Chapter 1 – Part 1
The Life-Span Perspective
Development
 Human Development:
 Scientific study of age-related changes in
• Body
• Behavior
• Thinking
• Emotion
 Influenced by biological and environmental factors
Life-Span = oldest
documented age
Life Expectancy =
Average expected age
Life-Span Development
 Traditional view of development:
 Extensive change from birth to adolescence
 Little or no change during adulthood
 Decline in old age
Wait…
 Life-span Perspective:
 Developmental change takes place throughout adulthood as well as during childhood
 Is lifelong, multidimensional, multidirectional, has plasticity, and is contextual
 Multidisciplinary - many fields of research
Development is Multidisciplinary
Biological
Approaches
•
Behavioral Genetics, Evolutionary
Psychology, Neuroscience
•
Cognitive Theories
Piaget – Vygotsky – Information
Processing
Social-Emotional •
Theories
Erikson – Ainsworth – Bowlby –
Skinner – Bandura
Contextual Changes
Normative
Age-Graded
influences
Normative
History-Graded
Influences
Nonnormative
Life Events
Similar for individuals sharing the same age
group
Shared by a specific generation
Unique to the individual
Normative
Age-Graded
Influences
Normative
History-Graded
Influences
Nonnormative
Life Events
– Start formal education (5-6 yrs)
– Retirement
– Puberty/Menopause
– Great Depression
– Assassination of JFK
– 9/11 World Trade Center
– Social Media
– Illness, disability
– Bullying
– Family crisis (divorce, death)
– Parents relocating
Sociocultural Contexts and Diversity
 Culture:
 Enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and
transmitted from one generation to the next.
 Cross-cultural studies:
 Compare aspects of two or more cultures
Sociocultural Contexts and Diversity
 Ethnicity:
 Characteristic based on cultural heritage, nationality characteristics, race, religion, and language
 Socioeconomic status (SES):
 A person’s position within society based on job, education, and money
 Gender:
 Characteristics of people as males and females
 Important to know that gender extends beyond this binary
Contemporary Concerns
 Culture—Ethnicity
 Sex—Gender
 Health & Well-Being
 Parenting & Education
SES
Education
Job Prestige
Income
Three Domains of Development
Body, brain, motor skills, health
Physical
Cognitive
Learning, memory, language, perception
Social /
Emotional
Personal: motives, emotions, self
Interpersonal: friends, family,
relationships, childrearing
Three Domains of Development
Physical
Cognitive
Social /
Emotional
Nature of Development
 Developmental period:
 A time frame characterized by certain features
 8 sequential periods with approximate age ranges
• Used for the purposes of organization and understanding
 Development remains plastic throughout life-span:
 Capacity to change at any point
 Environment influences these changes
• Example - nutrition, cognitive, and social stimulation
Periods of Development
 Emerging Adulthood:
 Period of transition from adolescence to adulthood
 Age range expanded from 18-25 to 18-29 years of age
 Experimentation and exploration characterize the emerging adult
• Identity exploration, instability, self-focus, feeling in-between, and the possibility of
transformation
 Some propose - Early Adulthood:
 Age range of 30-45 years of age
 Delay of stable work and family patterns (getting married)
Age and Happiness
 Is one age in life better than another?
 In the U.S., adults are happier as they age
 Psychological well-being increases after the
age of 50
 Older adults report having more positive
emotional experiences than younger adults
 Wait…
 Studies show lowest levels of life satisfaction
from 45-54 (middle age)
• Varies across countries too!
Conceptions of Age
 Chronological Age:
 Number of years elapsed since birth
 Biological Age:
 Age in terms of biological health
 Psychological Age:
 One’s adaptive capacities: to learn—think clearly—deal with stress—remain flexible
 Social Age (Age Norms):
 Social roles and expectations related to one’s age
 People with social relationships report being happier with their lives and are likely to live longer
Developmental Issues
 Epigenetics:
 Bidirectional interchange
between genes and the
environment
 Impacts genetic expression
 Explains why one identical
twin might have cancer and the
other does not