Changing the Course of Psychological Development

Prior to completing this discussion, read the required materials from the Shaffer (2011) text, as well as the Berzonsky (2004), Fiese (2013), and Burkitt (2010) articles.

Choose one aspect of Mila’s life to alter. This element can be an event, a personal characteristic, an environmental factor, or an aspect of the timeline. In your initial post, identify the original life story element you intend to change and explain how you intend to change it. Use Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development to explain Mila’s stage of development at the time this change takes place and address how the change affects Mila’s psychological development into adulthood.

After identifying the initial change and describing it, create a list of three additional outcomes in Mila’s development across the lifespan that will likely be affected by this change. For each, identify the current outcome in Mila’s life story and propose a rationale for changing this outcome. Apply either Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory or Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory to Mila’s life to create a hypothesis as to how and why these outcomes would likely adjust due to the changes you have made.

Briefly summarize your personal reaction(s) to making the initial change and how it altered the subsequent outcomes. Explain how differences in life events create differences in human development.