Life-Span Human Development

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For example, the religious teachings and traditions of a family may create a climate that makes the family feel stigmatized and this indirectly impacts the child’s view of themselves and others. Each perspective encompasses one or more theories—the broad, organized explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest. Adolescents may also be forced to sacrifice their fast reaction times toward processing stimuli in favor of being able to fully consider the consequences of their actions. Additionally, it was more difficult to compare the cognitive development of the child with the adult because the material was presented by ages and not in close proximity. 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.

Schools participate in this process by comparing students and making these comparisons public through team sports, test scores, and other forms of recognition. This knowledge does not come quickly, however, and preschoolers may initially have interesting conceptions of size, time, space and distance, such as demonstrating how long something will take by holding out their two index fingers several inches apart. An individual is impacted by microsystems such as parents or siblings; those who have direct, significant contact with the person. It can also be a time of becoming more realistic about possibilities in life; of recognizing the difference between what is possible and what is likely. Many academic disciplines contribute to the study of development and this type is offered in some schools as psychology (particularly as developmental psychology); in other schools, it is taught under sociology, human development, or family studies.Late teens, twenties, and thirties are often thought of as early adulthood (students who are in their mid to late 30s may love to hear that they are young adults!

A newborn, with many involuntary reflexes and a keen sense of hearing but poor vision, is transformed into a walking, talking toddler within a relatively short period of time. The young old are similar to middle-aged adults; possibly still working, married, relatively healthy, and active.Although the details of Freud’s developmental theory have been widely criticized, his emphasis on the importance of early childhood experiences, prior to five years of age, has had a lasting impact. Each chapter focuses on a domain of development (such as physical growth, cognition, or personality) and includes information on four life Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood.

Psychologist Erik Erikson suggests that we struggle with issues of trust, independence, and intimacy at various points in our lives (we will explore this thoroughly throughout the course. For example, Erikson’s theory that teenagers struggle with identity assumes that all teenagers live in a society in which they have many options and must make an individual choice about their future. Cognitive development includes mental processes, thinking, learning, and understanding, and it doesn’t stop in childhood. Peers become more important, as teens strive for a sense of belonging and acceptance; mixed-sex peer groups become more common.The notion of plasticity emphasizes that there are many possible developmental outcomes and that the nature of human development is much more open and pluralistic than originally implied by traditional views; there is no single pathway that must be taken in an individual’s development across the lifespan. It is based on the idea that humans process the information they receive, rather than merely respond to stimuli. He saw the newborn’s mind as a tabula rasa (“blank slate”) on which knowledge is written through experience and learning. So while both an 8-month-old and an 8-year-old are considered children, they have very different motor abilities, cognitive skills, and social relationships.

Factors such as age, religion, and culture play important roles in attitudes and approaches to death and dying. Brain development and the brain’s ability to change and compensate for losses is significant to cognitive functions across the lifespan, too. Beyond our basic genotype, however, there is a deep interaction between our genes and our environment. Culture is often referred to as a blueprint or guideline shared by a group of people that specifies how to live.

Is this pattern of change the same for everyone, or are there different patterns of change (one course of development versus many courses)? What else would you want them to know about you, your development, and your experiences to really understand you? Late adulthood covers a wide age range with a lot of variation, so it is helpful to divide it into categories such as the “young old” (65-74 years old), “old old” (75-84 years old), and “oldest old” (85+ years old).