Lifespan Exam 1

Locke

the child is a tabula rasa
- the most important goal of child rearing is growth of character
- parents should show honesty, stability, and gentleness and avoid indulging the child

Rousseau

Parents/society should give children maximum freedom from the beginning
- Children learn from spontaneous interaction with objects, no formal education to age 12
- Should have the freedom to explore whatever interests them

Darwin

Observed and wrote about his own child, emphasized the adaptive value of physical characteristics and behavior

G. Stanley Hall

Founder of child study movement, foreshadowed lifespan research, regarded development as a maturational process, effort to describe all aspects of development

Normative development

occurs when development proceeds along a general pattern, and within usual timing and sequence

Non-normative development

Development occurs in a manner that is different from the majority
Significant enough to be characterized as impacting function (social/emotional, cognitive,
physical)

Lifespan Perspective

A developmental systems perspective that is a perpetually ongoing process, extending from conception to death, molded by a complex
network of biological, social, psychological, etc.
influences

Lifespan Perspective (lifelong)

No age period is supreme in its impact on the life course
Events in any period of the life course can have equally powerful effects on future development Within each phase of life change occurs across different domains of development or areas of function (e.g., mental functions, physical
function)
Each age period has its own agenda, demands and opportunities that lead to similarities in development of function across individuals
But for each person, the challenges they face and adjustments they
make are very diverse, leading to individualization

Lifespan Perspective (multidimensional, multidirectional)

Challenges and adjustments across the lifespan are
multidimensional, impacted by various factors (social, biological, etc.)
1. In every developmental period development is a joint expression of growth and decline
2. Within each domain of development, change is multidirectional

Lifespan Perspective (plasticity)

Open to change in response to influential experiences
Development gradually becomes less plastic, as both capacity and opportunity for change are reduced

Lifespan Perspective (interacting forces)

Pathways of change in development are diverse because development is influenced by multiple factors (biological, historical, social, cultural)

Age-Normative influence on human function

events strongly related to age, fairly predictable in when they occur and how long they last; aspects of development that are chronological, often physiological, thought to reflect maturation

History-Normative influence on human function

aspects of development that affect a cohort (people born around the same time) in time, why people in cohorts tend to be alike in ways that set them apart from other times

Non-normative influence on human function

Events that are irregular, happen to one or a few people, do not follow a predictable timetable, not related to either age or personal history

Health

State of complete physical, mental, and social well-being not merely the absence of disease

Function

the purpose for which a person or thing exists

Disablement

a socio-medical concept describing disability as a product of the impact of a health condition on function, considering personal and environmental factors that serve as risk factors, interventions, and
exacerbators

Risk Factor

Personal or environmental factor that diminishes health, leaving an individual less likely to realize their full developmental potential

Disability

a term used to encompass problems with various
dimensions of human functioning, activity and participation

Medical Model

Loss of function associated with a disease, trauma, or health condition as attribute of the person
▪ Disability is a feature of a person
▪ Disability requires medical care provided in the form of treatment
▪ a professional works to “correct” the problem
▪ Professional IDs weaknesses, develop strategies to improve abilities and help the person compensate for weaknesses
▪ Influenced/managed by change in healthcare policies

Social Model

Views loss of function associated with a disease, trauma, or health condition as attribute of social environment
▪ An individual becomes disabled, not by the medical condition/disease, but because he/she cannot access stores, transportation, theaters
▪ Managed by change in social policy

Body structure

physical and anatomical aspects of the body

Body function

the function of an organ or system

Activity

the extent to which someone performs in a
standard environment

Participation

the extent to which someone performs
in a usual environment (e.g., student or work role)

Nature

hereditary information we receive from our parent at conception

Nurture

complex forces of the physical and social world that includes our biological makeup and psychological experiences before and after birth

Stability

rules for anticipating behavior are consistent across life

Instability/Plasticity

different rules apply at different points across life

Reductionist theory

Behavior is the sum of several small
behaviors

Mechanistic theory

human beings react to the environment, the environment not the person spurs behavior

Freud’s Theory (ID)

the largest portion of the mind, source of basic biological needs/desires

Freud’s Theory (Ego)

the conscious, rational part of personality, emerges in early infancy to redirect the ID's impulses so they are discharged in acceptable ways

Freud’s Theory (Superego)

Develops between ages 3-6, is one's conscience; develops as parents insist kids conform to values of society

Erickson’s psychosocial theory

Believed in dynamic influences of psychological structures, viewed development as a series of
conflicts & crises that must be resolved, in a positive
or negative mode, which determines future function

Difference from Erickson with Freud?

Rejected Freud's biological approach, focus on sociocultural influences
Suggested developmental change occurs across the lifespan

Behaviorism theory

Directly observable events (stimuli, responses) are
the appropriate focus of study
Push against the "case study" method, push
for "objective science of psychology"

Classical conditioning (Watson theory)

The environment is a supreme force in development
Adults can mold children's behavior by carefully controlling stimulus- response associations
Development viewed as continuous – gradual increase with age in number, strength of association

Operant conditioning theory (B.F. Skinner)

Frequency of a behavior can be increased by following it with a wide variety of reinforcers (food, praise, smile), decreased through punishment (withdrawal of privileges, disapproval)

Bandura's Social Learning Theory

Suggested modeling (aka imitation or observational learning) is a powerful source of development

Stressed importance of cognition, thinking
Children observe others self-praise, self-blame and develop a sense of self-efficacy

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Influenced by behaviorism, experimental
psychology perspective prevalent at the
time, stressed the importance of focusing on
the positive qualities of people

adaptation (Piaget)

stuctures of the mind develop to better fit with or
represent the external world

Assimilation

(change environment to fit organism's structure) or
accommodation (change of function in accordnace with environment)

Schema (cognitive structures)

class of similar sequences of action or
mental representations that are related

Equilibrium

process by which assimilation and accommodation are in balance

Disequilibrium

organism or environment is changing, out of balance

Sensorimotor stage Piaget

birth to 2 years old

Reflexive substage

birth - 1 month, little volitional activity, reactive to stimuli

Primary Circular Reactions

1-4 months, reflexes begin to be altered, infant can repeat actions volitionally (bat at objects)

Secondary Circular Reactions

4-8 months, infant begins to act more on objects, goal of making events that are interesting last longer

Coordination of Secondary Circular Reactions

8-12 months, infants begin to use objects instrumentally (to accomplish a goal, intention the hallmark). Develop concept of object permanence

Tertiary Circular Reactions

means and ends are combined in order to experiment with actions to determine consequences (problem solve with means by trial and error – use rod to draw a toy closer)

Preoperational Stage

age 2-7, learns symbolic representation with using signs and symbols to stand for something else, limitations with centration and egocentrism

Centration

Limitation during 2-7 age, focus on one salient
aspect of a stimulus to exclusion of others

Egocentrism

Limitation during 2-7 age, inability to take another person’s view

Piaget Concrete Operations Stage

Ages 7-12, children can decenter, use organized cognitive structures to organize and manipulate the environment. Understand the reversibility of actions, grasp concept of identity

Piaget Formal Operations Stage

Ages 12 and up

Can perform mental operations on abstract representations
Can engage in hypothetico-deductive reasoning

Vygotsky’s theory

Emphasis with sociocultural influence on
cognitive development

To understand cognitive development, we
must evaluate what is significant in the
cultural mileu in which the child is living

Scaffolding (Vygotksy)

the support of others

Private speech (Vygotsky)

talking to oneself that children do as they problem solve, thought integral to learning; children begin to internalize speech into mental processes by age 9

Sensation

the experience produced by stimulation of the sensory organs and is primarily a registry of information

Perception

uses several modes of information (sensation, memory, etc) to give meaning to sensory info

Nativist

believed that genetic predisposition and innate ability explained perception

Empiricists

formation of associations between various sensations is foundation of perception

Gesell’s Theory

1. Behavior has a characteristic pattern

2. Pattern reflects the underlying maturation of a neural structure

3. Emergence of the pattern is tied to the maturational process which is genetically driven

Communication

A broad term that encompasses the human ability
to interact in ways that enable them to share with
others about basic needs, desires, wants, ideas

Speech

involves skilled motor control and expression of thoughts in spoken words

Language

system of words or signs with understood meanings within a group of people

Expressive Communication

use of language to communicate thoughts,
feelings, ideas

Receptive communication

individual's ability to receive and interpret verbal
and/or nonverbal messages

Prelinguistic period

Birth to 12 months, characterized by exploration of the environment with caregivers
• When this period ends, children begin to use words to refer to things, which is the hallmark of linguistic development
• Important period to understand b/c many developmental disabilities that include language development delays are best treated when IDed early

Pre-intentional behavior

A normal form of communication for typically developing (TD) children ages 0-3 months

Intentional Behavior

Still considered "unintentional communication" b/c caregiver is interpreting
In typically developing infants occurs during 3-8 months

Example of unconventional communication

infant wants drink from father's cup, she will reach out her hands, look at the cup, and grunt

Conventional Communication examples

pointing, nodding, shaking head, hugging, waving, looking from person to desired object

Presymbolic communication

communication that does not use symbols like words or signs, does not have a shared meaning with others, can only be interpreted by looking at context

Symbolic communication

Uniform, culturally consistent, can be interpreted by others, there is a shared message between sender and receiver

Concrete symbols

use of actual objects, gestures, sounds

Abstract symbols

communication may include pictograms, alphabet

Sensitive Periods

Period during first 3 years of life for language development, most open for acquiring speech and language skills, intervention if there is a problem

Phonology

study of how sounds are organized and used in spoken language

Morphology

Study of word structure, including alterations that change meaning

Syntax

word order of our language

Semantics

study of meaning of language

Pragmatics

ways in which context of any communication contributes to the meaning of the communication (social rules for talking)

Intelligibility

the proportion of speaker's output that a listener can readily understand

Language decoding

the ability to recognize written representation
of words

Literacy

ability to read and write in the shared language of a
culture

Speech disorder

ability to read and write in the shared language of a
culture

International Classification of Disease

Basis for reimbursement coding in US health care system
Provides codes to classify diseases, symptoms, social circumstances, external cause of injury/disease

Differences in current ICF from prior model

Current model deemphasizes the concept of disability
Develops the idea that any human can have a decrement in function at any time

Increasing complexity

Relevance given to environment

Body structure

physical & anatomical aspects of the body

Body function

the function of an organ or system

Activity

the extent to which someone performs in a standard environment

Participation

the extent to which someone performs in a usual environment

Adaptive functioning

Someone’s independence in activities of daily living

Contextual Factors

Factors influencing an individual’s functional
activity

Norms

agreed-upon expectations, rules that guide individual function/development in a group

Cultural Norms

support the development of conformity and consistency of behavior that is appropriate to the group or society that individuals must function within (may not be explicitly stated)

Values

broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of action or outcomes