Spoke to my tutor Fiona this morning and got pointers on my first tutor marked assignment (TMA).
After a few changes, including getting the text bang on the word count, I've now submitted it. Exciting!
Here's the text of my TMA01:
Open University Y032 Tutor Marked Assignment 1 (TMA01)
by James Cattell, submitted 16 November 2021 (after 2 week extension due to illness).
Word count
Part 1 = 350 / 350 words.
Part 2 = 600 / 600 words.
Part 1 - Describe Erkison's stage theory in your own words.
After reading the course materials (The Open University 2018) and making notes based around suggested questions in the assignment guide, this text gives my understanding of Erkison’s lifespan stage theory of development and a possible application of its use in a therapeutic setting.
Erkison’s theory is that human life develops in 8 sequential stages ranging from infancy (0 to 1 years) to old age (65+ years). Each stage requires the individual to navigate the inherent conflict between psychological and social factors. You can think of these psychosocial conflicts as between the world around us and what happens inside our heads. The 2 may be in harmony or disharmony, which is where the conflict comes from.
Resolving each stage's conflict endows us with a moral strength. Attaining each of the 8 moral strengths stands us in good stead to navigate life successfully. For example infants who resolve trust v mistrust are endowed with hope and an ability to trust other people. Failure to attain this strength might bring trust issues in later life and may affect other stages of development. Similar conflict / resolution / moral strengths happen in each of the 8 stages.
Erkison’s stage theory is useful because it allows us to examine individual parts of our lives, rather than trying to explore the whole. An application of this might be in the talking therapies, by allowing a therapist and their client to explore particular stages of the client’s life. Conversely, if the therapist and client identify trust issues, it may then be possible to work backwards and figueout where in the client’s life issues may have occurred, in this example during infancy. This may particularly apply to psychodynamic therapies, which in part seek to explore early life experiences and how they may have affected human development.
In summary, Erikson’s stage theory of development gives us a framework to think about different parts of our lives, how we navigate the challenges in each one and the interdependencies of completing each stage, successfully or not. Concepts in the theory are straightforward and easy to grasp with a minimal explanation. I hope this helps with your understanding.
Full reference: The Open University (2018) Y032 Block 1: Can people change?. Milton Keynes: The Open University.Part 2 - Learning plan
1. What made me decide to study this module?
I dropped out of university in the first term of my first year due to an undiagnosed mental health condition that nearly killed me. Although I came back the following academic year, I didn’t know how to ask for help and wasn’t really offered any. I also didn’t know how to study. So at the end of the repeated first year, I dropped out.
However, over the last 2 years, I’ve helped a family member gain their A Level maths qualification by studying it together. I achieved a B grade. This spurred me on to retry university and that’s why I’m here. But I want to learn how to study before going further. So I chose an access module to get me into the flow of things.
Of the 3 access modules, Y032 is a good balance of being interesting and challenging enough to hold my attention. It’s also the one most related to my work, as I spend a lot of my time listening to people and helping them make decisions about their goals. One of the things I most enjoy about my role is coaching people. It’s sort of similar to counselling, so there are some obvious crossovers between my work and this course.
2. Which topics particularly interest you?
I think that psychology, business and law will interest me most in this course. Psychology for the reasons I mentioned in the last question about listening to people and helping them make decisions. Business and law I think will interest me because the organisation I work in is a vast network of different areas of business covering every facet of human need and behaviour.
3. How do you think your previous experiences of work, education or everyday life have prepared you for this module?
Work requires focus and effort, much like I assume this course will. I’ve arranged my life so that I can study in the mornings and work in the afternoons. I have a routine that gives me at least 2.5 hours a day to study, when I’m well. I try to avoid working on the weekends so I can relax, which helps me focus more during the week.
4. What do you want to achieve in the longer term?
I want to overcome my lingering bad feelings towards academic study, which happened during my failed attempts to study at university in my teenage years. I often feel sick when studying and trying to understand complex topics. This was particularly prevalent when studying maths. So I’d also like to reverse that and feel an optimistic, challenging attitude rather than sickness.
I find writing essays very difficult, in fact writing anything that’s not personal to myself is challenging. I really want to overcome this and have the skills to prepare and write concise, objective texts.
All in all it comes down to academic confidence. This is the thing I need to work on and acquire.
5. What are you hoping to achieve in the longer term?
I don’t know yet. I have dreamed of becoming Dr James Cattell, with a speciality in community building and management. But I’m not yet sure I have the patience to get there. Right now, I’d just like to successfully complete this access module, then see how I feel.
6. Identify one thing in this assignment that you would particularly like feedback from you tutor on.
Academic writing, which scares me. It puts me off studying further. I’m not sure I want to write in an academic style. I feel it’s not personal and therefore difficult to connect with. It’s just too dry and “on the fence”. Yes, I get that to be scientific you need to be objective and not panda to any particular point of view, but we don’t live in a world like that. We’re divided, often along polar opposites. Oh hang on, that’s why I need to be objective and impartial - so that I can appeal to more people. Okay. Got it.
