Week 2 Lifespan Perspective

Slide presentation for Week 2 of PSY 375

1. Lifes pan perspective PSY 375: Lifespan Development Week 2

2. Let’s back up for a minute … What is development? Learning and change Includes growth, but also decline and dying What is the traditional view of development?

3. The Life-Span Perspective Life-span perspective Developmental change throughout adulthood as well as during childhood Human life expectancy Maximum life span—upper boundary of the human life span Currently regarded as 122 years Life expectancy —average number of years that a person born in a particular year can expect to live Currently 79 years in the United States

4. © Eliza Snow/iStockPhoto.com

5. The Life-Span Perspective Characteristics of development according to the life-span perspective: Lifelong Multidimensional Multidirectional Plastic Contextual Involves growth, maintenance, and regulation of loss Constructed through biological, sociocultural, and individual factors working together

6. Development is contextual Three types of contextual changes Normative age-graded influences Similar for individuals sharing the same age group Normative history-graded influences Common to people of a particular generation due to historical circumstances Non-normative life events Unusual occurrences that have a major impact on an individual’s life

7. Some contemporary concerns Health and well-being Parenting and education Sociocultural contexts and diversity Culture : behavior patterns, beliefs, and other products of a people that are passed on from generation to generation Ethnicity : characteristic based on cultural heritage, nationality characteristics, race, religion, and language Socioeconomic status (SES) Gender

8. Some contemporary concerns Social policy Infant/child mortality rates, children, malnourishment, impoverished families Older adults and the growing number of older adults Health-care costs and access to adequate health care Social supports available to older adults

9. The Nature of Development Developmental processes Biological processes Produce changes in an individual’s physical nature Examples: height, weight, and motor skill changes Cognitive processes Involve changes in an individual’s thought, intelligence, and language Examples: two-word sentences and solving a puzzle Socioemotional processes Involve changes in an individual’s relationships with other people, emotions, and personality Examples: smiling in response to interacting with a playmate

10. Processes Involved in Developmental Changes

11. The Nature of Development Two rapidly emerging fields Developmental cognitive neuroscience Developmental social neuroscience Periods of development Developmental period —a time frame characterized by certain features

12. The Nature of Development Of recent interest: emerging adulthood Period of transition from adolescence to adulthood 18 – 25 years of age Significance of age Is one age in life better than another? Age and happiness In the U.S., adults are happier as they age Psychological well-being increases after age 50 Older adults report having more positive emotional experiences than younger adults

13. The Nature of Development Conceptions of age Chronological age —number of years since birth Biological age —age in terms of biological health Psychological age —adaptive capacities compared with others of the same chronological age Social age —connectedness with others and the social roles that individuals adopt

14. Theories of Development

15. Theories of Development: Psychoanalytic Theories Psychoanalytic theories Describe development as primarily unconscious and heavily influenced by emotions Stress that early experiences with parents deeply shape development Freud’s stages of psychosexual development Five stages Adult personality is determined by how we resolve conflicts between sources of pleasure at each stage and the demands of reality

16. Freudian Stages Oral Stage Anal Stage Phallic Stage Latency Stage Genital Stage Infant’s pleasure centers on the mouth. Child’s pleasure focuses on the anus. Child’s pleasure focuses on the genitals. Child represses sexual interest and develops social and intellectual skills. A time of sexual reawakening; source of sexual pleasure becomes someone outside the family. Birth to 1½ Years 1½ to 3 Years 3 to 6 Years 6 Years to Puberty Puberty Onward

17. Theories of Development: Psychoanalytic Theories Erikson’s psychosocial theory Primary motivation for human behavior is social and reflects a desire to affiliate with other people Developmental change occurs throughout the life span Emphasized the importance of both early and later experiences Eight stages, representing eight key crises that must be resolved

18. Erikson’s Eight Life-Span Stages Erikson’s Stages Developmental Period Integrity versus despair Late adulthood (60s onward) Generativity versus stagnation Middle adulthood (40s, 50s) Intimacy versus isolation Early adulthood (20s, 30s) Identity versus identity confusion Adolescence (10 to 20 years) Industry versus inferiority Middle and late childhood (elementary school years, 6 years to puberty) Initiative versus guilt Early childhood (preschool years, 3 to 5 years) Autonomy versus shame and doubt Infancy (1 to 3 years) Trust versus mistrust Infancy (first year)

19. Theories of Development Evaluation of psychoanalytic theories Stress the importance of the unconscious Criticized for a lack of scientific support, an emphasis on sexual underpinnings, and a negative image of people, lack of cultural considerations

20. Theories of Development: Cognitive Theories Cognitive theories emphasize conscious thought Three important theories: Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory Vygotsky’s sociocultural cognitive theory Information-processing theory

21. Theories of Development: Cognitive Theories Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory Four stages Children actively construct their understanding of the world Two key processes: organization and adaptation Each age-related stage consists of a distinct way of thinking Child’s cognition is qualitatively different in one stage compared with another

22. Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development ( Left to right ): © Stockbyte /Getty Images RF; © BananaStock/PunchStock RF; © image100/Corbis RF; © Purestock /Getty Images RF Sensorimotor Stage Preoperational Stage Concrete Operational Stage Formal Operational Stage The infant constructs an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences with physical actions. An infant progresses from reflexive, instinctual action at birth to the beginning of symbolic thought toward the end of the stage. The child begins to represent the world with words and images. These words and images reflect increased symbolic thinking and go beyond the connection of sensory information and physical action. The child can now reason logically about concrete events and classify objects into different sets. The adolescent reasons in more abstract, idealistic, and logical ways. Birth to 2 Years of Age 2 to 7 Years of Age 7 to 11 Years of Age 11 Years of Age Through Adulthood

23. Theories of Development: Cognitive Theories Vygotsky’s sociocultural cognitive theory Children actively construct knowledge about the world Culture and social interaction play a greater role Social interaction with more-skilled adults and peers is necessary for cognitive development Information-processing theory Individuals manipulate information, monitor it, and strategize about it Development is gradual rather than stage-like, allowing them to acquire increasingly complex knowledge and skills

24. Theories of Development: Cognitive Theories

25. Theories of Development Evaluating cognitive theories Noted for an emphasis on the active construction of understanding Criticized for insufficient attention to individual variation

26. Theories of Development Behavioral and social cognitive theories Development is observable behavior that we can learn through experience with the environment Emphasize continuity in development Two significant versions: Skinner’s operant conditioning Bandura’s social cognitive theory

27. Theories of Development: Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories Skinner’s operant conditioning Consequences of a behavior produce changes in the probability of the behavior’s occurrence Rewards and punishments shape behavior Bandura’s social cognitive theory Development is shaped through observational learning Model of learning and development includes three elements: behavior, the person/cognition, and the environment

28. Theories of Development: Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories

29. Theories of Development: Ethological Theory Ethological theory Behavior is strongly influenced by biology, tied to evolution, and characterized by critical or sensitive periods Presence or absence of certain experiences during specific time frames has a long-lasting influence Konrad Lorenz European zoologist who studied the behavior of greylag geese Imprinting : rapid, innate learning involving attachment to the first moving object seen Imprinting takes place in a critical period

30. Theories of Development: Ethological Theory John Bowlby Applied ethological theory to human development Studied attachment to caregivers Attachment over the first year of life has important consequences throughout the life span Secure attachment predicts optimal development in childhood and adulthood Attachment should occur in a sensitive period

31. Theories of Development: Ethological Theory

32. Theories of Development: Ecological Theory Ecological theory Emphasizes environmental factors on development Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory Development reflects the influence of several environmental systems Microsystem Mesosystem Exosystem Macrosystem Chronosystem

33. So, why do we care? Why do we care about developmental theories? What can they tell us?

34. Here’s why … They can help us order our thinking They can help us make sense out of processes, events, and situations They can provide red flags

35. Let’s test this out … Short case study Lucas is almost four years old and lives with his mom and dad in a house in the country. His father is a truck driver and spends 5 days a week on the road while his mother stays at home. Their house is surrounded by woods on one side and a cornfield on the other. They have neighbors but only on one side and across the street. They also have many pets, two dogs, three cats, and some fish. Lucas was born at 40 weeks and has not had any major health issues. Lucas is presently the only child but that will be changing in a few months, as his mother is pregnant and due at the end of July. He loves trains, animals, ice tea, and being inside and outside of his house. He does not like the word “No” and is having a tough time adjusting to his mom’s attempts to add structure into their lives as her due date approaches.

36. What do we know? Take out a notebook or type out the following: Name Age Birth Family composition SES? Behavior?

37. What might our theorists say? Why is Lucas struggling with the idea of the new baby? Psychoanalytic Cognitive Behavioral and Social Cognitive Ethological Ecological

38. What helps you the most? Eclectic? Can look to different theorists for different answers No single theory explains the complexity of life-span development Each theory has furthered understanding of the factors that shape development Rather than a strict following of a single approach, an eclectic theoretical orientation selects from each theory whatever is considered best in it There is not necessarily a single correct theory! You will find those who disagree, however!

39. Theories of Development An eclectic theoretical orientation No single theory explains the complexity of life-span development Each theory has furthered understanding of the factors that shape development Rather than a strict following of a single approach, an eclectic theoretical orientation selects from each theory whatever is considered best in it