PSYCH- Introduction

Lifespan Development

Developmental Psychology Definition

• the scientific study of how humans grow, change, and adapt across the entire lifespan — from conception through old age. It examines physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development, and how both biological factors and environmental experiences shape who we become.

Development

• Pattern of change beginning at conception and continuing throughout the life span

• Involves growth and decline brought on by aging and dying

Life-span perspective

• Involves growth, maintenance, and regulation

• Emphasis on developmental change throughout adulthood and childhood

Life Expectancy

The upper boundary of human lifespan is 122 years.

Life expectancy is 79 years.

• Prehistoric era average life expectancy was 18 years.

• People live longer in part due to better sanitation, nutrition and medicine.

Paul Baltes’ Lifespan Characteristics

Development is

1. Lifelong – Development occurs from birth to death.

2. Multidimensional – Development involves biological, cognitive, and socioemotional dimensions.

3. Multidirectional – Some areas of development improve while others decline.

4. Plastic – Development can change depending on experiences.

5. Multidisciplinary – Many fields (psychology, biology, sociology, etc.) study human development.

6. Contextual – Development is influenced by culture, environment, history, and life circumstances.

7. Growth, Maintenance, and Regulation of Loss – Development balances gains, preserving skills, and adapting to loss

Patterns of aging

Normal aging

• Describes most individuals with psychological functioning peaking early middle-age

Pathological aging

• Describes individuals with above average decline in early old age, developing a condition leading to mild cognitive impairment

Successful aging

• Describes individuals maintaining positive physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development longer in life

Significance of Age

Chronological age

• Number of years that have elapsed since birth

Biological age

• Age in terms of biological health

Psychological age

• Individual’s adaptive capacities compared with people of the same chronological age

Social age

• Connectedness with others and social roles people adopt

Nature-Nurture

Nature-nurture issue: debate about whether development is primarily influenced by nature or nurture

• Nature - organism’s biological inheritance

• Nurture - environmental experiences

Developmental Issues

Stability-change issue: debate about the degree to which an individual

• Becomes older version of the early self with same traits persisting through life

• Develops into someone different from who they were at an earlier point in development

Continuity-discontinuity issue: debate about the extent to which development involves gradual, cumulative change, or distinct stages.

Continuity and Discontinuity

• Continuity: development is gradual, cumulative, and ongoing, rather than happening in distinct steps. It suggests that children develop skills smoothly over time, building on earlier abilities without sudden shifts.

  • development is quantitative, changes are slow and steadily

  • ex. vocabulary growth — children gradually learn more words over time.

• Discontinuity: development occurs in distinct stages, with qualitative shifts in thinking, behavior, or abilities. It suggests that children move through clearly defined stages, each different from the one before.

  • Development is qualitative, Changes happen in steps or stages.

  • Piaget’s stages — a child suddenly begins to think logically in the concrete operational stage.

Stability and Change

Examples of Stability

These illustrate traits that remain consistent across the lifespan.

• Temperament: A baby who is calm and easygoing often grows into a relaxed, low‑stress adult.

• Shyness: A shy toddler may remain socially reserved through adolescence and adulthood.

• Emotional reactivity: Infants who react strongly to stimuli often continue to show high emotional sensitivity later in life.

• Attachment style: Securely attached infants often develop into adults with stable, trusting relationships.

Examples of Change

These illustrate traits that shift significantly over time.

• Self‑confidence: A child who is timid may become outgoing in adolescence after positive peer experiences.

• Impulsivity: Young children may act impulsively but develop strong self‑control as the prefrontal cortex matures.

• Personality shifts: Adolescents often become more conscientious and emotionally stable as they enter adulthood.

• Coping skills: A child who struggles with stress may learn effective coping strategies later in life through therapy or supportive environments.

Erikson’s Stages of Human Development

• Trust versus mistrust

• Autonomy versus shame and doubt

• Initiative versus guilt

• Industry versus inferiority

• Identity versus identity confusion

• Intimacy versus isolation

• Generativity versus stagnation

• Integrity versus despair

Cognitive Theories

Vygotsky’s theory

• Emphasizes how culture and social interaction guide and are inseparable from cognitive development

Information-Processing Theory

• Emphasizes that individuals process information, monitor, and strategize about it

Behavioral & Social Cognitive Theories

Skinner’s operant conditioning

• Development consists of the pattern of behavioral changes brought about by rewards and punishments

Bandura’s social cognitive theory

• Emphasizes behavior, environment, and cognition as the key factors in development

• Relations between behavior, person/cognitive, and environmental factors are reciprocal

Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is the tendency to view one’s own culture, values, and customs as superior to those of other cultures. People who are ethnocentric often judge other cultural practices based on the standards of their own culture rather than trying to understand them within their cultural context.

Example

Imagine an American student visiting a country where people eat with their hands instead of utensils.

If the student says, “That’s gross—why don’t they just use forks like normal people?”, they are demonstrating ethnocentrism.

They are evaluating another culture’s normal practice through their own cultural lens rather than recognizing it as simply different, not inferior

Baltes Characteristics of Development pt 1.

Development Is Lifelong

• Human development continues from conception through old age. No single period (childhood, adolescence, adulthood) dominates the developmental process.

• A 70-year-old learns to use a smartphone for the first time—showing that growth and learning still occur well into late adulthood

Development Is Multidimensional

• Development consists of multiple interacting dimensions:

• • Biological (physical changes)

• • Cognitive (thinking, learning, memory)

• • Socioemotional (relationships, emotions, personality)

• These dimensions influence one another.

• A teenager going through puberty (biological change) may become more self conscious (socioemotional change), which affects their school performance (cognitive change).

Development Is Multidirectional

• Some aspects of development improve while others decline at the same time. Growth doesn’t follow a single upward or downward path.

• As adults age, their vocabulary may continue to increase (growth), while their processing speed slows down (decline)

Baltes Characteristics of Development pt 2.

Development Is Plastic

• Plasticity means that development can change—abilities, behaviors, and brain functioning can be modified throughout life, though sometimes more easily at certain ages.

• After a stroke, an adult may relearn speech or movement skills through therapy. The brain adapts by forming new pathways

Development Is Multidisciplinary

• Many fields contribute to understanding development—psychology, sociology, biology, neuroscience, medicine, education, anthropology, and more.

• A child’s learning difficulties might be studied by a psychologist (behavior), a neurologist (brain functioning), and an educator (classroom strategies).

Development Is Contextual

• Development is shaped by the environments or “contexts” a person experiences. These include:

  • • Family

  • • School

  • • Culture

  • • Socioeconomic status

  • • Historical time period

• A child raised during the COVID-19 pandemic may have different social experiences and developmental outcomes than a child raised in a pre-pandemic era