Lifespan Developmental Psychology

Ch. 1 Development through Lifespan * Constantly change and evolve * Some consistency, some things stay the same * Scientific = based on research, believe in data and research, young science * Applied = more applied, prevention and intervention, social policy, government programs, education reform * Interdisciplinary = don’t hold all knowledge, all areas can inform the study, open to the complexities of real life, better understanding from other professionals and fields, consult biologist, medical doctors, sociologists, etc. gives a better understanding * Theory * What is it * Explain why is it * Be able to predict it in the future * Ex: Kids who are naturally resilience = being able to bounce back from adversity * Basic Issues * Continuous = theorist believe in continuous development, quantitative [change in quantity, amount] on a slope * Discontinuous = theorist believe in discontinuous development, qualitative [change in quality, stages] things that a child is dealing with different in one stage then another stage, ex: piaja cognitive development object permanence, babies would see the marker and want to see it and play with it, if you give it to the baby it could possibly chock, babies at one time think it actually disappear if you put the marker behind your back, but one day they know the markers behind your back * Fraud = 1st stage = oral, 2nd stage = anal * Context of development * Personal (genetic) * Environment * Both = pathways * More positive = positive pathways * More negative = limited pathways * Nature Vs. Nurture * Nature = genetics, biology * Nurture = environment, physical and social * Stability and Plasticity * Stability = characteristics stay the same * Plasticity = potential of change * Dynamic * Ongoing process from infant to death * Adapt to children changing processes

* Lifespan perspective * At any given point we know its developing in more than 1 area, see both growth and decline throughout the lifespan * Ex: neural development in toddlerhood, pruning = decrease of neural, adulthood = lungs declining * Periods of development * More conceptual* * Infants vs. toddlers = mobility (toddler), a lot of variation = personality, motivation, physical development * Early childhood = 1st grade (age 6) * Middle childhood vs. adolescence = puberty * Adulthood = responsibility, emerging adulthood = education = need more support from parents * Major Domains * Physical * Cognitive * Emotional * All are intertwined, babies grow better when touched and held, emotional depredation = shorter growth * Reading vs. internalize problems (anxiety, depression) = 105 students of low income parents, grade 3 and 5, CBL [check list], used scores, use personal emotional tests, tests them on tasks, and how disruptive the family environment * Cohorts = 89/88, 87/86, 79/78, 67/53 difference of life experience events in different ages * A group of people sharing the same experiences * Important: to understand and be aware of different groups with different experiences * No normative change = events happen to the individual but doesn’t affect others * Ex: family member dying young * Much more impactful, need support * Influences development * Resilience * Bounce back from bad things happening * Experience something’s challenging * Factors: personal characteristics, warm parental relationship, social support outside, family, more social, more intelligent, more flexible, social support outside family, community resources and opportunities. * Early scientific study of development *