Life Span Development

womb to womb

Human development is the study of how we change overtime.

Characteristics of Human Development

1. Development is multidimensional

2. Development is lifelong, and change is apparent across the lifespan.

3. Development is multidirectional

4. Development is multidisciplinary

5. Development is multicontextual.

Human Development is MULTIDIMENSIONAL.

refers to developmental changes in emotions & psychological concerns & social relationships.

3 general domains/dimensions

1. Physical

2. Cognitive

3. Psychosocial

Human development is LIFELONG. (Freud, Kelin; Childhood)

Developmental change often occurs in distinct stages

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages of Development

1. Oral (0-2 yrs old)

2. Anal (2-3 yrs old)

3. Phallic (3-7 yrs old)

4. Latency (7-11)

5. Genital (11 above yrs old)

Oral Stage (0-2 yrs old)

Infant achieves gratification through oral activities such as feeding, thumb sucking and babbling.

Anal (2-3 yrs old)

The child learns to respond to some of the demands of society (such as bowel and bladder control).

Phallic (3-7 yrs old)

The child learns to realize the differences between males and females and becomes aware of sexuality.

Latency (7-11 yrs old)

The child continues his or her development but sexual urges are relatively quiet.

Genital (11 above yrs old)

The growing adolescent shakes off old dependencies and learns to deal maturely with the opposite sex.

Piaget’s Stage of Cognitive Development

1. Sensorimotor Stage (birth to 2yrs old)

2. Preoperational Stage (2-7 yrs old)

3. Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 yrs old)

4. Formal Operational Stage (12 and up)

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development

1. Level One Preconventional (younger than six)

2. Level Two (7-11 yrs old)

3. Level Three Postconventional (11 yrs on)

Erik Erikson

Father of developmental psychology.

Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages

1. Infancy (0-1 yr old)

2. Early Childhood (1-3 yrs old)

3. Play age (3-6 yrs old)

4. School age (7-11 yrs old)

5. Adolescence (12-18 yrs old)

6. Early adulthood (19-29 yrs old)

7. Middle Age (30-64 yrs old)

8. Old age (65 onward)

Views of Development

1. Discontinuous Development

2. Continuous Development

Discontinuous Development

stage theories

Continuous Development

Brain development and environmental experiences contribute to the acquisition of more advanced skills.

Human development is MULTIDIRECTIONAL.

Humans change in many directions.

We no longer assume that those develop in predictable ways are normal and those who do not are abnormal.

Growth and change continue throughout life.

Human Development is MULTIDISCIPLINARY.

Many academic disciplines contribute & collaborate to the study of life span.

External Factors that affect human development

1. Culture

2. History

3. Economic

4. Political

Human development is MULTICONTEXTUAL.

People are best to understood in context.

Analytic Intelligence

Mental Steps or “components” used to solve problems.

Creative Intelligence

Use of experience in ways that foster insight.

Practical Intelligence

Ability to read and adapt to the contexts of everyday life.

R. Stemberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

1. Analytic Intelligence

2. Creative Intelligence

3. Practical Intelligence

Contexts that affect development

1. The Cohort Effect

2. Socioeconomic Status

3. Culture

The Cohort Effect

Sometimes mistaken for age.

Cohort

A group of people who are born at roughly the same period in a particular society.

Socioeconomic Status

Way to identify families and households based on their shared levels of education, income and occupation.

Culture

Often referred to as a blueprint or guideline shared by a group of people that specifies how to live.

Periods of Development

1. Prenatal

2. Infancy

3. Childhood

4. Juvenile Era

5. Pre adolescence

6. Early adolescence

7. Late adolescence

8. Adulthood

Developmental Psychology

Scientific study of changes that occur in human beings throughout their lives.

Physical Development

Motor skills and other psycho-physiological processes.

Cognitive Development

Problem solving, language acquisition

Topics and Contexts in Developmental Psychology

1. Physical Development

2. Cognitive Development

3. Social and Emotional Development

4. Self concept and Identity Formation