Comprehensive Life-Span Development Exam Review: Nature vs Nurture, Stability vs Change, Normative Influences, Biological-Cognitive-Socioemotional Processes, Freud & Erikson Psychosocial Stages, Piaget Cognitive Development, Vygotsky Sociocultural Theory,

Comprehensive Life-Span Development Exam Review: Nature vs Nurture, Stability vs Change, Normative Influences, Biological-Cognitive-Socioemotional Processes, Freud & Erikson Psychosocial Stages, Piaget Cognitive Development, Vygotsky Sociocultural Theory, Information-Processing, Behaviorism & Bandura, Ethology & Attachment, Bronfenbrenner Ecological Systems, Aging (Normal, Pathological, Successful), Research Methods (Experimental, Correlational, Longitudinal, Cross-Sectional), and APA Ethics Exam Questions Verified and Provided with A+ Graded Rationales Latest Updated 2026 Development Pattern of movement or change that begins at conception & continues through the human life span Why study life-span development? - Prepares use to take responsibility for children - Gives us insight about own lives Development is: - Lifelong - Multidimensional - Multidirectional - Plastic - Multidisciplinary - Contextual - Involves growth, maintenance, & regulation of loss Normative Age-Graded Influences Similar for individuals in a particular age group Normative History-Graded Influences Common to people of a particular generation due to historical circumstances Non-normative Life Events Unusual occurrences that have a major impact on a person's life Contemporary Concerns in Life-Span Development - Health & well-being - Parenting & education - Sociocultural contexts & diversity Culture Behavior patterns, beliefs, & all other products of a group that are passed on from generation to generation Cross-Cultural Studies Comparison of one culture with one or more other cultures. These provide information about the degree to which development is similar, or universal, across cultures, & the degree to which it is culture-specific. Ethnicity Based on cultural heritage, nationality characteristics, race, religion, & language Socioeconmic status (SES) Grouping of people with similar occupational, educational, & economic characteristics Gender Characteristics of people as male or female Social Policy National government course of action designed to promote the welfare of its citizens Biological Processes Changes in an individual's physical nature Cognitive Changes Changes in an individual's thought, intelligence, & language Socioemotional Processes Changes in an individual's relationships with other people, emotions, & personality Development Cognitive Neuroscience Explores links between development, cognitive processes, & the brain Development Social Neuroscience Examines connections between socioemotional processes, development, & the brain Processes Involved in Developmental Changes Periods of Development - Prenatal period - Infancy - Early childhood - Middle & late childhood - Adolescence - Early adulthood - Middle adulthood - Late adulthood Biological age Person's age in terms of biological health Psychological Age Individual's adaptive capacities compared with those of other individuals of the same chronological age Social Age Connectedness with others &