Life Span Development introduction

#psychology #lifespan #study

Life Span Development

development from conception to death lifelong progressive orderly

what is development? Development is the pattern of progressive, orderly and predictable changes that begin at conception and continue throughout life.

3 dimensions

intersection of and interaction between all of these dimensions

Lifespan Perspective / Assumptions / Characteristics / - on Development

Development is : -Lifelong takes place from conception till death -Multidimensional cognitive, physical, socio-emotional -highly plastic -contextual historical, economic, social, and cultural factors -inter-disciplinary -depends on historical conditions -depends on how individual responds and acts to context

Periods of development

  1. Prenatal Phases of Prenatal Development
  2. Infancy Infancy, childhood, adolescence
  3. Early Childhood
  4. Middle and Late Childhood
  5. Adolescence
  6. Early Adulthood Emerging Adulthood
  7. Middle Adulthood Middle Adulthood
  8. Late Adulthood Late Adulthood

Perspectives / Key issues in Lifespan Development

Nature vs Nurture

nature - basic growth tendencies are genetically programmed into humans - it is biological nurture - effect of the environment; social environment and biological environment

Continuity vs Discontinuity

gradual, continuous process vs discrete groups or stages gradual or abrupt?

Activity vs Passivity

(involvement in their own development)

Specificity vs Generality

(is it universal or is it dependent on culture, country, community)

Types of Developmental Research and Ethical Values

Types of developmental research designs

Cross-sectional design

A cross-sectional study compares the behaviors of different age groups at a single time point.

most common in developmental research

less time-consuming and less expensive than the other methods

Longitudinal design

examine the same individuals over a period of time; regular intervals

Longitudinal research takes time. Sometimes people quit before it ends. This is called attrition. Researchers should start with larger samples as people will leave. But some groups may leave more than others. For example, people who are sick, poor, or less educated may quit more. This can make the results less accurate because the people who stay are not representative of the whole population.

takes a long time

Sequential design

include elements of both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies

Ethnography

focuses on the lived experience of people, usually as detailed by the research participants (also called โ€œinformantsโ€) and as observed by the researcher relies heavily on participant observation

Cohort Design

longitudinal study in which researchers monitor and observe a chosen population over an extended period of time, with no particular aim

Case study

Observation

Survey and Interview

Questionnaire

Ethical Issues in Developmental Research

Informed Consent Protection of individuals' rights Right to withdrawal Debriefing Confidentiality Deception

some sources: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-lifespandevelopment/chapter/developmental-research-designs/