Lifespan Developmental Psychology: Key Concepts and Theories

Developmental tasks of young adulthood (YA)

Tasks include establishing a stable partnership, living with a partner, establishing an independent household, establishing and caring for a family, starting an occupation or career, integrating into a social group, and assuming civic and social responsibility.

Developmental tasks of late adulthood (LA)

Tasks focus on reassessment, acceptance, and adaptation, with the overarching psychosocial task being achieving Ego Integrity vs. Despair.

Ego Differentiation

Finding self-worth outside of career/children.

Body Transcendence

Emphasizing adaptive skills over physical limitations.

Ego Transcendence

Facing death constructively by making life meaningful for younger generations.

Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC)

A method for maintaining psychological adjustment key to optimal aging.

Developmental Diversity

Asks how person-context interactions explain diverse (or similar) developmental pathways.

Sandwich generation

Managing the responsibility of providing support to aging parents while raising children.

Empty nest outcomes

Experiences can include 'role-loss' vs. 'role-strain relief'.

Workplace cultures in mid-adulthood (MA)

Experiences can include depreciation vs. conservation which affect well-being and productivity.

Lifelong Growth

An LDP question focused on how and why people's social and emotional experiences change across different life periods.

Normative Age-Graded influences

Events happening due to age, such as Erikson's psychosocial crises.

Normative History-Graded influences

Events happening to everyone in a community, such as cultural changes or historical crises.

Non-Normative influences

Events that do not follow the typical patterns of development.

Baltes' Taxonomy

Describes three influences that determine any event or decision affecting Lifelong Growth.

Developmental experiences of mid-adulthood (MA)

Characterized by being embedded in a complex context where developmental pathways are probable and flexible.

Individual outcomes in mid-adulthood

Unique combination of personal, genetic, environmental, social, and cultural circumstances resulting in varied outcomes.

Ego Integrity vs. Despair

The overarching psychosocial task in late adulthood.

Development is lifelong and task-oriented

Highlights the shift from the acquisition of roles in young adulthood to the maintenance and transcendence of life roles in late adulthood.

Psychosocial tasks in late adulthood

Include reassessment, acceptance, and adaptation.

Research on mid-adulthood well-being

Identifies varied pathways to well-being based on individual experiences.

Erikson's psychosocial crises

Normative age-graded life changes that contribute to growth.

Non-normative crises

Life changes that do not happen to the majority of people, such as serious injury or disorder.

Person-context interactions in Childhood

Person factors (e.g., temperament, Theory of Mind) interact with context factors (e.g., parents, peers) to shape outcomes.

Person-context interactions in Mid-Adulthood (MA)

Development is fundamentally contextual throughout the lifespan, involving expanded, complex contexts focused on management and multi-generational reciprocity.

Filial maturity

The adult child caring for aging parents.

Workplace context

A person's experience depends on the workplace philosophy (e.g., a conservation culture supporting development vs. a depreciation culture focused on age-related losses).

Crystallized intelligence

Cognitive function maintained because of accumulated experience (context).

Developmental tasks of childhood

Basic tasks arising from physical maturation (e.g., learning to walk) and complex tasks arising from social and cultural expectations (e.g., developing school-related skills, conscience, and values).

Havighurst's tasks

Tasks that provide the foundation of competence and confidence needed to successfully tackle later tasks.

Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model

A theoretical lens that understands the mechanism behind the achievement of developmental tasks, emphasizing the dynamic interaction between the person and biological, psychological, and social systems over time.

Culture's role in development

Culture plays a crucial role in defining a person's developmental tasks.

Dynamic interaction in development

Progression of development (including mental health) as a dynamic interaction between the person and their environment.

Altruism in childhood

Defined as any behavior that benefits another person but does not benefit the actor.

Wellbeing in late adulthood (LA)

A concept that can be explored in relation to altruism and other developmental factors.

Prosocial behavior

Behavior that is intended to benefit others, which can be altruistic and is predicted by social understanding, including Theory of Mind and empathy.

Wellbeing

Maintenance of psychological adjustment and life satisfaction across the lifespan, heavily linked to achieving Erikson's final stage of Ego Integrity.

Ego Integrity

Feeling whole and satisfied with achievements, associated with the final stage of Erikson's psychosocial development.

Emotional regulation

The ability to manage and respond to emotional experiences, which supports positive adjustment and wellbeing.

Positivity bias

The tendency to focus on positive outcomes and experiences, contributing to emotional regulation and wellbeing.

SOC (Selection, Optimization, Compensation)

Strategies employed to maintain wellbeing despite losses by selecting important goals, optimizing resources, and compensating for losses.

LDP (Lifelong Developmental Psychology)

A framework that learns that development is characterized by lifelong changes in emotional and social resources.

Idea A (Psychosocial Crises of Young Adulthood)

The core crisis is Intimacy vs. Isolation, where the major question is, 'Will I be loved or will I be alone?'

Intimacy vs. Isolation

A psychosocial crisis in young adulthood focused on developing an individuated self while retaining connectedness to others.

Love

The basic virtue acquired from successfully resolving the Intimacy vs. Isolation crisis.

Discontinuous Change

The LDP principle where development occurs across eight stages, each marked by a specific psychosocial crisis.

Generativity vs. Stagnation

The core crisis of mid-adulthood involving psychological goals such as reassessing life goals and managing family responsibilities.

Significant life evaluations

Triggers for the Generativity vs. Stagnation crisis, prompting individuals to reassess their life goals.

Idea A (Friendships in Late Adulthood)

Suggests that late adulthood involves a selective narrowing of social networks to interact with emotionally satisfying partners.

Socio-emotional Selectivity Theory (SST)

A theory suggesting that older adults prioritize emotionally satisfying relationships as they age.

Quality of social engagement

The best predictor against loneliness for individuals aged 60 and above, emphasizing the importance of having a confidant.

Activity theory

Supports maintaining social activities for optimal aging and wellbeing.

Friendships in Adolescence

Defined by being voluntary, mutual, and reciprocal, characterized by loyalty, intimacy, and disclosure.

Peer influence

The effect of peers on neurological function, making young people highly responsive to social rewards and vulnerable to peer pressure.

Quantity of social engagement

The best predictor against loneliness for the youngest age group (18-29), emphasizing the importance of broad networks and high contact.

U-shaped prevalence of loneliness

The observation that both the youngest and oldest age groups are the most likely to report feeling lonely.