Question 1: Chapter 1
Answer the following two questions with regard to the forces that determine the
nature of development during adulthood:
a) Explain how the interaction of biological, psychological, sociocultural and
life-cycle forces shape a person’s development and, therefore, could explain
individual differences in development during adulthood. (10)
b) Explain how normative and non-normative influences determine the degree
to which the combination of biological, psychological, sociocultural and life-
cycle forces will be common or unique according to Baltes (in Cavanaugh &
Blanchard-Fields, 2019). (10)
1.1: Perspectives on Adult Development and Aging
Gerontology, the scientific study of aging from maturity through old age, has changed our
understanding of aging and the aging process.
Aging reflects the individual differences you have come to expect across people as they
change over time.
Many myths about old people persist.
These myths of aging lead to negative stereotypes of older people, which may result in
ageism, a form of discrimination against older adults based on their age.
Ageism has its foundations in myths and beliefs people take for granted, as well as in
intergenerational relations.
It may be as blatant as believing that all old people are senile and are incapable of making
decisions about their lives.
It may occur when people are impatient with older adults in a grocery store checkout line.
Or it may be as subtle as dismissing an older person’s physical complaints with the question
“What do you expect for someone your age?”
*The Life-span Perspective
The life-span
perspective divides human development into two phases:
an early phase (childhood and adolescence) and
a later phase (young adulthood, middle age, and old age).
The early phase is characterized by rapid age-related increases in people’s size and abilities.
During the later phase, changes in size are slow, but abilities continue to develop as people
continue adapting to the environment.
Viewed from the life-span perspective, adult development and aging are complex
phenomena that cannot be understood within the scope of a single disciplinary approach.
Understanding how adults change requires input from a wide variety of perspectives.
Moreover, aging is a lifelong process, meaning that human development never stops.
One of the most important perspectives on lifespan development is that of Paul Baltes, who
identified four key features of the lifespan perspective:
, Multidirectionality Plasticity
Development involves both growth One’s capacity is not
and decline; as people grow in one predetermined or set in concrete.
area, they may lose in another and Many skills can be trained or
at different rates. improved with practice, even in
For example, people’s vocabulary late life. There are limits to the
ability tends to increase degree of potential improvement.
throughout life, but reaction time
tends to slow down.
Historical Context Multiple Causation
Each of us develops within a How people develop results from a
particular set of circumstances wide variety of forces.
determined by the historical time Development is shaped by
in which we are born and the biological, psychological,
culture in which we grow up. sociocultural, and life-cycle forces.
The life-span perspective emphasizes that human development takes a lifetime to complete.
It sets the stage for understanding the many influences we experience and points out that
no one part of life is any more or less important than another.
Basing their theories on these principles, Baltes et al. (2006) argue that life-span
development consists of the dynamic interactions among growth, maintenance, and loss
regulation.
In their view, three factors are critical:
1. As people age, they begin to focus on or select those abilities deemed essential for
functioning.
2. People then optimise their behaviour by focusing on this more limited set of
abilities.
3. Finally, people learn to compensate for declines by designing workaround strategies.
Taken together, this Selective Optimisation with Compensation (SOC) explains how people
shift and more resources to maintain function and deal with biologically related losses as we
grow old, leaving fewer resources to be devoted to continued growth.
This shift in resources has profound implications for experiencing aging and for pointing out
ways to age successfully.
*The Demographics of Aging
The proportion of older adults in the population of developed countries has increased
tremendously, mainly due to better health care over the past century and to lowering
women’s mortality rate during childbirth.
People who study population trends, called, demographers, use a graphic technique called a
population pyramid to illustrate these changes.
By 2050, the number of older adults in developing countries will have increased
dramatically.
The tax will increase to be able to maintain the older pensioners.
The Diversity of Older Adults
Older women outnumber older men.
This is also true for each major ethnic and racial group.
Answer the following two questions with regard to the forces that determine the
nature of development during adulthood:
a) Explain how the interaction of biological, psychological, sociocultural and
life-cycle forces shape a person’s development and, therefore, could explain
individual differences in development during adulthood. (10)
b) Explain how normative and non-normative influences determine the degree
to which the combination of biological, psychological, sociocultural and life-
cycle forces will be common or unique according to Baltes (in Cavanaugh &
Blanchard-Fields, 2019). (10)
1.1: Perspectives on Adult Development and Aging
Gerontology, the scientific study of aging from maturity through old age, has changed our
understanding of aging and the aging process.
Aging reflects the individual differences you have come to expect across people as they
change over time.
Many myths about old people persist.
These myths of aging lead to negative stereotypes of older people, which may result in
ageism, a form of discrimination against older adults based on their age.
Ageism has its foundations in myths and beliefs people take for granted, as well as in
intergenerational relations.
It may be as blatant as believing that all old people are senile and are incapable of making
decisions about their lives.
It may occur when people are impatient with older adults in a grocery store checkout line.
Or it may be as subtle as dismissing an older person’s physical complaints with the question
“What do you expect for someone your age?”
*The Life-span Perspective
The life-span
perspective divides human development into two phases:
an early phase (childhood and adolescence) and
a later phase (young adulthood, middle age, and old age).
The early phase is characterized by rapid age-related increases in people’s size and abilities.
During the later phase, changes in size are slow, but abilities continue to develop as people
continue adapting to the environment.
Viewed from the life-span perspective, adult development and aging are complex
phenomena that cannot be understood within the scope of a single disciplinary approach.
Understanding how adults change requires input from a wide variety of perspectives.
Moreover, aging is a lifelong process, meaning that human development never stops.
One of the most important perspectives on lifespan development is that of Paul Baltes, who
identified four key features of the lifespan perspective:
, Multidirectionality Plasticity
Development involves both growth One’s capacity is not
and decline; as people grow in one predetermined or set in concrete.
area, they may lose in another and Many skills can be trained or
at different rates. improved with practice, even in
For example, people’s vocabulary late life. There are limits to the
ability tends to increase degree of potential improvement.
throughout life, but reaction time
tends to slow down.
Historical Context Multiple Causation
Each of us develops within a How people develop results from a
particular set of circumstances wide variety of forces.
determined by the historical time Development is shaped by
in which we are born and the biological, psychological,
culture in which we grow up. sociocultural, and life-cycle forces.
The life-span perspective emphasizes that human development takes a lifetime to complete.
It sets the stage for understanding the many influences we experience and points out that
no one part of life is any more or less important than another.
Basing their theories on these principles, Baltes et al. (2006) argue that life-span
development consists of the dynamic interactions among growth, maintenance, and loss
regulation.
In their view, three factors are critical:
1. As people age, they begin to focus on or select those abilities deemed essential for
functioning.
2. People then optimise their behaviour by focusing on this more limited set of
abilities.
3. Finally, people learn to compensate for declines by designing workaround strategies.
Taken together, this Selective Optimisation with Compensation (SOC) explains how people
shift and more resources to maintain function and deal with biologically related losses as we
grow old, leaving fewer resources to be devoted to continued growth.
This shift in resources has profound implications for experiencing aging and for pointing out
ways to age successfully.
*The Demographics of Aging
The proportion of older adults in the population of developed countries has increased
tremendously, mainly due to better health care over the past century and to lowering
women’s mortality rate during childbirth.
People who study population trends, called, demographers, use a graphic technique called a
population pyramid to illustrate these changes.
By 2050, the number of older adults in developing countries will have increased
dramatically.
The tax will increase to be able to maintain the older pensioners.
The Diversity of Older Adults
Older women outnumber older men.
This is also true for each major ethnic and racial group.
