Developmental Psychology

Achieve Test Prep: Developmental Psychology

Chapter 11: Death and Dying

Overview: This chapter brings us to the end of this manual and to the final stages of the life cycle. During this chapter, the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional dimensions will be studied. Objectives: By the end of this chapter, you should be able to recognize, understand, and explain:

- How death is an integral part of an individuals’ life cycle. - The social context and cultural differences of death and dying - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s five stages of dying - The Hospice Movement - Concepts of bereavement and grief - The Four Stages of Grief

Attitudes toward death: Death is a part of life. It is witnessed and shared by everyone across every community and culture. Social attitudes toward death have changed in recent years. In past years, death was more commonplace due to a short life expectancy of approximately forty years. In recent years, the average life expectancy is approximately eighty years. Death has become its own industry, despite it not being as commonplace as it once was. In the past, death was accepted as a normal and acceptable part of life, albeit a sad part of life. In present society, death engenders fear and denial. Attitudes toward death across the different stages of the lifespan vary widely. 1. Childhood a. Generally speaking, children do not understand the finality of death until approximately age seven b. Lifespan psychologists encourage parents to tell their children the truth if death occurs in the family 2. Adolescents a. Tend to not worry about death b. See themselves as being immune to death. c. Generally believe that death is likely to happen to others but not to them 3. Adults a. Middle-aged adults tend to have the greatest fear of death

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