1
UNDERSTANDING LIFESPAN
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading and studying the material in this chapter, the student should be able to
understand the following ideas/concepts.
1.1 HOW SHOULD WE THINK OF DEVELOPMENT?
Define development, aging, and their relationship to each other.
Explain and illustrate the role played by age grades, age norms, and the social clock in
making human development different in different historical, cultural, and subcultural
contexts.
Summarize the extreme positions one can take on the “nature–nurture” issue and the
position most developmental scientists today take.
1.2 WHAT IS THE SCIENCE OF LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT?
Summarize the four goals of the science of life-span development and describe how the
study of human development began.
List and illustrate the seven key assumptions of the modern-life-span perspective.
,1.3 HOW IS DEVELOPMENT STUDIED?
Summarize the scientific method and the choices involved in selecting a sample and
choosing data collection methods.
Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the case study, experimental, and correlational
methods.
Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the cross-sectional, longitudinal, and sequential
designs.
1.4 WHAT SPECIAL CHALLENGES DO DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENTISTS FACE?
Discuss the challenges in conducting culturally sensitive research.
Explain the four major ethical obligations of investigators to their research participants.
,CHAPTER OUTLINE
I How Should We Think about Development?
A. Defining Development
1. Development involves systematic continuities and changes from conception to
death in three domains
a. Physical development—growth of body, physiological change
b. Cognitive development—changes in perception, language, learning, and
memory
c. Psychosocial development—changes in personality, emotions
2. Growth—physical changes from conception to maturity
3. Biological aging—deterioration of organisms
4. Aging—positive and negative changes in maturing organism
5. Developmental change involves both gains and losses
B. Conceptualizing the Lifespan
1. Periods of the lifespan: prenatal, infancy, preschool, middle school, adolescence,
early adulthood, middle adulthood, late adulthood
2. Age grade (age stratum)—status, roles, privileges, and responsibilities based on
one’s age group
3. Legal definitions of age boundaries (e.g., adolescence and adulthood) vary by
state
4. Culture impacts the recognized periods of the lifespan
a. Eskimo simply distinguish between boy/girl and man/woman
b. !Kung define old in terms of functioning, not age
5. A rite of passage is a ritual marking passage from one status to another
a. Jewish bar or bat mitzvah
b. Hispanic-American girl quinceañera at age 15
6. Age norms—expectations based on age
, a. Social clock—sense of timing for life transitions
b. “Off time” (socially age inappropriate) events have more negative impact
7. Subcultural differences exist in age grades, age norms, and social clocks
a. Society is diverse with respect to race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status
b. Individuals from lower-income families tend to reach adulthood milestones
earlier than those from middle- and upper-class families
8. Meaning of childhood, adolescence, and adulthood change with historic period
a. In Western society, during the 17th century, children came to be viewed as
distinct from adults
b. In medieval times, children were expected to grow up as fast as possible
c. Adolescence was recognized as a separate period in the late 19th and early
20th centuries
d. The need for an educated workforce and compulsory schooling helped to
lead to adolescence being viewed as a distinct period of life
e. Emerging adulthood is the time from age 18 to 29
f. Middle age emerged as a distinctive stage of life in the 20th century
(Exploration Box on emerging adulthood)
g. Some characterize middle age as a time of crisis, but it tends to be a time of
good health, peak cognitive function, and high satisfaction
h. Old age also became a unique time period in the 20th century
i. In the past, relatively few individuals lived to old age, in part because so
many people died in infancy
j. The average life expectancy (average number of years a newborn is expected
to live) is 81 for a white female, 77 for a black female, 76 for a white male,
and 70 for a black male /
k. Racial differences in life expectancy have been declining while differences
based on socioeconomic status have been widening
l. While today’s elderly are healthier than in the past, many do have chronic
diseases and disabilities and require support
m. Development must be viewed in historical, cultural, and subcultural context
C. Framing the Nature/Nurture Issue
UNDERSTANDING LIFESPAN
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading and studying the material in this chapter, the student should be able to
understand the following ideas/concepts.
1.1 HOW SHOULD WE THINK OF DEVELOPMENT?
Define development, aging, and their relationship to each other.
Explain and illustrate the role played by age grades, age norms, and the social clock in
making human development different in different historical, cultural, and subcultural
contexts.
Summarize the extreme positions one can take on the “nature–nurture” issue and the
position most developmental scientists today take.
1.2 WHAT IS THE SCIENCE OF LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT?
Summarize the four goals of the science of life-span development and describe how the
study of human development began.
List and illustrate the seven key assumptions of the modern-life-span perspective.
,1.3 HOW IS DEVELOPMENT STUDIED?
Summarize the scientific method and the choices involved in selecting a sample and
choosing data collection methods.
Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the case study, experimental, and correlational
methods.
Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the cross-sectional, longitudinal, and sequential
designs.
1.4 WHAT SPECIAL CHALLENGES DO DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENTISTS FACE?
Discuss the challenges in conducting culturally sensitive research.
Explain the four major ethical obligations of investigators to their research participants.
,CHAPTER OUTLINE
I How Should We Think about Development?
A. Defining Development
1. Development involves systematic continuities and changes from conception to
death in three domains
a. Physical development—growth of body, physiological change
b. Cognitive development—changes in perception, language, learning, and
memory
c. Psychosocial development—changes in personality, emotions
2. Growth—physical changes from conception to maturity
3. Biological aging—deterioration of organisms
4. Aging—positive and negative changes in maturing organism
5. Developmental change involves both gains and losses
B. Conceptualizing the Lifespan
1. Periods of the lifespan: prenatal, infancy, preschool, middle school, adolescence,
early adulthood, middle adulthood, late adulthood
2. Age grade (age stratum)—status, roles, privileges, and responsibilities based on
one’s age group
3. Legal definitions of age boundaries (e.g., adolescence and adulthood) vary by
state
4. Culture impacts the recognized periods of the lifespan
a. Eskimo simply distinguish between boy/girl and man/woman
b. !Kung define old in terms of functioning, not age
5. A rite of passage is a ritual marking passage from one status to another
a. Jewish bar or bat mitzvah
b. Hispanic-American girl quinceañera at age 15
6. Age norms—expectations based on age
, a. Social clock—sense of timing for life transitions
b. “Off time” (socially age inappropriate) events have more negative impact
7. Subcultural differences exist in age grades, age norms, and social clocks
a. Society is diverse with respect to race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status
b. Individuals from lower-income families tend to reach adulthood milestones
earlier than those from middle- and upper-class families
8. Meaning of childhood, adolescence, and adulthood change with historic period
a. In Western society, during the 17th century, children came to be viewed as
distinct from adults
b. In medieval times, children were expected to grow up as fast as possible
c. Adolescence was recognized as a separate period in the late 19th and early
20th centuries
d. The need for an educated workforce and compulsory schooling helped to
lead to adolescence being viewed as a distinct period of life
e. Emerging adulthood is the time from age 18 to 29
f. Middle age emerged as a distinctive stage of life in the 20th century
(Exploration Box on emerging adulthood)
g. Some characterize middle age as a time of crisis, but it tends to be a time of
good health, peak cognitive function, and high satisfaction
h. Old age also became a unique time period in the 20th century
i. In the past, relatively few individuals lived to old age, in part because so
many people died in infancy
j. The average life expectancy (average number of years a newborn is expected
to live) is 81 for a white female, 77 for a black female, 76 for a white male,
and 70 for a black male /
k. Racial differences in life expectancy have been declining while differences
based on socioeconomic status have been widening
l. While today’s elderly are healthier than in the past, many do have chronic
diseases and disabilities and require support
m. Development must be viewed in historical, cultural, and subcultural context
C. Framing the Nature/Nurture Issue
