Assessment 4: Developmental Stages of The Washington Family
Name
Capella University
PSYC-FPX3210: Human Lifespan Development
Instructor Name
August, 2024
Introduction to the Death of Mercury Washington
Mercury was Emma Washington’s pet, lovingly tended pet rodent, and when Mercury died, the house was roused. Hence, based on the analysis of the testimony, the sequence of the events might correspond to all stages that reflect human developmental theories about Washington’s case. The Washingtons were used to depict the morality and the subsequent cognitive development of life with a focus final section on the investigation of adulthood and the aging process. Based on case study data of Washington’s accounts and subsequent experience of applying various findings in a research context, it could be proposed that individuals in later adulthood are largely marginalized in human development and cognition discourses. A literature review of the previous work shows that, based on age, various human developmental faculties, including cognitive and developmental development, decline. However, it is essential to know the various effects and how people in their later stages respond to them (Falla et al., 2021). Understanding these aspects affords a complete view of man’s development throughout his lifetime.
Moral Development
Everyone in the Washington family was interviewed regarding the circumstances that led to Mercury’s death. From these statements, one can make the following social uses of moral development theories. Concerning the characteristics of the stage, the second youngest daughter, Emma, shows the development of moral reasoning and ethical principles. Thus, Kohlberg’s theory of moral development suggests that Emma is moving towards the last stage, assessing moral reasoning with the help of personal ethical codes. Research by Cunha et al. (2024) reveals that moral development differs between boys and girls, with some outstanding differences described in Carol Gilligan’s Ethics of Care. The criticism of Kohlberg’s theory is that it does not address the different stages of moral development for females, which is the area in which Gilligan has focused (Falla et al., 2021).
Thus, Emma is in the second stage of Gilligan’s model, which is all about being the voice for what others are doing. Although Kohlberg and Gilligan’s theories are generally different, much similarity can be observed at this stage (Donovan & Blazer, 2020). Emma feels the world should be normative regarding social conduct, which connects to Kohlberg’s conventional mindset that upholds order and conformity to reduce undesirable impacts. In terms of the literal meaning of stage four, it can be pointed out that this stage focuses on order and stability of society. The awareness of such aspects of moral trends can be helpful for a better understanding of certain aspects of individual people’s qualitative change to predict their actions in ethical dilemmas. A study by Squillaci and Benoit (2021) was conducted to show how the different moral development frameworks can come together to give a more detailed understanding of the moral acquisition process of a person. In the study by Li et al. (2023), it is noted that theoretical models developed to explain morals and ethics of a particular stage, especially in youth, should agree with gender-related theories.
Cognitive Development
Human youths develop in different phases of life, beginning from childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and middle adulthood; the last phase is the geriatric phase (Sharifian et al., 2022). Regarding the reasoning and knowledge transformation process mentioned in the previous sections, Perry’s theory aligns them with the early adulthood stage. Tyler Washington is legalistic, which means he is always right and the other party is wrong, which rules out any other possibility. Unlike most subjects analyzed in Perry’s concept, in which he observed the integration of the dual conflicting ideas into one that was superior to them. In this particular scene that spans an extended period of the show, our subject, the oldest in the Washington family, has not had the opportunity to reach an intellectual plane where such integration could be made.
In Perry’s view, the stages of development in cognition include the shift from a black-and-white approach to problem-solving to adopting a relativist perspective. The last stage of cognitive development is the resourcefulness stage, where the person is ready to accept opposing views and can follow them. Thus, his cognitive attitude improves. It is comforting that one’s mind is malleable in this way, and it bodes well for others like Tyler, who can be pointed toward a more integrated perspective.
Seasons of Life
Levinson’s Seasons of Life theory lays down the transitions required to achieve inner harmony over different phases of life and is similar to Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development (Lenzen et al., 2021). Bob Washington, the middle-aged man and father of David Washington, portrayed the fifth stage in Levinson’s Seasons of Human Beings. This stage is a major transition in forming a person’s identity, often preceded by a mid-life crisis. Levinson characterizes this phase as a period that people spend to think of the opposites, including the young and the old, nonexistence, destruction and reproduction, power and weakness, involvement and detachment (Li et al., 2023).
As for Bob, he talks about his career, marriage, and family, referring to conflicts, less time for his family, and the problems of the relatives. Such introspection is expected in this stage as Bob tries to understand his position in the given family and what he requires to establish balance and psychological well-being. A study by Xu et al. (2023) also reflects that middle age is a significant period that calls for changes, pointing out that people try to align their lives with personal values and goals at this stage. Knowledge of these developmental changes is beneficial in analyzing the behavior and intentions of such people as Bob in facing middle-age adjustments.
Adult Development And Aging
Both Erikson and Cohen understood that young people develop through stages and that changes are always hard for families. There are cognitive and psychosocial development theories that assist in explaining these changes and thus enable one to understand the behaviors of older adults. Based on the information gathered from the transcript, the Washington children go through Cohen’s phases of maturity, whereby Bob, the eldest male in the family, is at the second and third stages. The differentiating feature and, simultaneously, the element of flexibility of the identified model are the stage transitions that may not be strictly delimited. In the second phase, people want to change the circle of their past everyday life, embark on decision-making with more significant risks, and do desired activities (Lenzen et al., 2021). This stage is characterized by the desire to escape boredom and participate in novel ventures; the individuals can act out of rebellion without thinking of the consequences.
In the third phase, a change in behaviors is expressed through caregiving and sharing to the next generation especially memory-making. Bob’s father, David, represents this phase as he is so engaged in the care of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren for his son Bob. Cohen’s phases come under Erikson’s stages, making it possible to place David in the senior years of development, a stage in which the struggle between integrity and despair takes place (Suarez et al., 2022). In middle and old age, people struggle for meaning in life and look for the meaning and purpose of their living, struggling with despair and regrets for the lost chances or unsolved discords. David tries to make good decisions as much as possible but is desperate to make friends and is concerned about his grandchildren. According to Harrington et al. (2023), it is for these stages that the understanding of people in older age in terms of their search for meaning in life and their sense of purpose and belonging in their post-retirement years is important as they can remain preoccupied with their life and their legacy. Knowledge of these phases allows for recognition of the emotional and thinking changes of elderly family members concerning their role within a family and society.
The Fate of Mercury
After analyzing the statements of the Washington family members, they were confused about who was to blame for Mercury’s death but later realized that it was Grandpa David. In his last moments, Grandpa David confessed that he thought Mercury was a zombie, and thus, he had stepped on him out of sheer fright. He managed to acquire the help of his four-year-old great-grandson to throw Mercury’s dead body into the dustbin. Although it is becoming more common in older age to experience vision impairment, the general response to what may have been conceived as a ‘zombie’ is highly questionable and further improves concerns that were already present with the discreet disposal of the pet.
The corrupt behavior demonstrated by the character of Grandpa David raises a concern that is not very frequently discussed in the late adulthood stage. Research by Li & Xu (2024) has noted that acts of crime among the elderly have increased, yet researchers have long ignored this group of people. According to Sharifian et al. (2022) study, self-control usually rises during people’s 50s and 60s but decreases after that. It may be responsible for the increased rate of non-physical, cheating type of crimes targeting the elderly through actions that, despite not severely harming the victims physically, involve major deception (Venero et al., 2022). This behavior knowledge provides a sound method of fighting the numerous psychological and social issues plaguing the elderly.
Conclusion and Recommendations
People transform their moral and cognitive types at different stages of life. These changes are best observed when discussing the Washington family since the family members can be observed in each development stage from adolescence to old age. In these phases, one undergoes challenges that make them seriously consider the world and their right to be alive. As people get older, relatives and friends also grow old, which is why it is possible to hear about slow actions and using self-control. This decline leads to less aggressive, immoral, and violent behaviors but is more ‘disingenuous’ than anything else, which is a good explanation of the impact of aging on ethical and cognitive functioning.
References
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