Life span developmental psychology takes a scientific approach to human growth and change, focusing on change during the life span. There are three main aspects to life span development: cognitive, social, and physical development. This class is not simply a discussion of nature vs. nurture, it explores the interaction between genetic and environmental factors that orient us towards specific behaviors. Initially, my views on life span development were limited to more sociological factors, and did not take into consideration physical developments of the brain. In relation to my personal and professional identity this course has made me realize that development occurs on a spectrum and that not everyone develops at the same time, in the same ways, making me more understanding and compassionate towards those who developed differently than me. The three most important lessons I have learned from this class are that development occurs throughout the entire life span, infants begin learning at a very young age, and that senescence begins as early as young adulthood. Development encompasses more than just the changes the body and mind goes through, and many psychologists study the relationship between physical, cognitive, and social development. Physical development begins at conception, whereas cognitive development does not begin until the fetal stage. During this time, the brain becomes much more sophisticated, the hemispheres grow rapidly and the interconnections between
A child develops through its whole life. They can develop; physically, linguistically, intellectually, socially and behaviourally. “Physical development is the way in which the body increases in skill and becomes more complex in its performance” [Meggitt, 2000, Page 2]. Twenty five days after conception; the body of the chid has developed immensely from the small fertilised egg. Up to birth the foetus mainly develops physically however once the child is born the child then begins the long process of development. Not only do the gross motor skills and the fine motor skills develop on the baby, but the sensory development also widens on the child.
The field of study that examines patterns of growth, change, and stability in behavior that occur throughout the entire lifespan is called lifespan development. Lifespan development takes a scientific approach in its study of growth, change, and stability. This development emphases on human development. Developmentalists study the course of development in nonhuman species, the most popular examine growth and change in people. In contrast I will focus on the ways people and myself change and grow during our lives, with the consideration of stability in our live span. Together, these findings suggest that we will go through
According to Cliff Notes, Developmental psychology is the scientific study of age-related changes throughout the human life span. A discipline of scientific inquiry, developmental psychology recognizes humans of all societies and cultures as beings who are “in process,” or constantly growing and changing. This discipline identifies the biological, psychological, and social aspects that interact to influence the growing human life-span process. Within the last 25 years, developmentalist’s researchers who study human development expanded their focus to include the study of the physical, motor, cognitive, intellectual, emotional, personality, social, and moral changes that occur throughout all stages of the life span (cliff notes).
Cognitive development is very important throughout the stages of life. It is very important to how we function and think as individuals. In order to be successful academically and physically, we as human beings have to crawl before we can walk. So it is a step by step process that starts from prenatal development.
How often have we attended baby showers where the theme, games and presents are either bathed in pink for an expected baby girl, bathed in blue for an expected baby boy or in the off chance the mothers doesn’t know the gender of the baby the party room is decorated in yellow? This is only one example of socially acceptable gender labeling, parents participate in even before their child is born. This essay answers the “How Would You” question found on page 170 of the Essentials of Life Span development, “As a human development and family studies professional, how would you describe the ways in which parents influence their children’s notions of gender roles?”
The life-course-theory explores each phase of the life cycle from birth into adulthood and identifies the various influences in an individual’s ability to perceive and respond according to multifaceted influences via neurological and psychological deficits as well as environment and social context.
Life course development theory involves the study of growth and adaption from birth to death. The studies look into how lives develop through time and investigating the effects of change. Many limitations present in the field of human development years ago inspired changes to the studies involving the models of development specifically focusing on child development and that didn’t relate to a developing organism in adult stages. This theory takes into account factors like cohort effects, the individual’s location (which can effect issues like obtaining an education), and transitions and life events. Life course development theory also holds the idea that individual differences, biological, and social context are what shapes a child’s development. When researching this area, normally a characteristic, time period, or event are concentrated on and examined to determine how it correlates with issues later in life. Another area of the life course development theory deals with continuity and discontinuity, relating to the idea of how change occurs. Factors that can influence development when it comes to sudden or continuous change are timing because areas like age and grade level can signify advanced stages of development related to cognitive thought. In addition, social stability and social change were also two components of the theory which take into consideration the different phases that occur through life that can influence development. For instance, in my research area of
Physical development is any physical change to the body or brain, including motor skills and health (Module 8.1: What Is Lifespan Development?, 2017). Many examples can be found throughout a person’s life, such as a one year old baby learning to stack building blocks and puberty. Cognitive development consists of mental processes and skills, such as memory, reasoning, and creativity (Module 8.1: What Is Lifespan Development?, 2017). A little boy who has sensitive hearing may hear many babies cry and then hear one baby in particular’s cry that hurts his ears. Now when the boy encounters a child younger than he is, he holds his ears and pleads to leave thinking every baby’s cry will hurt his ears. Psychosocial development is basically the development
Another positive concept from Life Span Developmental Theory is that development is multi dimensional and directional. There are several variables, sources,
Three key components of the developmental process are biological, cognitive, and socioemotional. Biological processes bring change in individuals physical nature such as development of the brain, height, and weight gains. Cognitive processes refers to the changes in individuals thoughts, intelligence, and language. For example memorizing a poem, to imagining what it would be like to a actor. In many instances all three of these terms are said to be bidirectional which means one can influence one another. In today’s news developmentalist have described the human lifespan in terms of four ages as well a distinction between the oldest-old and the young
Developmental psychology, as a discipline, is currently undergoing a paradigmatic/world view change. Consequently, several different theoretical approaches to the study of development and the life course have been proposed and advocated. The three primary approaches currently being debated include the structural, information processing/cognitive, and life-span developmental/developmental dimensions approaches. The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences and similarities between these three broad approaches. However, this exposition would be incomplete without a discussion of the
The life span development theory adopted the constructs of life stage and developmental tasks, both of which can influence not only everyday life, but also a person’s career (Jepsen & Dickson, 2003). When we look at how tasks are completed with the life span development theory it shows that tasks are mastered based on age, this can reflect on how an older person may perform when they go back for further education (Jepsen & Dickson, 2003). As we master task at one stage of aging it helps us to be able to move onto the next stage and build onto those tasks just like education does (Jepsen & Dickson, 2003). With
In this chapter they discuss the life span development perspective. They talk about the different methods of changes in human during their life span. The connection of the biological, cognitive, and socio-emotional process. Human development change trough family influences as well as society, brain development (cognitive), friends, media, and so on. The developmental theories contribute in the view of the human development in some similar ways and different perspectives. I personally like more Erickson theory with Piaget’s cognitive development and Banduras social cognitive theory, (Santrock, 2015).
Thought-out the course of this year we have looked at the biological, cognitive, and socio-emotional theories of the human life span from infancy to late adulthood. The biological aspect of life span focused on the physical changes of humans. There are physical changes that have to occur before a baby form in the fetus and then is born to this world. Through-out our life, the physical changes occur constantly till death and even more. There is no psychologist during the whole chapter that focuses on biological theories because physical changes is easily noticed compared to cognitive development. The cognitive theory or development emphasizes on human thought processes. Developmental psychologist, Jean Piaget stated that children go through four stages of cognitive development as they create their meaning of the world. Early on in psychology it has been referred to as Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development. Lev Vygotsky, was another development list who developed the Vygotsky’s theory which focused on social interaction and culture when it came to cognitive development. The brain is what tells our hands and legs to move. If we lose that ability, we are classified mentally dysfunctional. Unlike the biological and cognitive theories, socio-emotional is based on what is around and how our emotions handles it. This theory involves the unconscious processes that are easily influenced by our emotions.
Developmental psychology is the the biological examination of changes that happens to human beings during the course of their life time. During the course of a life time of a human being ,certain biological changes happens. The development stages are divided into different stages. According to Erikson ,”the eight ages of development and the major life crisis are significant in terms of individual growth and development.”(Care human development,Student support Session.)As a social support worker,Iam entitled to understand the developmental stages and the life crisis that occurs during the growing of a human being in order to support the individual appropriately.