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Life-Span Development

Chapter 1: Introduction

The Life-Span Perspective

Development: the pattern of growth that begins at conception and continues through the human life span Involves growth and decline

Traditional Approach: emphasizes extensive change from birth to adolescence, little to no change in adulthood, and decline in old age

Life-Span Approach: emphasizes developmental change throughout childhood and adulthood

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The Life-Span Perspective

Life Span: the maximum number of years a species can live Currently 122 years

Life Expectancy: average number of years that a person can expect to live Currently 78 years

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The Life-Span Perspective

Life-Span Perspective views development as: Lifelong Multidimensional Multidirectional Plastic Multidisciplinary Contextual

A life-span theorist believes that developmental changes occur in the early, middle and late years of life.

Development is a process that involves growth, maintenance, and regulation of loss

Development is constructed through biological, sociocultural, and individual factors working together

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The Life-Span Perspective Development is Lifelong

Early adulthood is not the endpoint of development No age period dominates

Development is Multidimensional Occurs in three distinct dimensions: biological, cognitive,

and socioemotional.

Development is Multidirectional Some dimensions (or components of a dimension) expand,

and others shrink

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The Life-Span Perspective

Development is Plastic Plasticity: capacity for change

Development is Multidisciplinary Development is of interest to psychologists, sociologists,

anthropologists, neuroscientists, and medical researchers Development is Contextual

All development occurs within a context (setting) Each setting is influenced by historical, economic, social, and

cultural factors

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Some Contemporary Concerns

Health and Well-Being Parenting and Education Sociocultural Contexts and Diversity

Culture: behavior patterns, beliefs, and all other products of a particular group of people that are passed on from generation to generation

Ethnicity: cultural heritage, nationality, race, religion, and language

Socioeconomic Status (SES): a person’s position within society based on occupational, educational, and economic characteristics

Gender: characteristics of people as males and females

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Social Policy Issues

Older Adults Number of older adults in the U.S. is growing

dramatically A significant increase will occur in the number of

individuals in the 85-and-older group Access to affordable, adequate health care is a

significant issue Many will need society’s help, as more older adults

will be unmarried, childless, and living alone

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The Aging of America9

People today are waiting longer to marry and raise children. In the 1950s, it was more common for people to marry and start a family before they were 20 years old. This difference is an example of normative history-graded influence on development.

The Nature of Development

Development is the product of biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes Biological: changes in an individual’s physical nature Cognitive: changes in thought, intelligence, and

language Socioemotional: changes in relationships with other

people, changes in emotions, and changes in personality

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The Nature of Development

Developmental Period: a time frame in a person’s life that is characterized by certain features Prenatal period: conception to birth (9 months)

Tremendous growth Infancy: birth to 18-24 months

Dependence upon adults Development of many psychological activities

Early childhood: end of infancy to 5-6 years Preschool years Self-sufficiency and increased play

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The Nature of Development

Developmental Period (continued) Middle and late childhood: 6-11 years

Reading, writing, and arithmetic Focus on achievement and self-control

Adolescence: varying endpoints; from 10-12 to 18-22 years

Rapid physical changes Pursuit of independence and identity

Early adulthood: late teens to early 30’s Personal and economic independence Selecting a mate

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The Nature of Development

Developmental Period (continued) Middle adulthood: 40-60 years

Social involvement and responsibility Assisting the next generation

Late adulthood: 60’s-70’s to death Life review Adjustment to new social roles Longest developmental span

“youngest old” vs. “oldest old”

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The Nature of Development

Conceptions of Age How relevant is chronological age to understanding a

person’s psychological development? How should age be conceptualized?

Chronological age: number of years that have elapsed since birth

Biological age: a person’s age in terms of biological health Psychological age: an individual’s adaptive capacities

compared with those of other individuals of the same chronological age

Social age: social roles and expectations related to a person’s age

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Developmental Issues

Nature and Nurture: the extent to which development is influenced by biological inheritance and/or environmental experiences Nature proponents argue that an evolutionary and

genetic foundation produces commonalities in growth and development

Nurture proponents emphasize the importance of both the biological and social environment

Life-span psychologists generally agree that nature and nurture both influence development.

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Developmental Issues

Stability and Change: the degree to which early traits and characteristics persist through life or change Stability: traits and characteristics are seen as the result

of heredity and early life experiences Change: traits and characteristics can be altered by

later experiences Role of early and later experiences is hotly debated

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Developmental Issues

Continuity and Discontinuity: focuses on whether development is either: A process of gradual, cumulative change (continuous) A set of distinct stages (discontinuous)

Evaluating Developmental Issues: Most developmentalists acknowledge that

development is not all-or-nothing There is debate regarding how strongly each of these

issues influences development

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Theories of Development

Diverse but complementary theories are used for explaining life-span development: Psychoanalytic theories Cognitive theories Behavioral and social cognitive theories Ethological theory Ecological theory

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•Our relationships with others, changes in emotions, and changes in personality are all examples of socioemotional processes.

Psychoanalytic Theories

Psychoanalytic Theories: describe development as primarily unconscious

Freud’s Theory: Focus of sexual impulses changes throughout

development Five stages of psychosexual development (oral, anal,

phallic, latency, genital) Adult personality is determined by the way we resolve

conflict within each stage Modern theorists place less emphasis on sexual

instincts and more on cultural experiences

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Psychoanalytic Theories

Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory: Focused on our desire to affiliate with other people Believed that developmental change occurs throughout

the life span Proposed eight stages of development

Each stage comprises a crisis that must be resolved

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Cognitive Theories

Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory: Stresses conscious thoughts Emphasizes the processes of organization and

adaptation Four stages of cognitive development in children

Each stage represents a qualitatively different way of understanding the world

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Cognitive Theories

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Cognitive Theory: Children actively construct their knowledge Emphasizes how social interaction and culture guide

cognitive development Learning is based upon the inventions of society Less-skilled persons learn from those who are more

skilled

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Cognitive Theories

Information-Processing Theory: Emphasizes that individuals manipulate information,

monitor it, and strategize about it Individuals develop a gradually increasing capacity for

processing information Thinking is information processing Individuals learn strategies for better information

processing

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Behavioral & Social Cognitive Theories

Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories: Behaviorism: we can study scientifically only what

can be directly observed and measured Development is observable behavior that can be learned

through experience

Skinner’s Operant Conditioning: Consequences of a behavior produce changes in the

probability of the behavior’s occurrence A reward increases likelihood of behavior A punishment decreases likelihood of behavior

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Behavioral & Social Cognitive Theories

Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory: Behavior, environment, and

cognition are key factors in development

Observational learning: learning through observation People cognitively represent

the behavior of others

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Ethological Theory

Ethology: stresses that behavior is strongly influenced by biology and evolution Characterized by critical or sensitive periods Brought to prominence by Konrad Lorenz

Studied imprinting in geese Bowlby stressed the importance of human attachment

during the first year of life

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Ecological Theory

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory: development reflects the influence of five environmental systems: Microsystem: setting in which the individual lives Mesosystem: relations between microsystems Exosystem: links between a social setting in which the

individual does not have an active role and the individual’s immediate context

Macrosystem: culture in which individuals live Chronosystem: patterning of environmental events and

transitions; sociohistorical circumstances

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Eclectic Theoretical Orientation

Eclectic Theoretical Orientation: No single theory can explain all of development Every theory has contributed to our understanding Eclectic orientation does not follow any one theoretical

approach Instead, it selects from each theory whatever is considered

its best features

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