Part A
The generativity versus stagnation stage, according to Erickson, takes place in the middle adulthood stage, approximately between 40 and 65 years (Feldman, 2016). This stage of development is characterized by the strive of adults to create or support the occurrences of a subsequent generation. The integrity versus despair stage, on the contrary, begins immediately after the completion of the generativity versus stagnation stage. The integrity versus despair stage occurs from 65 years until the death time of an individual (Feldman, 2016). Unlike the generativity versus stagnation stage where individuals tend for the next generation, the eighth stage involves retirement, loss of friends and spouse, illnesses, and changes in numerous roles in life.
People in the seventh stage are curious and think about making contributions to the next generation. In this stage, people depict parenting or taking actions that trigger a positive contribution to society. Contrarily, those on the integrity versus despair stage are unable to make significant contributions to the world, due to age limitation. People in this stage make reflections on their life, developing senses of regret and fulfillment. While people in the seventh stage think about the future; how they can contribute to the society, those in the eighth stage think about their past; how they lived their lives (Feldman, 2016). For instance, a woman at 43 years thinks about investing for the future of their children, while a retired lady at 70, reflects on how she helped her children in her previous stage.
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Generativity involves making a mark in the world by leaving a positive impact on subsequent generations. At the same time, stagnation refers to the condition whereby individuals cannot find ways to contribute to society. Those who emerge successful in this stage feel as contributing to society through being active, while those who fail to attain this feeling by being uninvolved and unproductive to the world. For instance, a person tending for their children in this stage will develop generativity while a counterpart who indulges in drugs stagnates and is thus disconnected from the community. On the contrary, in ego integrity versus despair, people who succeed in this stage develop ego integrity, while those who don’t succeed develop feel despair (Feldman, 2016). For instance, an older man who did not have children or wasted his life in drugs will experience despair. In contrast, a successful man who has impacted the world positively develops ego integrity.
Various factors and occurrences contribute to the outcome in the generativity versus stagnation stage, as defined by Erickson. Occurrences like; good health and healthy relationships lead to the emergence of positive outcomes in this stage (Feldman, 2016). For instance, being in a stable relationship or marriage leads to good investment or parenting, thus good outcomes of the step. Poor relationships and health lead to negative results for people in this stage. For example, a person experiencing poor health is unable to do adequate parenting or investment for the future, thus leading to adverse outcomes.
There are numerous activities that people can undertake to improve their generativity. These activities include; volunteering, political activism, and religious activities. To make an impact in the world, people turn into volunteers, whereby they are involved in virtual or face-to-face humanitarian activities. Helping neighbors, shopping for the unfortunate in society, and sharing expertise helps people improve their generativity. Political activism is also critical in enhancing generativity. People strengthen their generativity in politics through voting, writing letters to congress, and engaging in elective positions. Finally, religious activities may help one strengthen their generativity (Feldman, 2016). For instance, a woman participates in religious activities by being part of communal prayer groups or knitting prayer shawls for the church.
Part B
During the late stages of adulthood, people experience skin elasticity, lower muscle strength, poor vision and hearing, and weak immune systems. These physical changes render older people susceptible to physical dangers like accidents and diseases. For instance, poor eyesight and hearing may lead an older adult to an accident, while weak immunity may lead to attack by deadly diseases, thus causing death (Feldman, 2016). Cognitively, aging leads to memory degeneration; therefore, older people have poor memory and poor attentiveness. Forgetting to take medication or not paying attention to heavy traffic may lead to accidents or death.
Different outcomes can be achieved through the five stages of death, depending on the reaction of people towards each step. In the denial stage, people develop defenses against death, thus opposing the concept of dying. For instance, people who deny the experience of dying may refuse to make prior preparations, like the writing of wills, thus leading to disputes. On the contrary, those who overcome this stage accept that they are dying and make appropriate preparations (Feldman, 2016). The anger stage involves feelings of rage and resentment. For instance, a person who embraces acceptance rather than anger experiences a peaceful death, while anger accelerates death. The bargaining stage involves seeking more time with family or finding a cure from the pain. The depression and the acceptance stages are experienced once the person refuses or accepts the outcome of death. Choosing to accept death rather than depression could lead to different results. For instance, a person who experiences depression will die faster than one who has embraced death.
Understanding personal traits are critical in improving one’s health. Personalities like openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness could be vital in improving our health. Openness involves the ability to freely share one’s information and showing social freedom with people (Feldman, 2016). Through transparency, we can avoid stresses in life, thus develop good health. Agreeableness is critical in preventing conflicts that affect our health adversely. Finally, conscientiousness helps improve confidence and avoiding being coerced to do work, thus improving our health.
Personality traits can also be critical in enhancing cognitive health. Just like in physical health, maintain openness, helps in building healthy cognitive behavior. Being open helps people keep a clear mind, thus improving cognition. Conscientiousness ensures that we do our work with perfection; hence we understand our work better (Feldman, 2016). This behavior is critical in the cognitive process. Finally, agreeableness ensures that we build strong cognitive health by learning to agree with other people’s opinions.
Reference
Feldman, S.R. (2016). Development across the Life Span. Pearson.
