! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! UNIT 1
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT !
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY!
• Developmental psychology: the scientific study of ways in which people change, as well as stay the
same, from conception to death !
• Typically divided into three domains: physical, cognitive, and psychosocial!
• How can development in one domain affect another?!
relationships, making an impact on the psychosocial domain. !
!
PERIODS OF THE LIFE SPAN !
• Social construction: a widely accepted idea about the nature of reality by members of a society at a
particular time - periods of the life span may be viewed differently by societies!
school, started a job, or entered marriage - often occurred before the age of 13!
!
INFLUENCES ON DEVELOPMENT!
• Nature and nurture play significant roles in our development over the life span !
‣ Income, social class, religion, culture !
‣ Development of certain physical abilities to facilitate walking !
‣ Development of certain cognitive skills to facilitate speaking !
,• Strategies for facilitating intelligence: !
!
CONTEXTS OF DEVELOPMENT !
• Family: an especially important context of our development including the nuclear family (parents and
children) and extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, and children)!
status. Someone living in poverty is likely to have limited access to healthcare which could result in
that person waiting longer to go to the doctor and risking becoming sicker - negative outcome!
• Culture: a societyÕs way of life, and this may be expressed in our values, fashion, and homes !
• Ethnicity: a social construction because the perceptions of ethnic groups change over time !
• Race: a social construction because the perceptions of race differ from one society to the next and
they change over time !
!
KEY TERMS !
•Context: a personÕs background; everything in someoneÕs environment that influences development !
• Nuclear family: two-generational economic and kinship unit that share household responsibilities
such as finances and raising of children !
• Extended family: multi-generational economic and kinship unit that share household responsibilities
such as finances and raising of children!
• Risk factors: conditions that increase the likelihood of a negative outcome !
• Ethnic group: people who share a common ancestry, heritage, language, culture, or national origin !
• Cultural relativity: the appreciation for the various cultural differences as well as understanding that
cultural practices are best understood from within that specific culture!
• Ethnocentrism: the belief that oneÕs own group or culture is superior !
!
BALTES LIFESPAN PERSPECTIVE!
• Lifespan perspective: development happens over a life span !
• Based on key principles:!
‣ Plasticity is all about our ability to change and that many of our characteristics are
malleable!
• Development is contextual and that it occurs in multiple contexts:!
, • Normative influences: events that are experienced in a similar way by most people in a group !
people at a specific age!
‣ Ex: emerging adolescence similarly experience physical and hormonal changes during
puberty !
‣ A cohort: also referred to as a generation is a group of people born around the same time.
This group may experience similar environmental circumstances and events during their
lifetimes !
‣ Historical generation: group of people that are strongly influenced by an event in their
informative years !
• Non-normative influences: unusual events that affect a person or a typical event that happens at an
unusual time for a person !
LIFESPAN VS LIFE EXPECTANCY !
• Lifespan: refers to the length of time a species can exist under the most optimal conditions!
• Life expectancy: is the predicted number of years a person born in a particular time period can
reasonable expect to live !
• Chronological age: based on the number of years since you were born !
• Biological age: refers to how quickly the body is aging !
• Social age: refers to the social norms of our culture and the expectations our culture has for people
of our age group !
• Psychological age: our psychologically adaptive capacity compared to others of our chronological
age!
!
PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE!
• Derived from the works of Sigmund Freud !
• Focuses on unconscious emotions that shape development - we are driven by motives outside of
our awareness - how we are as adults is rooted in our childhood experiences!
• According to the theory, our inner selves are comprised of three components:!
!
PSYCHOSEXUAL THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE!
• Based on the works of Freud !
• There are five stages of childhood development based on child conflict and maturation. A child must
successfully transition through one stage before entering the next - first three are most important !
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT !
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY!
• Developmental psychology: the scientific study of ways in which people change, as well as stay the
same, from conception to death !
• Typically divided into three domains: physical, cognitive, and psychosocial!
• How can development in one domain affect another?!
relationships, making an impact on the psychosocial domain. !
!
PERIODS OF THE LIFE SPAN !
• Social construction: a widely accepted idea about the nature of reality by members of a society at a
particular time - periods of the life span may be viewed differently by societies!
school, started a job, or entered marriage - often occurred before the age of 13!
!
INFLUENCES ON DEVELOPMENT!
• Nature and nurture play significant roles in our development over the life span !
‣ Income, social class, religion, culture !
‣ Development of certain physical abilities to facilitate walking !
‣ Development of certain cognitive skills to facilitate speaking !
,• Strategies for facilitating intelligence: !
!
CONTEXTS OF DEVELOPMENT !
• Family: an especially important context of our development including the nuclear family (parents and
children) and extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, and children)!
status. Someone living in poverty is likely to have limited access to healthcare which could result in
that person waiting longer to go to the doctor and risking becoming sicker - negative outcome!
• Culture: a societyÕs way of life, and this may be expressed in our values, fashion, and homes !
• Ethnicity: a social construction because the perceptions of ethnic groups change over time !
• Race: a social construction because the perceptions of race differ from one society to the next and
they change over time !
!
KEY TERMS !
•Context: a personÕs background; everything in someoneÕs environment that influences development !
• Nuclear family: two-generational economic and kinship unit that share household responsibilities
such as finances and raising of children !
• Extended family: multi-generational economic and kinship unit that share household responsibilities
such as finances and raising of children!
• Risk factors: conditions that increase the likelihood of a negative outcome !
• Ethnic group: people who share a common ancestry, heritage, language, culture, or national origin !
• Cultural relativity: the appreciation for the various cultural differences as well as understanding that
cultural practices are best understood from within that specific culture!
• Ethnocentrism: the belief that oneÕs own group or culture is superior !
!
BALTES LIFESPAN PERSPECTIVE!
• Lifespan perspective: development happens over a life span !
• Based on key principles:!
‣ Plasticity is all about our ability to change and that many of our characteristics are
malleable!
• Development is contextual and that it occurs in multiple contexts:!
, • Normative influences: events that are experienced in a similar way by most people in a group !
people at a specific age!
‣ Ex: emerging adolescence similarly experience physical and hormonal changes during
puberty !
‣ A cohort: also referred to as a generation is a group of people born around the same time.
This group may experience similar environmental circumstances and events during their
lifetimes !
‣ Historical generation: group of people that are strongly influenced by an event in their
informative years !
• Non-normative influences: unusual events that affect a person or a typical event that happens at an
unusual time for a person !
LIFESPAN VS LIFE EXPECTANCY !
• Lifespan: refers to the length of time a species can exist under the most optimal conditions!
• Life expectancy: is the predicted number of years a person born in a particular time period can
reasonable expect to live !
• Chronological age: based on the number of years since you were born !
• Biological age: refers to how quickly the body is aging !
• Social age: refers to the social norms of our culture and the expectations our culture has for people
of our age group !
• Psychological age: our psychologically adaptive capacity compared to others of our chronological
age!
!
PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE!
• Derived from the works of Sigmund Freud !
• Focuses on unconscious emotions that shape development - we are driven by motives outside of
our awareness - how we are as adults is rooted in our childhood experiences!
• According to the theory, our inner selves are comprised of three components:!
!
PSYCHOSEXUAL THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE!
• Based on the works of Freud !
• There are five stages of childhood development based on child conflict and maturation. A child must
successfully transition through one stage before entering the next - first three are most important !
