L1 - Lifespan Development

Flashcards relating to the topic of lifespan development

Development

The pattern of change that begins at conception and continues through the lifespan; it involves growth and decline brought on by aging and dying

Physical Development

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

Cognitive Development

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

Psychosocial Development

Changes and carryover in personal and interpersonal aspects of development, such as motives, emotions, personality traits, interpersonal skills and relationships, and roles played in the family and in the larger society.

Biological Processes

Changes in the individual’s physical nature, genes inherited from parents, the development of the brain, height and weight gains, changes in motor skills, nutrition, exercise, the hormonal changes of puberty, and cardiovascular decline

Cognitive Processes

Changes in the individual’s thought, intelligence, and language.

Socioemotional Processes

Changes in the individual’s relationships with other people, changes in emotions, changes in beliefs, and changes in personality.

Life-Span Perspective

The perspective that development is lifelong, multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary, and contextual; involves growth, maintenance, and regulation; and is constructed through biological, sociocultural, and individual factors working together.

Plasticity

Development is malleable or changeable and focuses heavily on the potentials and limits of the nature of human development.

Normative Age-Graded Influences

Biological and environmental factors that have a strong correlation with chronological age, such as puberty or menopause, or age-based social practices such as beginning school or entering retirement.

Normative History-Graded Influences

Associated with a specific time period that defines the broader environmental and cultural context in which an individual develops.

Non-Normative Influences

Unpredictable and not tied to a certain developmental time in a person’s development or to a historical period. They are the unique experiences of an individual, whether biological or environmental, that shape the development process.

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

Explores links between development, cognitive processes, and the brain.

Developmental Social Neuroscience

Examines connections between socioemotional processes, development, and the brain.

Prenatal Period

The time from conception to birth, involving tremendous growth from a single cell to a complete organism.

Infancy

The developmental period from birth to 18 or 24 months, characterized by extreme dependence upon adults and the beginning of psychological activities.

Early Childhood

The developmental period from the end of infancy to age 5 or 6 where young children learn to become more self-sufficient and spend many hours in play with peers.

Middle and Late Childhood

The developmental period from about 6 to 11 years of age, corresponding to the elementary school years, during which fundamental skills are mastered and the child is formally exposed to the larger world.

Puberty

The period during which growing boys or girls undergo the process of sexual maturation, involving a series of physical stages that lead to the achievement of fertility and the development of secondary sex characteristics.

Adolescence

The developmental period of transition from childhood to early adulthood, entered at approximately 10 to 12 years of age and ending at 18 to 21 years of age, marked by rapid physical changes and the pursuit of independence and an identity.

Early Adulthood

The developmental period that begins in the early 20s and lasts through the 30s, characterized by establishing personal and economic independence, career development, and starting a family.

Middle Adulthood

The developmental period from approximately 40 years of age to about 60, a time of expanding personal and social involvement and responsibility.

Late Adulthood

The developmental period that begins in the 60s or 70s and lasts until death, a time of life review, retirement, and adjustment to new social roles.

Old Age (Senescence)

The final stage of the normal life span, characterized by physical decline and increased susceptibility to illness.

Nature

Involves the extent to which development is influenced by an organism’s biological inheritance.

Nurture

Involves the extent to which development is influenced by environmental experiences.

Stability and Change

Involves the degree to which we become older renditions of our early experience (stability) or whether we develop into someone different from who we were at an earlier point in development (change).

Continuity and Discontinuity

Focuses on the degree to which development involves either gradual, cumulative change (continuity) or distinct stages (discontinuity).