The key here is to understand that behaviors, motivations, emotions, and choices are all part of a biggerpicture. Baltes states that the development of a particular domain does not occur in a strictly linear fashion but that development of certain traits can be characterized as having the capacity for both an increase and decrease in efficacy over the course of an individuals life. Without visual input, blind humans have demonstrated that tactile and auditory functions still fully develop and they can use tactile and auditory cues to perceive the world around them. The American Psychological Association (2020) defines developmental psychology as the study of physical, mental, and behavioral changes, from conception through old age. This approach is based on several key principles: Lifelong developmentmeans that development is not completedin infancy or childhood or at any specific age; it encompasses the entire lifespan, from conception to death. Their thoughts about themselves, others, and the world are probably quite different. The current view reflects the possibility that specific changes in development can occur later in life, without having been established at birth. Vygotskys theory that emphasizes how cognitive development proceeds as a result of social interactions between members of a culture. There are also emotional and social changes involving regulating emotions, interacting with peers, and possibly dating. Paul Baltes identified several underlying principles of the lifespan perspective (Baltes, 1987; Baltes, Lindenberger, & Staudinger, 2006). They are the unique experiences of an individual, whether biological or environmental, that shape the development process. The areas of influence that Baltes thought most important to the development of intelligence were health, education, and work. Positive youth development in the united states: Research findings on evaluations of positive youth development programs. Research on brain development helps us understand teen risk-taking and impulsive behavior. That is why it is suggested explicitly by lifespan researchers that a combination of disciplines is necessary to understand development. There are many theorists that have made, and continue to make, a profound contribution to this area of psychology, amongst whom is Erik Erikson who developed a model of eight stages of psychological development. Death and dying will be the topic of our second to last module, though it is not necessarily a stage of development that occurs at a particular age. Stage theories hold that the sequence of development is universal. Our unique experiences in our environment influence whether and how particular traits are expressed, and at the same time, our genes influence how we interact with our environment (Diamond, 2009; Lobo, 2008). This system consists of all the experiences that a person has had during their lifetime. There are solutions to this problem. These findings suggest that cognitive function, particularly memory, can be significantly improved in mature adults with age-related cognitive decline by using brain plasticity-based training methods. For example, physical stamina gradually decreases with age, but accumulated knowledge or "wisdom" tends to gradually increase. German psychologist Paul Baltes, a leading expert on lifespan development and aging, developedone of the approaches to studying development called the lifespan perspective. LIFE-SPAN 4.Development is contextual. The fact that the term puberty encompasses such a broad range of domains illustrates the multidimensionality component of development (thinkback to the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial domains of human development we discussed earlier in this module). What types of activities could be implemented to help the children of your community or a neighboring community? To what extent does your cohort shape your values, thoughts, and aspirations? Inversely, the ability for adolescents to engage in spontaneous activity and creativity, both domains commonly associated with impulse behavior, decrease over the adolescent period in response to changes in cognition. Many lifespan developmentalists use an eclectic approach, drawing on several perspectives at the same time because the same developmental phenomenon can be looked at from a number of perspectives. Yet we live in diverse contexts that have a unique effect on each of us. It has been presented as a theoretical perspective, proposing several fundamental, theoretical, and methodological principles about the nature of human development. This requires the sacrificing of other functions, a process known as selective optimization with compensation. Another is acquiring knowledge, insight and culture. Baltes lifespan perspective emphasizes that development is lifelong, multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, contextual, and multidisciplinary. Infants in all cultures coo before they babble. Think about the lifespan and make a list of what you would consider the basic periods of development. In comparison to the control group, who received no training and showed no significant change in memory function, the experimental training group displayed a marked enhancement in memory that was sustained at the 3-month follow-up period. Click on a link that sounds interesting to you in order to participate in online research, U.S. Census Data is available and widely used to look at trends and changes taking place in the United States. Teens typically struggle to become more independent from their parents. Early scholars John Locke and Charles Darwin proposed theories of human behavior that are the direct ancestors of some major theoretical traditions of developmental psychology today(Vasta et al., 1998, p. 10). The dimensions of cognitive decline are partially reversible, however, because the brain retains the lifelong capacity for plasticity and reorganization of cortical tissue. Key terms and concepts include the zone of proximal development and scaffolding. Concerning adolescent development, the age-graded influences would help to explain the similarities within a cohort, the history-graded influences would help to explain the differences between cohorts, and the nonnormative influences would explain the idiosyncrasies of each adolescents individual development. And the community is influenced by macrosystems, which are cultural elements such as global economic conditions, war, technological trends, values, philosophies, and a societys responses to the global community. The acquisition of effective self-regulation in adolescents illustrates this gain/loss concept. This is a very interesting andmeaningful course because it is about each of usand those with whom we live and work. It is a great overview of the journey we will take through the lifespan. But isnt it possible that development during one period affects development in other periods and that humans can grow and change across adulthood too? Cognitive development involves learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and creativity. Learn the characteristics of this perspective as well as its multiple frameworks:. Another psychologist who recognized the importance of the environment on development was American psychologist, Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005), who formulated the ecological systems theory to explain how the inherent qualities of a child and their environment interact to influence how they will grow and develop. Can you identify it? They are not as specific as hypotheses, which are so specific that we use them to make predictions in research. Many diverse patterns of change, such as direction, timing, and order, can vary among individuals and affect the ways in which they develop. Cognitive development includes mental processes, thinking, learning, and understanding, and it doesnt stop in childhood. What are the principles of human behavior? To what extent does your cohort shape your values, thoughts, and aspirations? No single age period is more crucial, characterizes, or dominates human development. In many parts of the world, ones identity is determined by family status or societys dictates. As you can see, our development is influenced by multiple contexts, so the timing of basic motor functions may vary across cultures. In this module, well examine some of these major theories and contributions made by prominent psychologists. Developmental theories provide a set of guiding principles and concepts that describe and explain human development. In essence, lifespan theories explain observable events in a meaningful way. It is organized into five levels of external influence: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem. Henrys wife, Patricia, begins to work to help the family financially and to overcome her boredom with being a stay-at-home mother. Child development theories focus on explaining how children change and grow over the course of childhood. These findings suggest that cognitive function, particularly memory, can be significantly improved in mature adults with age-related cognitive decline by using brain plasticity-based training methods. Therefore, it is recommended that programs aimed at fostering aptitude and achievement among disadvantaged children may be the best option for dealing with issues related to academic achievement gaps (Duncan & Magnuson, 2005). Psychosocial development involves emotions, personality, and social relationships. We move through significant physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes throughout our livesdo these changes happen in a systematic way, and to everyone? He believed, based on Lockes environmentalist position, that human behavior can be understood in terms of experiences and learning. According to the process of selective optimization, individuals prioritize particular functions above others, reducing the adaptive capacity of particulars for specialization and improved efficacy of other modalities. . This has been exemplified in numerous studies, including Nesselroade and Baltes, showing that the level and direction of change in adolescent personality development was influenced as strongly by the socio-cultural settings at the time (in this case, the Vietnam War) as age-related factors. With the lifespan developmental perspective, we will gain a more comprehensive view of the individual within the context of their own developmental journey and within social, cultural, and historical contexts. So much of what developmental theorists have described in the past has been culturally bound and difficult to apply to various cultural contexts. It is subject to change Human development is multidisciplinary. Figure 2. 2. Physical development involves growth and changes in the body and brain, the senses, motor skills, and health and wellness. The acquisition of effective self-regulation in adolescents illustrates this gain/loss concept. Lifespan theorists believe that development is life- long, and change is apparent across the lifespan. Watch this video from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America to learn more about the power of mentoring. the idea that human development is a continual life-long process, there is multidimensional change and that there is plasticity in the human development. Normative history-graded influences are associated with a specific time period that defines the broader environmental and cultural context in which an individual develops. While the researchers acknowledge that programs aimed at reducing such socioeconomic discrepancies would likely aid in equalizing the aptitude and performance of children from different backgrounds, they recognize that such large-scale interventions would be difficult to achieve. An individual is impacted by microsystems such as parents or siblings; those who have direct, significant contact with the person. Theories can be developed using induction, in which a number of single cases are observed and after patterns or similarities are noted, the theorist develops ideas based on these examples. These influence the persons actions, which in turn influence systems operating on them. It includes ideas about what is right and wrong, what to strive for, what to eat, how to speak, what is valued, as well as what kinds of emotions are called for in certain situations. How might cultural differences influence interactions between teachers and students, nurses and patients, or other relationships? Proponents of the life-span. The type of parenting the child receives has a very powerful impact on the childs personality development. Developmental Psychology, 23(5), 611-626. Consequently, their children walk much later: They walk around 2325 months old, in comparison to infants in Western cultures who begin to walk around 12 months old. Watch Seeing Behind the Visual Cortex, a video about research on blindsight, view the transcript for Generations Throughout History here (opens in new window), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Baltes, https://courses.lumenlearning.com/waymaker-psychology/chapter/what-is-lifespan-development/, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Children_collecting_rubber.jpg, https://www.needpix.com/photo/1183182/life-stage-icon-growth-icon-aging-icon-aging-adolescent-adolescence-growing-lifespan, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=IfYjGxI6AJ8, Describe Baltes lifespan perspective with its key principles about development, Explain what is meant by development being lifelong, multidimensional, and multidirectional, Explain contextual influences on development, Development occurs across ones entire life, or is, Consider your cohort.