Every civilization is divided into age groups, and each group has a set of social experiences that define age-appropriate behavior. The individual follows a socially regulated cycle as inexorably as the biological cycle from birth to death, and significant life events are rendered according to a socially prescribed timetable. Although norms differ slightly from one socioeconomic, ethnic, or religious group to the next, it is easy to demonstrate that norms and actual occurrences are closely associated for any social group.”

Robert J. Havighurst (1900–1991)

Robert J. Havighurst was a civil rights activist, researcher, and prolific writer. He conducted cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of children and adolescents’ social, emotional, and moral development in many American subcultures (including Native Americans) and many other countries as a researcher.

Theory of Havighurst

Recent psychology and neuroscience research has shown that development is continuous rather than staged and varies depending on socio-cultural and environmental factors. While the importance of these once-dominant theories has waned, they have nonetheless made significant contributions to current thought.

Havighurst (1972) proposed a developmental task hypothesis that defined six age-specific life stages from birth to old age, each with its own set of developmental tasks.

 A developmental task is “a task that comes at or around a given point in an individual’s life, successful completion of which leads to happiness and success with later tasks, while failure leads to misery and difficulties with later tasks.

Some tasks, such as learning to walk, are primarily the result of physical maturation; others, such as learning to read, are mainly the result of societal pressures; and still others, such as choosing and preparing for a vocation, are primarily the result of an individual’s values and aspirations. The majority of the time, however, developmental tasks result from these three forces interacting.

Fulfilling a task is expected to result in enjoyment and success with subsequent tasks, whereas failure may result in the individual’s dissatisfaction, society’s criticism, and trouble with subsequent tasks.

Havighurst’s six fundamental periods in human life

The first source belongs to the “bio” element of the model, the second to the “psycho,” and the third to the “social” aspect, from the biopsychosocial model. From birth to old age, Havighurst defined six fundamental periods in human life:

  • Early childhood and infancy (Birth till six years old)
  • Middle childhood (ages between 0–6)
  • Adolescence (ages between 13–18)
  • Early adulthood (ages between 19–30)
  •  Middle age (ages between 30–60)
  • Old age (60 years old and over)

Havighurst havighurst developmental stages 

Another way to comprehend life span variations is to define the demands that must be met to attain personal objectives. To help us in recognizing the importance of needs in our life, Havighurst defines:

Havighurst’s developmental tasks during the early childhood and infancy

  • Getting used to eating solid foods
  • Walking for the first time
  • Learning to communicate
  • Learning about the distinctions between men and women.
  • Controlling the elimination of bodily wastes is a skill that can be learned.
  • Preparing for the reading

Havighurst’s developmental tasks of childhood

  • Developing physical abilities.
  • Starting to learn to get along with persons your age
  • Taking the first steps toward developing acceptable masculine and feminine social responsibilities
  • Developing essential reading, writing, and calculating skills
  • Developing a conscience, a moral sense, and values
  • Obtaining personal autonomy

Havighurst’s developmental tasks during the adolescence

  • Agreeing on either masculine or feminine roles.
  • Developing new adult relationships with peers.
  • Accepting one’s physical appearance and body in a healthy manner.
  • Developing emotional autonomy from one’s parents.
  • Accepting socially responsible behavior and achieving it
  • Getting ready for a professional career and marriage

Havighurst’s developmental tasks during the early adulthood

  • Choosing a partner.
  • Getting used to living with a spouse.
  • Creating a family.
  • Nurturing children
  • Taking care of the house.
  • Getting your career start.
  • Assuming civic responsibilities.

Havighurst’s developmental tasks during the middle age

  • Learning social and community responsibility as an adult
  • Assisting teenagers in becoming more self-reliant.
  • Adult leisure activities development
  • Accepting and responding to middle-age physiological changes
  • Obtaining satisfactory results in one’s professional careers
  • Adapting to the presence of aging parents

Havighurst’s developmental tasks during the old age

  • Getting older
  • Becoming accustomed to the  deteriorating physical strength and health
  • Getting used to retirement.
  • Creating a suitable physical living environment.
  • Adapting to social positions with a degree of flexibility.
  •  Learning the stages of growth and life span.

Purposes of developmental tasks

Developmental tasks are beneficial in three ways:

  • To begin with, they are rules that help people understand what society expects of them at different ages.
  •  Second, developmental activities encourage people to accomplish what their social group expects of them at different stages of their lives.
  • Individuals are shown what lies ahead and what they will be asked to do when they reach the next stage of development in third developmental activities.

Criticism

Havighurst’s developmental Task theory discusses and describes the problems humans confront at various periods of life. We can all agree that biology, psychology, and society have an impact on our growth.

Havighurst seems to overlook the fact that his answers to these challenges aren’t entirely evident in this theory. It is impossible to examine whether or not his hypothesis is scientific; some aspects of it can be examined, while others are challenging to test.

Havighurst’s theory is straightforward; there are no ambiguities. Even though he focused on middle-class Americans, it applies to many civilizations. Regrettably, his theory hasn’t impacted more theorists.

Conclusion

Havighurst divided the tasks into two categories: those that must be performed within a specific time frame and those that must be completed over an extended length of time, often for a lifetime. Havighurst responds that it is vital that activities be performed at the appropriate stage, or else future tasks will be unsuccessful.