Late Adult Personal Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Late Adult Personal Interview - Essay Example Sigmund Freud taught that a child goes through stages of development. A child’s personality is formed by the age of 5 when the child enters the (sexual) latency stage (Storr, 1989). Erikson, a student of Freud’s daughter Anna, also taught that there are stages of development; however, he differed from the elder Freud, and taught that a person’s sense of identity is not fully formed as a child. Erikson taught that individuals continue to develop and evolve throughout their life. Whereas Freud stressed the importance of reaching milestones within a certain period during childhood, Erikson stressed the importance of cultural demands upon a child during life transitions (Erikson, 1959). According to the teachings of Freud, the older person could not accept concepts divergent from their basic philosophies. Erikson’s followers, however, would slowly advance through stages of acceptance of new concepts. Erikson taught that learning and development occur throughou t life. Erikson’s theories were evident in the interview with a woman who had experienced many tragedies, yet overcame them to life a full and productive life. Interview with Joyce Joyce Smith, age 67, resides in a condominium inside the city limits of Atlanta, Georgia. (Change this to your city.) After agreeing to the interview and signing the consent form (see Appendix A), Joyce indicated she preferred the interview take place in her living room, and it did. Joyce stated she had lived in her condominium since 1982, and was most relaxed there. The condo was quite comfortable with overstuffed chairs, large potted plants, thick carpets, antique tables, and three large Maine Coon cats.