PSY259 Personality And Individual Differences Assignment, SUSS, Singapore: There Are No Self-Help Books For Living With Your Parents In Middle Age; No “How To Deal With” Articles For Sharing

Question 1

There are no self-help books for living with your parents in middle age; no “how to deal with” articles for sharing a bathroom with your elderly mother.

Early on I divulged to my hairdresser that I had moved in with my mother. In a show of sympathy, he shared that his son had returned to the family home. OK, I thought, I’m not the only one. I asked how old his son was. He is 23. My heart sank.

Extracted from Mulcahy, C. (2023, November 21). There are no self-help books for moving in with your parents in middle age, but there should be. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/nov/21/there-are-no-self-help-books-for-moving-in- with-your-parents-in-middle-age-but-there-should-be

a) Referring to the entire piece by Mulcahy (2023), in the following table, recognize the degree to which her shared examples align with or contradict Erik Erikson’s theorized psychosocial life stages:

b) Discuss why the author’s “heart sank” upon hearing her hairdresser’s answer.
When you address this prompt, also compare the relevance of Erikson’s theory to Mulcahy’s experience as well as that of a typical 43-year-old Singaporean. That is, you are to differentiate the applicability of Erikson’s theory to Mulcahy and to an average Singaporean in like circumstances.