Question- Explain essential development tasks giving reasons for failure in them.

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Explain the Essention Development Tasks helpful for human life.
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Give the reasons for Failure in Developmental Tasks.
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Discuss the importance of developmental tasks. What facts help adjust ?

Answer-

Essential Development Tasks

The story of human life, according to Development Psychology, is the story of developments necessary at the various stages of life. At every stage, man needs new abilities to meet the fresh problems of life. As it is recorded by experience if a man is unable to acquire fresh abilities and give up old habits to meet the ever new exigencies is cannot survive long. Whether you will know or not, organism is continuously developing. It can never be static. A man who is able to shed old and useless habits and acquire instead new and effective ones will succeed in life; and a man unable to do so will be overwhelmed by life forces. For example, an adult must go out in the world, seek job, get married and accept responsibilities. He must shed the parental shelter. An adult who hangs on to his parents cannot grow properly. No escapism by taking to intoxicants, debauchery or dependency on parents will be of any avail in man’s struggle in life. Man must face the challenge by himself; there can be no proxy in this matter. Developmental psychology defines the tasks essential at each stage of life. According to R.J. Havighurst, “A Developmental task is a task which arises at or about a certain period in the life of the individual, successful achievement of which leads to his happiness while failure leads to unhappiness and difficulty with later tasks,” Therefore to perform the developmental tasks successfully is the key to happiness. At certain stages in life the need for developmental tasks is particularly great. This may be described as a critical or dangerous age. For example, adolescence is a critical period because special developmental task are essential at this stage. Havighurst has enumerated the developmental tasks essential at various stages of life. A summary of these will be helpful.

1. Tasks Essential in Infancy and Early Childhood : Learning is the essential characteristic of tasks at this stage such as walking, talking, lifting heavy things, learning excretory tasks and to experience sex organs, to gain physical balance to form concepts about the physical world and to develop emotional relationships with parents, brothers and sister.

2. Tasks essential to Middle Childhood : Following tasks are essential at this stage - proper behaviour with children of same age, skill for reading and counting, concept formation about the object of daily life.

3. Tasks essential to Adolescence : Following tasks are essential at this Stage-Recognition of one’s identity as a male or female, to behave properly with persons of both sexes. Independence from parents in emotional matters, an attempt to gain economic independence, choice of profession, adequate mental development for civic and social responsibilities, preparedness for marriage and family life.

4. Tasks Essential to Early Adulthood : Following tasks are essential at this stage - choice of marriage partner, bearing the responsibilities incidental to marriage, preparedness to assume responsibilities of priesthood and also consciousness of social and political obligations.

5. Tasks essential to Middle Age : Following tasks are essential at this stage assuming social and cultural reponsibilities, stroing to maintain and improve one’s social and economic status, to develop suitable hobbies and recreations, etc.

6. Tasks essential to Old Age : Putting up without emotional loss with the psychical and mental decline incidental to this age. To reconcile oneself with slowing down of activity and develop a spirit of tolerance and understanding towards younger generation. Ability to mix up with other old persons.

Reasons for Failure in Developmental Tasks

By performing tasks essential to one’s age and by developing new capacities to meet new challenges, one gets success and feels happy in life. There are, of course, Persons who fail to make up and fail in the table They feel depressed and unhappy. Following are the main causes of this failure :

1. Lack of Learning Opportunities : A man can perform tasks for which he has had an opprtunity to learn. With learning man can achieve little. If in a family all the things are done by the servant and the child has nothing to do himself, it will be small surprise if he is found unfit for many tasks. Again, if the father takes all the decisions, the boy will not be able to decide for himself later in life. Therefore, in the absence of adequate opportunities for learning, no body will learn the tasks essential for his development.

2. Lack of Motivation : Since persons have the opportunity for learning but they sill do not learn because they lack the motivation. The motivation may come from self, society or some divine agency. Only self motivation is not all. there are societies in which old persons are not respected. Therefore, the child will not learn to respect old people. In some societies there is little restriction of sexual expression. As a consequence, the members of such a society will have little motivation to be restrained in sexual behaviour.

Importance of Developmental Tasks

The above discussion makes quite clear the importance of developmental tasks in the life of man. Briefly, their significance is as follows :

1. Direction to Individual : The list of tasks appropriate to various stages of life given earlier clerly shows to an individual what the society expects from him at arious stages of life.

2. Prediction about Future : The knowledge of the developmental tasks tells a person in advance as to what physical and mental changes to expect in future. For example, the middle aged person who knows that will be his state of affairs after retirement, he can prepare in advance for all exigences. He can save more or start some side-business to be taken up fully later on. It is always difficult to make adjustment with new situations and this gives rise to a great deal of tension. However, if one is mentally prepred for the change, dificulty will be less.

Facts Helping Adjustment - The developmental psychologists have found out certain facts which would help a man to make better adjustment. following are the significant facts in this regard :

1. Childhood is the Foundation of Life : It is well said that the coming events send their shadows before. A strong foundation laid in the childhood will surely ensure happy and prosperous adulthood. It is generally found that the physical and mental characteristics observed in the childhood persist throughout. An honest child is likely to grow an honest adult. A study of fat adults has revealed that in childhood they were over-protected. As Alder has shown, alone child displays specific characteristics throughout his life. similarly it also matters whether the child is first or last. the roles children play in their family later on determine their basic personlity traits. If the experiences in childhood are positive and favourable the child grows into a healthy, moral and happy adult; but if these experiences are negative, the child tends to develop abnormalities. The causes of fa number of metal diseases are to be found in childhood experiences. The most important influence upon the child is that of his parents. If the child is taught to be tidy and clean, it develops in him a habit of cleanliness. Besides if there are some inborn defects in the children they can be best rectified in childhood. The child is a tender creeper. He must be zealously cared for and good habits inculcated in him. This will help him to become, a healthy and moral adult.

2. Development is Dependent upon Maturity and Learning : In the past there was a controversy among the psychologist as to what is more crucial in the development-maturity or learning. Some opted for maturity and the others regarded learning to be the crucial factor. Now it is settled beyond doubt that there is an interaction between the two. It is also proved that in the absence of certain level of maturity there can be seen in three ways. It tells us about individual differences. It tells us why some individual cannot learn beyond a certain point. Thirdly, we know what age is most appropriate for a particular type of learning. Educational psychologists have made special investigation in this regard. upon the basis of these studies, individual differences have been noted. No two persons are equal and same. Insividuals therefore differ in tense in their reaction. A situation which may be ridiculous for some, may be serious for others. Briefly, people differ in their level of maturity and learning and they therefore have in different ways.

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