UG (SEMESTER IV)

HSC CC 408
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT II: DEVELOPMENT IN ADOLESCENCE
AND ADULTHOOD

HAVIGHURST’S DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS:

ADULTHOOD, MIDDLE AGE AND OLD AGE
Prepared by:
Ms. Nisha Kumari
Assistant Professor
P.G.Department of Home Science
Patna Women’s College
ObjEcTIVE Of THIS UNIT:

In this unit, we shall discuss the meaning,

characteristics and sources of developmental
tasks. At the same time, we shall also discuss the
different developmental tasks during
adulthood, middle age and old age.
INTRODUcTION

 Robert James Havighurst was a professor,

physicist,educator, and aging expert.
 He proposed that all individuals progress through
series of developmental stages, each comprising a
series of developmental tasks.
 Havighurst died of Alzheimer’s disease at the age
of ninety.
DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS

 The term “developmental task” was introduced by

Robert Havinghurst in the 1950’s.
 A developmental task is one that arises predictably and
consistently at or about a certain period in the life of
the individual.
 He believed that learning is basic to life and that
people continue to learn throughout life. According to
him a developmental task is a task which an individual
has to and wants to solve in a particular life-period.
 A developmental-task is the midway between an
individual need and a social demand.
cHARAcTERISTIcS Of
DEVELOPMENTAL TASK

 Developmental tasks are based on the aspirations and

need of the society.
 Every society and culture has certain norms.
 Every society expects its members to follow these norms.
These norms are in terms of certain essential skills.
Mastery over these skills leads to happiness and failure
leads to unhappiness.
 Some tasks are same for everyone, regardless of where
he lives as they are about human biology.
Example : learning to crawl and walk.
(Cont….)
 Some tasks are different in different societies.
Examples: tasks of getting occupation in some
culture at very young age.
 The tasks in different age levels depend upon the
person and the society he lives in.
STAGES Of DEVELOPMENT

Havighurst identified the following six major stages

in human life:
 Infancy & early childhood (Birth till 6)
 Middle childhood (6-12)
 Adolescence (13-18)
 Early Adulthood (19-30)
 Middle Age (30-60)
 Later maturity (60 and over)
SOURcES Of DEVELOPMENTAL TASK

Developmental tasks arise from three different sources. In

his bio psychosocial model, the first important issue is
biology, second is psychology and the last one is the
sociology. He identifies three sources of developmental
tasks:-

 First, some tasks are mainly based on physical maturation

example, learning to walk, talk, and behave acceptably
with the opposite sex during adolescence; adjusting to
menopause during middle age.
(Cont…)
 Another source of developmental tasks involves
personal values and aspirations. These personal factors
result from the interaction between ontogenetic and
environmental factors, and play an active role in the
emergence of specific developmental tasks (example,
choosing a certain occupational pathway).
 The third source of developmental tasks relates to
socio-structural and cultural forces. Such influences are
based on, for instance, laws (example, minimum age for
marriage) and culturally shared expectations of
development.
ADULTHOOD DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS
(19-30yEARS)
 Selecting a mate: Until it is accomplished, the task of
finding a marriage partner is at once the most interesting
and the most disturbing of the tasks of early adulthood.
 Learning to live with a marriage partner: After the
wedding there comes a period of learning how to fit two
lives together. In the main this consists of learning to
express and control one’s feeling that is anger, joy,
disgust, so that one can live intimately and happily with
one’s spouse.
 Starting a family: To have the first child successfully.
 Rearing children: With the gaining of children the young couple take
over a responsibility far greater than any responsibility they have
ever had before. Now they are responsible for human life that is not
their own. To meet this responsibility they must learn to meet the
physical and emotional needs of young children.

 Managing a home: Family life is built around a physical center, the

home, and depends for its success greatly upon how well-managed
this home is. Good home management is only partly a matter of
keeping the house clean, the furniture and plumbing and lighting
fixtures in repair, having meals well cooked, and the like.

 Getting started in an occupation: This task takes an enormous amount

of the young person’s time and energy during young adulthood.
Often he becomes so engrossed in this particular task that he
neglects others. He may put off finding a spouse altogether too long
for own happiness.
 Taking on civic responsibility: To assume responsibility
for the welfare of a group outside of the family such as
a neighbourhood or community group or church or a
political organisation.

 Finding a congenial social group: Marriage often

involves breaking of social ties for one or both young
people, and the forming of new friendships. Either the
man or the woman is apt to move away from former
friends. The young man loses interest in some of his
former bachelor activities, and his wife drops out of
some of her purely feminine associations.
MIDDLE AGE DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS
(30 – 60 yEARS)

 Achieving adult civic and social responsibility

 Establishing and maintaining an economic standard of
living
 Assisting teen-age children to become responsible and
happy adults
 Developing adult leisure, time activities
 Relating oneself to one’s spouse as a person
 Accepting and adjusting to the physiological changes of
middle age
 Adjusting to ageing parents.
 Havighurst has divided these tasks into four major
categories:
 Tasks relating to physical changes: These include the acceptance of, and
adjustment to physical changes that normally occur during middle age.

 Tasks relating to changed interests: The middle aged person often assumes civic
and social responsibilities and develops an interest in adult oriented leisure
time activities which were not taken care of during early adulthood.

 Tasks relating to vocational adjustments: These tasks revolve around

establishing and maintaining a relatively stable standard of living.

 Tasks relating to family life: The major tasks include relating to oneself to
one’s spouse as a person, adjusting to aging parents, and assisting teen age
children to become responsible and successful adults.
OLD AGE DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS
(60 yEARS AND AbOVE)
Old age has often been characterised as a period of
loss and decline. During this time the man or his wife
very likely will experience several of the following-
 decreased income
 moving to a smaller house
 loss of spouse by death
 a crippling illness or accident
 a turn in the business cycle with a consequent change of
the cost of living.
 Havighurst forward the following developmental tasks for this view-

 Adjusting to decreasing physical strength and health: Physical strength

begins to decline from age 30 to age 80 and above. Most weakening
occurs in the back and leg muscles. Bones become increasingly brittle and
tend to break easily. Muscle tissue decreases in size and strength. Exercise
can help maintain power and sometimes even restored strength to the
unused muscles.

 Adjusting to retirement and reduced income: Retirement requires

adjustment to a new life-style characterised by decreased income, lesser
activity level, and increased free time. Retirement causes extreme stress in
males because in our society a significant part of men’s identity depends on
their jobs.
Health may even improve for some after retirement. Retired
individuals may find more time for social and hobby-related activities
especially if they have adequate economic resources and are healthy to
engage in these activities.
 Adjusting to death of spouse: Elderly persons are not afraid of death. This
task arises more frequently for women than for men. After they have lived
with a spouse for many decades, widowhood may force older people to
adjust to loneliness, moving to a smaller place, and learning about business
matters etc.

 Establishing an explicit affiliation with one’s age group: Social convoy is

a cluster of family members and friends who provide safety and support.
Some bonds become closer with age, others more distant, a few are gained,
and some drift away. Elders do try to maintain social networks of family and
friends to preserve security and life continuity.

 Meeting social and civic obligations: Other potential gains in old age
relate to the task of meeting social and civic obligations. For example, older
people might accumulate knowledge about life and thus may contribute to
the development of younger people and the society.
(Cont….)

 Establishing satisfactory physical living arrangements: The

principal values that older people look for in housing are:
i. quiet
ii. privacy
iii. independence of action
iv. nearness to relatives and friends
v. residence among own cultural group
vi. cheapness
vii. closeness to transportation lines and communal institutions -
libraries, shops, movies, churches, etc.
SUGGESTED READINGS

 Havighurst, R. J. (1952). Developmental tasks and

education. New York: David McKay.
 Baltes (2003). Theoretical Propositions of Life-Span
Developmental Psychology. John Wiley & Sons.
 Elizabeth B. Hurlock (1980). Developmental Psychology:
A Life-Span Approach. Publisher: Tata McGraw-Hill.
 Berk L. (2009). Development Through the Lifespan.
Publisher: Allyn & Bacon
 Rajpal K. (2006). Developmental Psychology: New
Trends and Innovations. Publisher : Deep and Deep