Lifespan Development Definition

The term lifespan development refers to age-related changes that occur from birth, throughout a persons'
life, into and during old age.
Life Span Development or Developmental psychology is the branch of psychology that
studies intraindividual changes and interindividual changes within these intraindividual
changes. Its task, as La Bouvie has pointed out, is "not only description but also explication
of age-related changes in behavior in terms of antecedent-consequent relationships".
Developmental psychologists study developmental change covering the life span horn
conception to death. By so doing, they attempt to give a complete picture of growth and
decline. Others cover only a segment of the life span-childhood, adulthood, or old age. In this
book an attempt will be made to cover all segments and show the important developmental
changes at different periods during the entire life span.
Life-span developmental theory provides a framework for understanding human aging. The main purpose of theory in the study
of aging is to provide a context for describing and explaining the regular transformations that occur with time to representative
organisms living under representative conditions. Theories in general aid the process of articulating meaningful patterns from
observations that would otherwise be disconnected pieces of a puzzle and less meaningful. In the study of aging, theories serve
as frameworks for organizing research findings as well as general observations or intuitions about aging and the elderly. For
example, the study of aging can be seen either as largely the inevitable accumulation of deficits and losses, or as a mixture of
gains and losses that depends to some extent on the individual's actions.
Characteristics of lifespan perspective
Development is a distinctive feature that largely varies from individual to individual. Life expectancy has been greatly
boosted by progress made in nutrition, health and medical knowledge. Development is life-long and thus is not dominated
by any age period, it is multi-dimensional. This is because it is concerned with the biological, cognitive, socio-emotional and
spiritual aspects. Development can also be said to be multidirectional as some features of development increase while
others are decreasing. Another characteristic of development is that it is plastic. It is able to assume different paths
depending on the living conditions of an individual. It has the capacity to change. For example, the condition of a child
experiencing intellectual retardation may be reversed by the administration of proper diet and positive experience
(Hernandez, 2008).
The other characteristic is that development is historically-embedded. This is to mean that historical conditions can influence
development. Development is multidisciplinary. Professionals in the field of psychology, sociology, anthropology,
neuroscience and medical research are all concerned with human development with a common goal of expanding their
understanding of development in the course of the lifespan. It is contextual in the sense that a person incessantly responds
to and acts on context. Such contexts may include the biological constitution of an individual, physical environment, and
social, historical, and cultural contexts (Hernandez, 2008).

According to Baltes et al, 1998, there are five individual characteristics involved in the life-span perspective:

Multidirectional changes imply that change can be seen in terms of both increase and decrease and not always
in a linear fashion.
Multicontextual development involves changes that take place within certain frameworks, such as those of
biological, physical, cognitive, social, historical, and cultural contexts.
Multicultural developmental characteristics acknowledge the numerous values and traditions that are
espoused within the myriad cultures found at both national and international levels.
Multidisciplinary means that the study of development takes place among and across numerous academic and
scientific fields, involving psychology, anthropology, neurology, education, and sociology, to name a few.
Plasticity involves the degree to which individual characteristics change or remain stable.
2.

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was a biologist who originally studied molluscs (publishing twenty scientific papers on
them by the time he was 21) but moved into the study of the development of children's understanding, through
observing them and talking and listening to them while they worked on exercises he set.

There Are Three Basic Components To Piaget's Cognitive Theory :

1.

Schemas
(building blocks of knowledge).

2.

Adaptation processes that enable the transition from one stage to another (equilibrium,assimilation and
accommodation).

3.

4.
5.
6.
7.

Stages of Development:
sensorimotor,
preoperational,
concrete operational,
formal operational.

Piaget (1952) defined a schema as 'a cohesive, repeatable action sequence possessing component actions
that are tightly interconnected and governed by a core meaning'.
In more simple terms Piaget called the schema the basic building block of intelligent behavior a way of
organizing knowledge. Indeed, it is useful to think of schemas as units of knowledge, each relating to
one aspect of the world, including objects, actions and abstract (i.e. theoretical) concepts.
Wadsworth (2004) suggests that schemata (the plural of schema) be though of as 'index cards' filed in
the brain, each one telling an individual how to react to incoming stimuli or information.
When Piaget talked about the development of a person's mental processes, he was referring to increases
in the number and complexity of the schemata that a person had learned.
When a child's existing schemas are capable of explaining what it can perceive around it, it is said to be
in a state of equilibrium, i.e. a state of cognitive (i.e. mental) balance.
Piaget emphasized the importance of schemas in cognitive development, and described how they were
developed or acquired. A schema can be defined as a set of linked mental representations of the world,
which we use both to understand and to respond to situations. The assumption is that we store these
mental representations and apply them when needed.
For example, a person might have a schema about buying a meal in a restaurant. The schema is a
stored form of the pattern of behavior which includes looking at a menu, ordering food, eating it and
paying the bill. This is an example of a type of schema called a 'script'. Whenever they are in a
restaurant, they retrieve this schema from memory and apply it to the situation.
The schemas Piaget described tend to be simpler than this - especially those used by infants. He described
how - as a child gets older - his or her schemas become more numerous and elaborate.

Assimilation and Accommodation

Jean Piaget (1952; see also Wadsworth, 2004) viewed intellectual growth as a process
of adaptation (adjustment) to the world. This happens through:

Assimilation
Which is using an existing schema to deal with a new object or situation.

Accommodation
This happens when the existing schema (knowledge) does not work, and needs to be changed to deal with
a new object or situation.

Equilibration
This is the force which moves development along. Piaget believed that cognitive development did not
progress at a steady rate, but rather in leaps and bounds.
Equilibrium occurs when a child's schemas can deal with most new information through assimilation.
However, an unpleasant state of disequilibrium occurs when new information cannot be fitted into existing
schemas (assimilation).
Equilibration is the force which drives the learning process as we do not like to be frustrated and will seek to
restore balance by mastering the new challenge (accommodation).
Once the new information is acquired the process of assimilation with the new schema will continue until the
next time we need to make an adjustment to it.

Example of Assimilation
A 2 year old child sees a man who is bald on top of his head and has long frizzy hair on the sides. To his
fathers horror, the toddler shouts Clown, clown (Siegler et al., 2003).

Example of Accommodation
In the clown incident, the boys father explained to his son that the man was not a clown and that even though
his hair was like a clowns, he wasnt wearing a funny costume and wasnt doing silly things to make people
laugh.
With this new knowledge, the boy was able to change his schema of clown and make this idea fit better to a
standard concept of clown.

Stages of Development

A child's cognitive development is about a child developing or constructing a mental model of the world.
Imagine what it would be like if you did not have a mental model of your world. It would mean that you would not
be able to make so much use of information from your past experience, or to plan future actions.
Jean Piaget was interested both in how children learn and in how they thought.

Piaget studied children from infancy to adolescence, and carried out many of his own investigations using his
three children. He used the following research methods:
Piaget made careful, detailed naturalistic observations of children. These were mainly his own children and the
children of friends. From these he wrote diary descriptions charting their development.
He also used clinical interviews and observations of older children who were able to understand questions and
hold conversations.
Piaget believed that children think differently than adults and stated they go through 4 universal stages of
cognitive development. Development is therefore biologically based and changes as the child matures.
Cognition therefore develops in all children in the same sequence of stages.
Each child goes through the stages in the same order, and no stage can be missed out - although some
individuals may never attain the later stages. There are individual differences in the rate at which children
progress through stages.
Piaget did not claim that a particular stage was reached at a certain age - although descriptions of the stages
often include an indication of the age at which the average child would reach each stage.
Piaget (1952) believed that these stages are universal - i.e. that the same sequence of development occurs in
children all over the world, whatever their culture.

Stage of
Development

Key Feature

Research Study

Sensorimotor
0 - 2 yrs.

Object
Permanence

Blanket & Ball Study

Preoperational
2 - 7 yrs.

Egocentrism

Three Mountains

Concrete Operational
7 11 yrs.

Conservation

Conservation of Number

Formal Operational
11yrs +

Manipulate ideas
in head, e.g.
Abstract
Reasoning

Pendulum Task

3.
A parenting style is the overall emotional climate in the home. [11] Developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind identified
three main parenting styles in early child development:authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive.[12][13][14][15] These
parenting styles were later expanded to four, including an uninvolved style. These four styles of parenting involve
combinations of acceptance and responsiveness on the one hand and demand and control on the other.[16]
Authoritative parenting
Described by Baumrind as the "just right" style, in combines a medium level demands on the child and a medium
level responsiveness from the parents. Authoritative parents rely on positive reinforcement and infrequent use of
punishment. Parents are more aware of a child's feelings and capabilities and support the development of a child's

autonomy within reasonable limits. There is a give-and-take atmosphere involved in parent-child communication
and both control and support are balanced. Research shows that this style is more beneficial than the too-hard
authoritarian style or the too-soft permissive style. An example of authoritative parenting would be the parents
talking to their child about their emotions.
Authoritarian parenting styles
Authoritarian parents are very rigid and strict. They place high demands on the child, but are not responsive to the
child. Parents who practice authoritarian style parenting have a rigid set of rules and expectations that are strictly
enforced and require rigid obedience. When the rules are not followed, punishment is most often used to promote
future obedience.[17] There is usually no explanation of punishment except that the child is in trouble for breaking a
rule.[17] "Because I said so" is a typical response to a child's question of authority. This type of authority is used
more often in working-class families than the middle class. In 1983 Diana Baumrind found that children raised in
an authoritarian-style home were less cheerful, more moody and more vulnerable to stress. In many cases these
children also demonstrated passive hostility. An example of authoritarian parenting would be the parents harshly
punishing their children and disregarding their children's feelings and emotions.
Permissive parenting
Permissive or indulgent parenting is more popular in middle-class families than in working-class families. In these
family settings, a child's freedom and autonomy are highly valued, and parents tend to rely mostly on reasoning
and explanation. Parents are undemanding, so there tends to be little, if any punishment or explicit rules in this
style of parenting. These parents say that their children are free from external constraints and tend to be highly
responsive to whatever the child wants at the moment. Children of permissive parents are generally happy but
sometimes show low levels of self-control and self-reliance because they lack structure at home. An example of
permissive parenting would be the parents not disciplining their children.
Uninvolved parenting
An uninvolved or neglectful parenting style is when parents are often emotionally absent and sometimes even
physically absent.[18] They have little or no expectation of the child and regularly have no communication. They are
not responsive to a child's needs and do not demand anything of them in their behavioral expectations. If present,
they may provide what the child needs for survival with little to no engagement. [18] There is often a large gap
between parents and children with this parenting style. Children with little or no communication with their own
parents tended to be the victims of another childs deviant behavior and may be involved in some deviance
themselves.[19] Children of uninvolved parents suffer in social competence, academic performance, psychosocial
development and problem behavior.
There is no single or definitive model of parenting. With authoritarian and permissive (indulgent)
parenting on opposite sides of the spectrum, most conventional and modern models of parenting fall
somewhere in between. Parenting strategies as well as behaviors and ideals of what parents expect,
whether communicated verbally and/or non-verbally, also play a significant role in a child's development.

Speech and Language Disorders and Diseases

Developmental disorders is a group of psychiatric conditions originating in childhood that involve serious impairment in
different areas. Developmental disorders are present from early life. They usually improve as the child grows older, but
they also entail impairments that continue through adult life. There is a strong genetic component, and more males are
afflicted than females.
A specific developmental disorder in which the child's use of speech sounds is below the appropriate level for
its mental age, but in which there is a normal level of language skills.
A specific developmental disorder in which the child's ability to use expressive spoken language is markedly
below the appropriate level for its mental age, but in which language comprehension is within normal limits.
There may or may not be abnormalities in articulation.

When a person is unable to produce speech sounds correctly or fluently, or has problems with his or her voice,
then he or she has a speech disorder. Difficulties pronouncing sounds, or articulation disorders, and stuttering
are examples of speech disorders.

When a person has trouble understanding others (receptive language), or sharing thoughts, ideas, and
feelings completely (expressive language), then he or she has a language disorder. A stroke can result in
aphasia, or a language disorder.
Speech difficulties refer to problems with the perception or articulation of speech sounds, while language difficulties refer to a range
of problems that can interfere with communication and the cognition.
Speech and language problems fall into two categories: receptive and expressive. Any child who has difficulty understanding
language will also have problems with expression, but some children have good receptive skills while being unable to formulate
their thoughts and feelings into spoken language.

A language disorder is the impairment or deviant development of expression and, or, comprehension of
words in context. The disorder may involve the form of language, the content of language and, or, the
function of language as a communication toolDisorders of language affect children and adults differently.
For children who do not use language normally from birth, or who acquire the impairment in childhood, the
disorder occurs in the context of a language system that is not fully developed or acquired. Many adults
acquire disorders of language because of stroke, head injury, dementia or brain tumors. Language
disorders are also found in adults who failed to develop normal language because of childhood autism,
hearing impairment or other congenital or acquired disorders of brain development.
5
identity is a person's conception and expression of their own (self-identity) and others' individuality or group affiliations
(such asnational identity and cultural identity). A psychological identity relates to self-image (a person's mental model of
themself), self-esteem, and individuality.
Those who emerge from the adolescent stage of personality development with a strong sense of identity are well
equipped to face adulthood with confidence and certainty. This sort of unresolved crisis leaves individuals struggling to
find themselves. They may go on to seek a negative identity, which may involve crime or drugs or the inability to make
defining choices about the future. The basic strength that should develop during adolescence is fidelity, which emerges
from a cohesive ego identity.[2]

Identity vs. Role Confusion

During adolescence (age 12 to 18 yrs), the transition from childhood to adulthood is most important. Children
are becoming more independent, and begin to look at the future in terms of career, relationships, families,
housing, etc. The individual wants to belong to a society and fit in.
This is a major stage in development where the child has to learn the roles he will occupy as an adult. It is
during this stage that the adolescent will re-examine his identity and try to find out exactly who he or she is.
Erikson suggests that two identities are involved: the sexual and the occupational.
According to Bee (1992), what should happen at the end of this stage is a reintegrated sense of self, of what
one wants to do or be, and of ones appropriate sex role. During this stage the body image of the adolescent
changes.

Erikson claims that the adolescent may feel uncomfortable about their body for a while until they can adapt and
grow into the changes. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue offidelity.
Fidelity involves being able to commit one's self to others on the basis of accepting others even when there may
be ideological differences.
During this period, they explore possibilities and begin to form their own identity based upon the outcome of
their explorations. Failure to establish a sense of identity within society ("I dont know what I want to be when I
grow up") can lead to role confusion. Role confusion involves the individual not being sure about themselves or
their place in
society.
In response to
crisis an
experiment with
education or
pressuring
result in
establishing a
to this feelings

role confusion or identity

adolescent may begin to
different lifestyles (e.g. work,
political activities). Also
someone into an identity can
rebellion in the form of
negative identity, and in addition
of unhappiness.

Information

Processing Theory

The information
processing theory is a cognitive
approach to
understanding how the human
mind transforms
sensory information. The model
assumes that
information that comes from the
environment is subject to mental processes beyond a simple stimulus-response pattern. "Input" from the environment
goes through the cognitive systems which is then measured by the "output". Information that is received can take
several paths depending on attention, encoding, recognition, and storage. The central executive feature controls how
much information is being processed, though more primitive sensory areas of the brain first accept environmental
input. The theory looks at real time responses to presented stimuli and how the mind transforms that information. The
model is used in several areas of research such as; cognitive development, neuroscience, social learning, and
artificial intelligence.

1.

The postnatal period begins from birth and ends when the baby is six weeks of age. The
postnatal period is a very special time where women undergo the transition into motherhood. For during
pregnancy it can be very difficult to comprehend just what being mother will be like.