life-span perspective

Elise Schmidt/ Developmental Perspectives/ Developmental Psychology

Life-span perspective 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.


Life-span perspective Example

Medication improvements increase life-span Knowledge of tobacco use increase life-span Technology and knowledge in cancer research

increases life expectancyPersonal Experience-

Biological-In my family heart disease is a biologic common factor, because I know this I can take approaches to increase my life expectancy like eating right


Characteristics of the life-span perspective

Development is lifelong There is no end point to development and

no one age group dominates another Maximum life span for humans-122 years Personal Experience

As an early adult I am still developing not as rapid physically



Development is multidimensional Biological Cognitive Socioemotional Relationships with people change and

effect you Personal Experience

My parents were always there for me and I never heard them argue or fight. This relationship lead me to have positive relationships with people.



Development is plastic Various dimensions in different points of

development ability to change “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”

Or can you? Personal experience

as a child and adolescent I was very out going and vibrant, now I am more reserved



Development is multidirectional Dimensions expand or shrink Personal experience

As I entered motherhood my relationships with my friends decreased

My ability to learn to speak German in high school had decreased, but my children are learning the language easier because of their young age



Developmental science is multidisciplinary Heredity and

health limit a persons intelligence?

Intelligence and relationships change the same all over the world?

ExampleCan social relationships limit intelligence?

Personal ExperienceI grew up in a very traditional nuclear family, after school everyday my mother would sit down for “homework time” and help my brother and I until we had completed it and understood it. This family experience influenced my intellectual development.



Development is contextual Occurs in a setting

School Cities

Setting influenced History Culture Social Economic

Individuals Personal Experience

Development occurred and influenced by Small town Small school Nuclear/ Traditional family


Characteristics of the life-span perspective Development

involves growth, maintenance, and regulation of loss Conflicts and

competition Growth Maintenance Regulation of loss

Center stage in mid & late adulthood

Example An adolescent grows in

physical activity and as an adult they try to maintain it. As they grow older they will slowly loose the amount they can handle

Personal Experience As an adolescent and

adult I try to perfect myself in hunting; aim & technique. As I grow older I will try to keep my abilities



Development is a co-construction of biology, culture, and the Individual Development is different factors working together

Biology Culture Individual

Go beyond our genetics and environment Personal experience

Growing up in a small town I choose to take small town values to enhance my development as an individual

Example Culture is inherited and our heredity is formed from our

culture


Contextualism Normative age-

grade influences Similar for people

in the same age group.

Biological Puberty Menopause

Sociocultural Formal education retirement

Personal Experiencemy peers are the same age group thus we went threw similar changes at the same time influenced by similar culture factors. In this current time frame we are starting to find mates, start families, and starting careers


ContextualismPersonal

ExperienceHaving the first African American, Barak Obama being elected president of the United States of America

Normative history-grade influences Shared events for

a generation Baby boomers

Assassination of JFK

Peace Movement/ Hippies

My generation 9/11/2001


Contextualism Cont. Normative life

event influences Unusual events

that impact a persons life in a major way Death of parent at

young age Winning the

lottery

Personal Experience-

I have not yet had an unusual event like this occur


Concerns in life-span development

Health and well-being Lifestyles and psychological state Personal Experience

My lifestyle of exercising and eating healthy is thought to effect my life-span is a positive way



Parenting and Education Childcare

Effects of divorce Parenting styles Early childhood education Bilingual education

Personal Experience Staying at home and doing online classes keeps

my children at home instead of at daycare effecting their development


Concerns in life-span development cont.

Sociocultural Contexts and Diversity Culture- products of a group passed down

generation to generation Interaction of people over many years Cross-cultural studies- comparing cultures

Ethnicity-characteristic based on cultural heritage, nationality, race, religion, language

Socioeconomic status- people that have similar occupations, education, and economic characteristics

Gender- male or female characteristic


Concerns in life-span development cont.

Sociocultural Contexts and Diversity Personal Experience

My development has been influenced by me being a Christian, Caucasian, a female, middle class, a student, from the United States, and by my heritage.



Social Policy Governments course of action to promote

welfare for citizens Personal Experience

WIC Helps make sure our children are getting enough

nourishment


Domains of development Biological process

Change Physical nature Development in brain

Personal Experience Genes; green eyes, high metabolism Developed motor skills


Domains of development Cognitive process

Change Thought Intelligence Language

Personal Experience Intelligence is still developing Colorful and wild imagination


Domains of development Socioemotional

Change Relationships Emotions Personality

Personal Experience Joy after child birth


Periods of development Prenatal

Conception to birth remarkable growth Nine month period Personal

Experience Watching my body

grow from my babies growing

Infancy Birth to 18 or 24

months Extreme

dependence Psychological

activities Personal Experience

Being on call 24/7 for my children with what ever they need


Periods of development Early childhood

End of infancy to 5 or 6

More self-sufficient “preschool” Personal Experience

My children are now starting preschool and can do many things on their own without my help

Middle and late childhood 6-11 Master

fundamental skills Increased self-

control Personal

Experience Tried my hardest in

everything I did


Periods of development Adolescence

Begins 10 or 11 to 18 or 21

Rapid physical changes

Personal Experience Peer relationships

grew

Early adulthood Early 20s-40s Establish

independence Start family and

career Personal

Experience Found “mate” Started family


Periods of development Middle Adulthood

40s-60s Expanding

personal and social involvement

Mature Reaching/

maintain satisfaction in career

Late adulthood 60s or 70s till

death Longest period of

development


Four Concepts of age Chronological age

Years since birth Personal

Experience 22 years old

Biological Age Biological health

Younger in biological age, longer life expectancy

Personal Experience Smoker; lessens

my life expectancy


Four Concepts of age Psychological Age

Adaptive capacities compared to others in age group

Personal Experience I am very

organized; predicted lower moral risk rate


Four Concepts of age Social Age

Roles and expectations related to age Personal Experience

Mother As a mother of two three year olds there are different

expectations of me vs. someone without children.


Developmental Issues Nature

Biological inheritance Grow in orderly way Personal- developed physically and

cognitively in ordinary pattern Nurture

Biological Environment Social Environment Personal- my family and friends effected how

I developed and continue too


Developmental Issues Stability

Heredity/early experiences Personal- my children received a lot of love,

care, and attention as babies and now which is thought to lead to better development

Change Later experiences create change Personal- as a child I was never shy after

becoming an adolescent I encountered experiences that made me more shy in some settings


Developmental Issues Continuity and discontinuity

Continuity Continuous development, gradual process Example- formation of rocks

Discontinuity Qualitative change Example and personal experience- conception


Scoring Guide Criteria Values You illustrate characteristics of life-span perspective. 10 9 8 4

0 You provide examples of contextualism, normative age-graded

influences, normative history-graded influences, and nonnormative life events. 10 9 8 4 0

You provide examples of concerns of the life-span development perspective. 10 9 8 4 0

You illustrate domains of development. 10 9 8 4 0 You illustrate the periods or stages of development. 10 9 8 4 0 You illustrate four conceptions of age. 10 9 8 4 0 You define nature vs. nurture, providing examples of each. 10

9 8 4 0


Scoring Guide cont. You compare continuity versus discontinuity across the life span. 10 9 8 4 0 You define stability vs. change, providing examples of each. 10 9 8 4 0 CORE ABILITIES - COMMUNICATE CLEARLY CORE ABILITIES -

COMMUNICATE CLEARLY You demonstrate mastery of grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization,

word usage and sentence structure. 10 9 8 4 0 Your writing is organized (paragraphs, headings and subheadings, or other

organizational devices), clear (it's easy to read and understand), concise (you use action verbs; you do not ramble or include irrelevant information), and cohesive (words and ideas flow logically from one idea, sentence and/or paragraph to another). 10 9 8 4 0

CORE ABILITIES - THINK CRITICALLY AND CREATIVELY CORE ABILITIES -THINK CRITICALLY AND CREATIVELY

You use language that is free from bias (including loaded language), obscenities, and absolutes (all, always, everyone, no one, totally, all of the time, etc.). 10 9 8 4 0


Scoring Guide Cont. You provide sufficient, specific, valid, relevant support (i.e., facts. reasons,

examples, details, statistics, anecdotes and quotes) to aid in understanding your ideas and information, and to support your conclusions and/or opinions. 10 9 8 4 0

CORE ABILITIES - ACT RESPONSIBLY CORE ABILITIES -ACT RESPONSIBLY

You follow directions (followed Formatting Requirements, APA Requirements, included name on assignment, saved document per directions). 10 9 8 4 0

Total Points Possible 140 Total Points Earned You meet deadlines. (Points subtracted from Points Earned score) - 5

percentage points ifsubmitted after the due date

Submitted without scoring guide (Points subtracted from Points Earned score) - 5 percentage points ifsubmitted without the scoring guide

Final Grade/Percent

life-span perspective

Documents

anothermaximum life

reserved characteristics

young age characteristics

family experience

intellectual development

positive relationships

persons intelligence

yearspersonal experienceas