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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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