible, reversible operations concerning arise ideas and concepts, such as symbols, statements, and theories (Rathus, 2013). Rathus also discusses that adolescents perform hypothetical thinking, which is when they systematically try out different possibilities in their minds to solve a problem. Formal operations discontinue the adolescent skills of logical thought, deductive reasoning, and systematic planning to assist their problem-solving. In terms of Patricks hypothetical thinking from the interview, he seems to be on overcome with this level of thinking. For example, I a sked him about what approach he takes when solving a problem and he said that he takes into account all of the different options he has and does everything one step at a time.Piaget coined adolescent egocentrism as comprehending ideas of other plenty, but having difficulty sorting out those things that concern other people form the things that concern themselves (Rathus, 2013). I tested my subjects cognitive development by giving him a preset list of 10 wording words and asking him to define each word to the best of his ability. I gave him a minute to clearly define the word. He defined 8 out of 10 words correctly which shows that his cognitive skills are on the right path. Patrick admitted that he used to struggle with balancing schooltime and sports and had to attend tutoring lessons to raise his grades. He now has a 3.6 GPA and is expecting to attend San Diego State University in the fall. His strongest subject is math and science.Psychological/Emotional CharacteristicsPsychol ogical/Emotional Characteristics Eriksons stage undefiled developmental tasks (Havighurst) any emotional crisis evident? changes in life events challenges in well-being shifts in personality employmentsatisfaction evidence of wisdomAccording to Erik Eriksons psychosocial development, adolescents go through the ego identity operator versus role diffusion stage where they are figuring out who they are as a person. fork off of Eriksons approach, James Marcia proposed four identity statuses that he believes represents a stage an individual is going through in seeking their identity identity diffusion, identity foreclosure, identity moratorium, and identity achievement. Adolescents in high school usually move from the diffusion and foreclosure stage to the moratorium and achievement statuses (Bartoszuk & Pittman, 2010).I also discussed the topic of sift with my subject and he revealed that school is his main source of stress, I simply applied to colleges last fall and finally recei ved some acceptance garner last month. I have been stressing like crazy and thought I wouldnt get into any schools Patrick appears to have a strong sense of self-concept and also high self-esteem. He described himself as responsible, friendly, and competitive and that having supportive friends and family have helped him maintain a good self-esteem. In regards to sexuality, Patrick said that he is interested in lady friends but does not have anything against homosexuality as he has friends who are gay and lesbian.Social CharacteristicsSocial Characteristics Typical interactions with others, with you evolution of parent-child relationship grandparenting change in caring for parents relationships with siblings/friends widowhoodAccording to the textbook, adolescents are heavily influenced both by parents and peers (Rathus, 2013). When asked about his interactions and relationships with others, Patrick described his friends and family as the most important aspects of his life. He and hi s father used to impart basketball together when he was younger which fueled his love for the sport. Although he is a part of the schools basketball team, he does not bowl over himself to be a jock or popular. Aside from basketball, Patrick enjoys playing video games and is interested in computers. He described himself as an average teenage son who loves playing sports and all things electronics. The relationship between his family members and friends werealso further discussed in the interview. Patrick says that he has not have much time to spend with his family since high school started but his relationship with his parents has grown stronger as he grows older. Patrick and his sister are four years apart in age and have a very strong bond. They both play basketball which Patrick said has created a friendly sibling rivalry.Patrick described that an average Sunday with his family consisted of going to church, having brunch, going to the beach and wherefore renting a film from Red box. Patrick thinks that his parents are strict but flexible at the same time. I asked him to elaborate more on this thought and he explained that they have high expectations for him in regards to his education and that they told him that he needs to have a 3.5 GPA and above to participate in any sports which motivates him to do well in school. His parents have helped him look into different universities and career path options but it is ultimately his decision on what he wants to do with his future. The textbook describes this caseful of parenting style as the authoritative style in which parents know what they want their children to do but also respect their children and are warm toward them (Rathus, 2013). This parenting style usually contributes to an adolescents sense of high self-esteem and independence.The circle of friends that Patrick interact with share many similarities, they play the same sports and video games, and also like to listen to the same type of music. When as ked what he and his friends do for fun after school or on the weekends, Patrick said that they usually go to one persons house and just play a game of NBA 2K14 for a couple of hours or play a few games of basketball. He described his relationship with his friends as chill and fun. In regards to his dating life, Patricks relationships tend to be rather short his longest relationship lasted for about six months. He shared that there is a girl who he is interested in and plans to ask her to the senior prom coming up in a few months. Patrick previously had a part-time job at a retail store but quit due to his grades dropping. It has been proven that adolescents who work after school obtain lower grades (Rathus, 2013).moral characteristicsMoral characteristics Any changes since early adulthoodAccording to Lawrence Kohlberg, adolescence is the period in life whereindividuals become capable of formal-operational thinking, allowing them to make decisions by using ethical principles (Rathus, 2013). Patrick defined a command as a set of principles that should be strictly followed. I asked him why he thinks rules should be obeyed and to give an example of when it is okay to break a rule and his response was, rules are made so that things will run smoothly and rules can be broken if it is necessary to save someones life. Based on this response, Patrick is taking the perspective of stage 6 of Kohlbergs postconventional level of moral development in which it is acceptable to break a rule/law in order to preserve a life regardless of the consequences this may bring.AnalysisI enjoyed doing this interview because it gave me a better understanding of how it would be to personally interact with another human being especially since I am interested in majoring in Human Development. It was quite intimidating and trying at first since I have never interviewed anyone before and I felt very inexperienced. By the middle of the interview, I felt less nervous and began getting the han g of it. After the interview, I realized that I should have asked more questions in regards to moral development. Overall, this was a great learning experience and I feel more confident for the next interview that I will have to conduct for the class. I look forward to using the skills I learned from this interview and applying it for future experiences.ReferencesBartoszuk, K., & Pittman, J. F. (2010). Profiles of identity exploration and commitment across domains. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19(4), 444-450. Rathus, S. A. (2014). Hdev3. (3rd ed.) Belmont, CA Cengage Learning.