"Major Characteristics of Development" Infancy Physical - Physical development obviously starts long before the common "infantile" stage that we all think of today. Brain development begins in the weeks following conception. A noticeable brain is apparent after only three to four weeks, when the neural plate folds up to form the neural tube. The bottom of the tube becomes the spinal cord. "Lumps" then emerge at the top of the tube and form the forebrain, …showed first 75 words of 2571 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2571 total…versus despair. Here, older adults try to find a sense of meaning in their lives that will help them face the inevitability of death. If successful, they are able to look back over their lives and say there is little or nothing they would change if they had the chance to do it all over. If not successful, they may dwell on past failures and paths not taken, all making the preparation for death worse.