PSY 220 Chapter 1, Sigelman & Rider: Understanding Life Span Human Development

Development

systematic changes and continuities in the individual that occur between conception and death... from "womb-to-tomb"

systematic

orderly, patterned, relatively enduring (unchanging, unlike mood swings which are unpredictable)

Changes

can be gains or losses-- differences from what we were like before

Continuities

ways in which we remain the same or continue to reflect our past selves.

What are the 3 Broad Domains?

Physical Development, cognitive development and psychosocial development

Physical Development

growth of the body and its organs, functioning of physiological systems including the brain, physical signs of aging, and changes in motor abilities.

Cognitive Development

Changes and continuities in perception, language, learning, memory, problem solving, and other mental processes.

psychosocial development

changes and carryover in personal/interpersonal aspects of development such as motives, emotions, personality traits, interpersonal skills, and relationships/roles in family and society. Erik Erickson

growth

physical changes that occur from conception to maturity

biological aging

deterioration of organisms (including humans) that lead inevitably to death.

Gain- stability- loss model

biologically, development involves growth in early life, stability in early and middle adulthood, and decline associated with now accumulated effect of agin in later life.

Arguments against or challenging the gain-stability-loss model

Children may gain cognitive abilities as they get older, however they lose self confidence and are more prone to depression.

adults 60 and up score higher on vocabulary tests than age group 18-30

Aging

refers to a range of physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes, (+) and (-), in the mature organism.

What does Age indicate?

Age is only a rough indicator of developmental status

Emerging Adulthood

from after adolescence (18-25) transitional period. They are finding their identities, leading unstable lives with job changes, new relationships, and moves. They are self focused​, and relatively free of obligation to others. Believe they have limitless possibilities ahead of them . Post WWII more people of this age weer going to college so they were starting their career later, marrying later etc.

Periods of the lifespan

Infancy(0-2), preschool age(2-5), middle childhood(5-12), adolescence(12-18), emerging adulthood(18-25), early adulthood(25-40), middle adulthood(40-65), late adulthood(65 and older)

Age Grade

each socially defined age group in a society. aka age stratum

Rite of passage

ritual that marks a persons "passage" from one status to another. Usually from adolescence/childhood to adulthood ex) bat mitzvah, quincinera,

Age Norms

societies way of telling people how to act their age. ex) in some countries it is agreed that 6 yo are too young to drink beer, but old enough to attend school. Age norms influence peoples decisions on how to live their lives

Social Clock

a persons sense of when things should be done. They determine if someone is ahead or behind. Examples are age to marry, to move out of your parents house, etc.

ethnicity

peoples classification or affiliation with a group based on common heritage or tradition

SES

Socioeconomic Status-- standing in society based on such indicators as occupational prestige, education, and income. Different SES typically means different developmental experience

Low SES

tend to reach milestones of adulthood (children, marriage etc. ) earlier

Poverty effect on development

regardless of race, ethnicity, age etc. poverty can be damaging to development. They experience higher stress owing to:

- noise

- overcrowding

- family disruption

- hunger

- exposure to violence etc.

Parents in poverty tend to provide less stable, stimulatiing, and supportive home environments. This leads to:

- lower academic performance,

- poor mental health & well being,

- poor physical health

Life expectancy

the number of years a newborn is expected to live

Historicl significance of age-- childhood

17th century children started being viewed differently that adults-- before hand they were just seen as small adults expected to contribute equally to family

Historical significance of age-- adolescence

The transition from childhood- adulthood was not recognized until late 19th century-- begins with puberty, and involves physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes

Historical Significance of age-- emerging adulthood

Defined in late 20th century

Historical significance of age-- middle adulthood

20th century-- period of empty nest of children-- time of "crisis" or of stability(no change). peak cognitive functioning, stable relationships, many responsibilities, and high satisfaction

Historical significance of age-- old age

20th century-- period of retirement. there were not many old people in early eras and they were not as healthy as old people today.

Future of the life-span -- White female life expectancy

81

Future of the life-span-- black female life expectancy

77

Future of the life-span-- Black male life expectancy

70

Future of the life-span-- white male life expectancy

76

Nature vs. Nurture issue

THE QUESTION ON HOW BIOLOGICAL FACTORS ACT OR INTERACT TO MAKE US WHAT WE ARE

Nature: our genes, the influence of heredity. Universal maturation processes guided by genes. Discontinuous belief in stages

Nurture: emphasize change in response to the environment. All of the external stimuli (social conditions) that can affect us

Maturation

biological unfolding of the individual according to a blue print contained in GENES

Genes

hereditary material passed from parent to child at conception

Learning

The process through which experience brings about relatively permanent change in thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.

Nature PLUS Nurture

The two interact in a complex way to contribute to the development of the whole human being. Nature affect Nurture, and Nurture affect Nature

What are the goals driving the study of development?

Description-- describe normal development and individual differnces/ variatins in development. Developmentalists characterize the fuctioning of humans of different ages and trace how it changes with age (longitudinal study-- cohorts)

predicting -- indentify factors that predict development

explanation -- explain why a behavior/change is occurring

prediction

optimization -- how can humans be helped to develop in positive directions?

Who was G. Stanley Hall

First president of the APA. Greatly influenced by Darwin, attempted to collect mor objective data than baby biographers-- from a LARGE sample of individuals.

Developed the "questionaire" to explore the content of childrens minds of different ages.

Who were baby biographers?

They studied their own children and published their findings. (-) parents are not always objective when it comes to their own children-- the findings cannot be generalized.

The 7 different Life-Span Perspectives

1. Development is a life-long process

2. Development is multidirectional

3. Development involves both GAIN and LOSS

4. Development is characterized by lifelong plasticity

5. Development is changed by historical-cultural content

6. Development is multiply influenced

7. Development must be studied by multiple disciplines