Slide 1 A Topical Approach to LifeSpan Development

Slide 1 A Topical Approach to Life-Span Development 6 e Chapter One: Introduction John W. Santrock © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 2 The Life-Span Perspective • Development: © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 3 Characteristics of the Life-Span Perspective Lifelong Multidimensional Multidirectional Plastic Multidisciplinary Contextual Growth Maintenance Regulation of loss © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 4 Characteristics of the Life-Span Perspective • Development is contextual • It takes place in environmental and social contexts that influence us in many ways – Normative age-graded influences • Shared by a particular age group – Normative history-graded influences • Shared by a specific generation – Nonnormative life events • Unique to the individual © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 5 Figure 1. 6 - Processes in Development © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 6 Periods of Development period = time frame in one’s life characterized by certain features & events 1. 2. 3. 4. Prenatal Period Infancy Early childhood Middle and late childhood 5. 6. 7. 8. Adolescence Early adulthood Middle adulthood Late adulthood © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 7 Conceptions of age • Chronological age: Number of years elapsed since person’s birth • Biological age: Physical capacities & health • Psychological age: Adaptive capacities • Social age: Social roles and expectations related to one’s age © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 8 Developmental Issues • Nature and nurture – Inheritance and environment • Stability and change – Persistence of early traits and characteristics • Continuity and discontinuity – Gradual vs. abrupt changes in development © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 9 Theories of Development • Theory: • Hypotheses: © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 10 Theories of Development: Psychoanalytic theories © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 11 Erikson’s Eight Life-Span Stages Figure 1. 11, p. 21 © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 12 Theories of Development: Cognitive Theories • Emphasize: • Three major theories – Piaget’s cognitive development (stage theory) – Vygotsky’s sociocultural cognitive theory (continuity) – Information processing theory © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 13 Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development Figure 1. 12, p. 23 © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 14 Cognitive Theories of Development: Information-Processing theory • Compares humans to computers: – Brain ~ hardware – Cognition ~ software • Thinking involves: © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 15 Theories of Development: Behavioral and social cognitive theories • Behaviorism: Scientific studies can only be based on direct observations and measures • Development is studied by observing only outward behaviors – not cognitions, emotions, or unconscious processes • Behavior is learned from experiences/environment – Development is continuous as experiences are added Watson's fear conditioning study © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 16 Theories of Development: Behavioral and social cognitive theories • Bandura’s social cognitive theory – Interactions among behavior, environment, and cognition are key to development – Behavior is learned through observation and imitating (modeling) • Behavior of others is cognitively evaluated, strategies created for successful learning © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 17 Figure 1. 13 - Bandura’s Social Cognitive Model © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 18 Theories of Development: Ethological theory Emphasis on: • biology and evolution • sensitive periods of development • careful observations – Lorenz: Imprinting – Bowlby: Attachment theory © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 19 Theories of Development: Ecological theory • Emphasis on environmental context • Bronfenbrenner’s theory: Development is influenced by five environmental systems © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 20 Figure 1. 14 - Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 21 Theories of Development: Eclectic theoretical approach • Life-span development is complex • Each theory has contribution to understanding development • Eclectic approach focuses on best features of each © 2012 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.