PSYC 215 Lifespan Development, 2nd Ed.

• PSYC 215 covers lifespan development.
• Essentials of Lifespan Development is in its Second Canadian Edition.

Studying Lifespan Development

• Studying lifespan development can inform the development of social policy.
• It can help citizens understand and evaluate policies.
• It helps hold government and institutions accountable.
• Further, it increases the understanding of the impact of issues like poverty on individuals and communities over time.
• It also takes into account that there's a general increase in human life expectancy

Nature of Development

• Biological processes involve physical changes resulting from factors like genes, brain development, nutrition, exercise, hormones, and age.
• Cognitive processes involve changes in thinking, intelligence, and language.
• Socioemotional processes involve changes in relationships with other people, emotions, and personality.
• Development is multidimensional, plastic, and contextual.
• Development is a co-construction of biology, culture, and the individual.

Lifespan Perspective

• Development is a lifelong process; early adulthood is not the endpoint.
• Researchers examine the impact of early life experiences and brain changes on later development.
• Development Involves growth, maintenance, and regulation of loss.

Periods of Development

• Prenatal period is the time from conception to birth involving tremendous growth.
• Infancy spans from birth to 18–24 months, during which there is great dependence on adults.
• Childhood lasts from approximately 24 months to 11 years.
  • Early childhood focuses on self-sufficiency and school readiness.
  • Middle/late childhood sees mastery of basic skills and formal exposure to the outside world.
• Adolescence spans from approximately ages 10–22.
  • It includes physical changes, pursuit of independence and identity, more logical thought, increased time outside the family, and increased risk-taking.
• Early adulthood spans from the late teens/early 20s to age 45.
  • During this period, people establish personal/economic independence.
  • They become proficient in a career, mate, and starting a family.
• Middle adulthood spans from approximately ages 45–60.
  • It involves expanding personal/social involvement and responsibility.
  • It involves assisting the next generation and achieving/maintaining career satisfaction.
• Late adulthood starts around age 60 and lasts until death.
  • It involves life review, retirement, and adjusting to new social roles with decreasing strength and health.

Conceptions of Age

• Chronological age is the number of years since birth.
• Biological age is age in terms of biological health and functional capacities.
• Psychological age refers to adaptive capacities compared to those of the same chronological age.
• Social age is the connectedness with others and social roles adopted by individuals.

Aging Developmental Patterns

• Normal aging involves psychological functioning peaking in early middle age, remaining stable until the late fifties to early sixties, with a modest decline through the early eighties, and a marked decline near death.
• Pathological aging involves greater than average decline, potentially with mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's, or chronic diseases.
• Successful aging involves maintaining positive physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development longer, with later decline in old age.

Developmental Science Questions

• The central questions concern the extent to which development is influenced by nature versus nurture.
• Then there is the question of if traits stay constant (stability), or if they are likely to change (change).
• Another question is whether development involves gradual change (continuity) or distinct stages (discontinuity).

Theories of Development

• Theories of development offer interrelated and coherent ideas to explain phenomena and make predictions.
• Theoretical orientations come in many forms like such as:
  • Psychoanalytic
  • Cognitive
  • Social cognitive
  • Ethological
  • Bioecological

Psychoanalytic Theories

• This describes development primarily in terms of unconscious processes heavily coloured by emotion.
• Psychoanalysis, emphasizes that behaviour is merely a surface characteristic.
• A true understanding of Psychoanalytic theory requires analysis of inner workings of the mind.
  • Development is related to pleasure and sexual impulses

Psychosocial Theory

Psychosocial Theory by Erikson states that:

• Humans develop in psychosocial stages:
• Trust versus Mistrust - is related to experiences in the first year of life sets the stage for lifelong expectation
• Intimacy versus Isolation - is related to Intimate Relationship formation
• Motivation is social
• Change occurs during life span

Psychoanalytic Contributions

• Psychoanalytic Theories contributions include emphasis on developmental framework, family relationships, and unconscious aspects of the mind

Psychoanalytic Critiques

• Psychoanalytic Theories are criticized due to the lack of scientific support and also it's overemphasis on sexual underpinnings.

Cognitive Theories

• Cognitive Theories emphasize conscious thoughts.
• Piaget's Theory
  • This theory outlines four stages of cognitive development.
  • Individuals construct personal understanding.
  • Age-related stages with distinct thinking and understanding.
  • A child's cognition is qualitatively different in each stage.
• The Sensorimotor stage occurs from birth to approximately 2 years:
  • Infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences.
• The Preoperational stage occurs from approximately 2 to 7 years:
  • Children in this stage can represent the world with words, images, and drawings.
  • However pre-school children still lack the ability to perform operations.
• The Concrete operational stage occurs from approximately 7 to 11 years:
  • Children in this stage can develop logical reasoning.
  • Children can begin to think more abstractly.
• The Formal operational stage occurs from approximately 11 to 15 years.
  • In this period systematic problem solving is possible due to developed hypotheses.
• Vygotsky's Sociocultural Cognitive Theory
  • Culture and social interaction guide cognitive development.
  • Cognitive development is inseparable from social/cultural activities.
  • Cognitive development is learning to use inventions of society e.g. language and memory.
  • Social interaction with more-skilled adults and peers is indispensable to one's development.
• Information-Processing Theory
  • Individuals manipulate information and monitor it.
  • Development is not stage-like but it gradually increases capacity for processing information.
  • Processing allows individuals to acquire complex knowledge and skills.

Cognitive Theories contributions

Cognitive Theories contributions include providing a positive view of development . There is also an emphasis on the active construction of understanding.

Cognitive Theories critiques

Cognitive Theories drawbacks include skepticism about the pureness of stages and limited attention to individual and cultural variations.

Cognitive social-Behavioural Theories

• Development results from behaviours learned through surroundings.
• Behaviourism is when one observes and measures scientifically only what can be directly.
• Operant conditioning by Skinner, states that behaviour consequences via reward or punishment cause changes in the probability of the behaviour's recurrence.
• Rewarding stimulus has is when behaviour is more likely, whilst punishing the stimulus = behaviour is less likely.
• Social Cognitive Theory by Bandura states :
  • Environment, behaviour, as well as personal/cognitive factors are key factors in development.
  • Cognitive processes are also linked to environment and behaviour

Social Cognitive Theories positives

• Emphasis is placed on scientific research and environmental behaviour determinants.

Social Cognitive Theories negatives

• There is limited emphasis on cognition.
• Inadequate attention to developmental changes is given.

Ethological Theory

• It Includes studying the behaviour of animals in their natural habitat
• This theory Stresses that behaviour is strongly influenced by biology and evolution
• It is Characterized by critical or sensitive periods during which presence/absence of certain experiences have a long-lasting influence on individuals

Ethological Theory contributions

• Main focuses are on the biological and evolutionary basis of development.
• It carefully observes natural settings

Ethological Theory critiques

• The emphasis on biological foundations is too much
• The concept of critical or sensitive period can be too rigid

Bioecological Theory

• Bioecological Theory created by Urie Bronfenbrenner, states that environmental systems influence development through five systems:
• Microsystem
• Mesosystem
• Exosystem
• Macrosystem
• Chronosystem
• Microsystem
  • This is the setting in which the individual lives and encompasses their genetic makeup such as their family, school etc.
  • Consists of the most direct interactions in the surrounding areas.
  • The individual is not a passive recipient, but they construct the settings.
• Mesosystem - This relates to the in-between of microsystems or connections between contexts, e.g. family and school.
• Exosystem - These link the social settings where individuals do not have an active role.
  • A home experience is influenced by a parent's work.
• Macrosystem - This is the encompassing culture in which an individual lives in.
• Chronosystem - This dictates the environmental transition over the life course including sociohistorical circumstances.

Bioecological Theory positives

• There is systematic examination of macro level environmental systems.

Bioecological Theory negatives

• There is inadequate attention given to the effects on biological and cognitive factors

Contemporary Approaches

• Positive Psychology
  • Focus here is alternative methods of obtaining health and happiness
  • Certain positive traits like love, hope and gratitude correlate with life satisfaction
• Neuroscience and Neuroplasticity
  • Studies the brain.
  • Studies the nervous system .
  • Studies the spinal column.
  • Takes into account the the brain's ability to compensate for injury and to examine how the brain maps in association with personal narratives.
• Dynamic Systems - Thelen - Development is then probabilistic and emerges out of complex environments interaction between the organism and its surroundings. - This relies on complex dynamic interactions. - This model is said to be applicable to to many areas of human development.
• Evolutionary Psychology - It combines evolution, biology, and psychology. - It searches to understand how brain and behaviour unfold across the lifespan.
• An Eclectic Theoretical Orientation - States that No single theory can explain all aspects of of human life or lifespan development. - Claims that Every theory contributes a different element of human development.

Research Designs

• The methods of collecting data are:
  • Observation
  • Survey and Interview
  • Standardized Tests
  • Case Study
  • Physiological Measures
• Important Research Designs include:
  • Descriptive Research
  • Correlational Research
  • Experimental which uses uses independent/dependent variables, Experimental and control groups
• Time Span of Research includes:
  • Cross-Sectional Approach
  • Longitudinal Approach
  • Cohort Effects
• Conducting Ethical Research:
  • Researchers who study human development and behaviour confront many ethical issues.
  • They resolve this ethical dilemma via means of:
    • Consent
    • Research ethics committees
    • Confidentiality
    • Debrief

Explore lifespan development, its informing role in social policy, and its impact on individuals and communities. Examines biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes. Considers the multidimensional, plastic, and contextual nature of development.