Chapter 1 Introduction

Why Study Life-Span Development? You can gain insight to your own life as a child, adolescent, and young adult. You will learn about life through the adult years—middle age, and old age. You may be a parent or a teacher some day. Life-span development is linked with many different areas of psychology.

Definition of Development The pattern of movement or change that begins at conception and continues through the human life span

The Historical Perspective Original Sin - children were perceived as being basically bad, born into the world as evil beings. Tabula Rasa - children are like a “blank tablet,” and acquire their characteristics through experience. Innate Goodness - children are inherently good.

Traditional Approach vs. Life-Span Approach The traditional approach emphasizes extensive change from birth to adolescence, little or no change in adulthood, and decline in late old age. The life-span approach emphasizes developmental change during adulthood as well as childhood.

Characteristics of the Life-Span Perspective Development is lifelong Development is multidimensional Development is multidirectional Development is plastic Development is contextual Development is studied by a number of disciplines Development involves growth, maintenance, and regulation

Development is Lifelong No age period dominates development. Researchers increasingly study the experiences and psychological orientations of adults at different points in their development.

Development is Multidimensional There are biological dimensions. There are cognitive dimensions. There are socioemotional dimensions.

Development is Multidirectional Some dimensions or components of a dimension increase in growth. Some dimensions or components of a dimension decrease in growth.

Development is Plastic Plasticity involves the degree to which characteristics change or remain stable.

Development is Contextual Normative age-graded influences Normative history-graded influences Nonnormative life events

Development is Studied by a Number of Disciplines Psychologists Sociologists Anthropologists Neuroscientists Medical Researchers

The Three Goals of Human Development Maintenance Growth Regulation

Some Contemporary Concerns Health and Well-Being Parenting and Education Sociocultural Contexts Social Policy

Health and Well-Being Drug and alcohol use during pregnancy Genetic counseling Breast- versus bottle-feeding Early intervention School health programs At-risk adolescents Women’s health issues Exercise Addiction and recovery Loneliness Adaptive physical skills in aging adults Coping with death

Parenting and Education Day care Working parents and latchkey children Effects of divorce on children The best way to parent Child maltreatment Support systems for families Marital relationships Intergenerational relationships Aging parents Variations in early childhood education Ethnicity, social class, schools Programs to improve thinking School/family coordination Cooperative learning How to avoid stifling creativity Bilingual education The best schools for adolescents

Sociocultural Contexts Culture Ethnicity Gender

Examples of Context Homes Schools Peer groups Churches Cities Neighborhoods University laboratories Countries

Definition of Culture The behavior patterns, beliefs, and all other products of a particular group of people that are passed on from generation to generation. Cross-cultural studies involve a comparison of a culture with other cultures to provide information about the degree to which development is similar across cultures, or is instead, culture-specific.

Ethnicity Based on cultural heritage, nationality characteristics, race, religion, and language

Gender The sociocultural dimension of being male or female

Social Policy A national government’s course of action designed to influence the welfare of its citizens. The shape and scope of social policy is strongly tied to our political system.

Biological Processes Involve changes in the individual’s physical nature such as: Height and weight gains The development of the brain Changes in motor skills Cardiovascular decline

Cognitive Processes Involve changes in the individual’s thought, intelligence, and language such as: Watching a mobile swing above a crib Creating a two-word sentence Memorizing a poem Imagining being a movie star

Socioemotional Processes Involve changes in the individual’s relationships with other people, changes in emotions, and changes in personality such as: An infant smiling from her mother’s touch A young boy hitting a playmate A girl’s joy at her senior prom The affection of an elderly couple

Periods of Development The prenatal period Infancy Early childhood Middle and late childhood Adolescence Early adulthood Middle adulthood Late adulthood

The Prenatal Period The time from conception to birth From a single cell to an organism complete with a brain and behavioral capabilities Approximately a 9-month period

Infancy The developmental period from birth to 18 or 24 months A time of extreme dependency on adults Many psychological activities are just beginning

Early Childhood The developmental period extending from the end of infancy to about 5 or 6 years Often called the “preschool years” Children learn to become more self-sufficient Children now develop school readiness skills Children spend many hours playing with peers

Middle and Late Childhood The developmental period extending from about 6 to 11 years of age Approximately corresponds to the elementary school years Fundamental skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic are mastered Child is formally exposed to larger world and its culture

Adolescence The developmental period of transition from childhood to early adulthood—entered at 10-12 years, ending at 18-22 years Begins with rapid physical changes. Pursuit of independence and identity are prominent Thought is now more logical, abstract, and idealistic

Early Adulthood The developmental period beginning in the late teens or early twenties and lasting through the thirties A time of establishing personal and economic independence Also a time of career development Early adults select a mate, start a family, and rear children

Middle Adulthood The developmental period beginning around 40 years of age and extending to about 60 A time of expanding personal and social involvement and responsibility Also a time of assisting the next generation in becoming competent Middle adults reach and maintain satisfaction in a career

Late Adulthood The developmental period beginning in the sixties or seventies and lasting until death A time of adjustment to decreasing strength and health Also a time of life review, retirement, and new social roles

Age Groups in Late Adulthood The Young Old, or Old Age (65-74 years of age) The Old Old, or Late Old Age (75 years and older) The Oldest Old (85 years and older)

Age and Happiness No particular age group says they are happier or more satisfied than any other age group.

Conceptions of Age Chronological Age Biological Age Psychological Age Social Age

Chronological Age The number of years that have elapsed since a person’s birth

Biological Age A person’s age in terms of biological health

Psychological Age An individual’s adaptive capacities compared to those of other individuals of the same chronological age

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

Developmental Issues Nature and Nurture Continuity and Discontinuity Stability and Change

The Nature-Nurture Issue Involves the debate about whether development is primarily influenced by nature or nurture

Nature An organism’s biological inheritance

Nurture An organism’s environmental experiences

The Continuity-Discontinuity Issue This issue focuses on the extent to which development involves gradual, cumulative change or distinct stages.

Continuity Development results from a gradual process occurring over several weeks, months, and possibly years.

Discontinuity Development occurs through a sequence of stages in which change is qualitatively rather than quantitatively different.

The Stability-Change Issue This issue involves the degree to which we become older renditions of our early experience or whether we develop into someone different from who we were at an earlier point in development. It considers the extent to which early experiences (especially in infancy) or later experiences are the key determinants of a person’s development.

The Early-Later Experience Issue This issue has a long history of being hotly debated among developmental psychologists.

The Early-Experience View Some believe that unless infants experience warm, nurturant caregiving in the first year or so of life, their development will never be optimal.

The Later-Experience View Others believe that children are malleable throughout development and that later sensitive caregiving is just as important as earlier sensitive caregiving.

The Early-Later Experience A number of life-span developmentalists stress that too little attention has been given to later experiences in development. People in Western cultures tend to support the idea that early experiences are more important than later experiences. By contrast, the majority of people in the world do not share this belief.

Evaluating the Developmental Issues Most life-span developmentalists recognize that extreme positions are unwise. The key to development is the interaction of nature and nurture rather than either factor alone. There still exists strong debate regarding how strongly development is influenced by each of the factors.

Some Careers in Life-Span Development Audiologist Child psychologist/psychiatrist Child welfare worker College professor Day-care supervisor Early childhood educator Elementary/Secondary school teacher Geriatric nurse or physician Geropsychologist Home health aide

Some Careers in Life-Span Development (con’t) Medical social worker Pediatrician Pediatric nurse Physical therapist Day-care supervisor Preschool/Kindergarten teacher Recreational therapist Rehab counselor School psychologist