Download LIFE SPAN(THREE DEVELOPMENTS) and more Study notes Advanced Education in PDF only on Docsity!
LIFE SPAN
Physical development, Cognitive Development & Psychosocial Development Early Childhood the developing person between the ages of 2 and 6. These years were once called the preschool years or the play years, but those terms are misnomers because school in all its varieties and playfulness are essential to development at every age. brain growth and development and its role in physical and cognitive development. The developing limbic system is also described, along with its role in the expression and regulation of emotions during early childhood. In countless everyday instances, as well as in the findings of numerous research studies, young children reveal themselves to be remarkably thoughtful, insightful, and perceptive thinkers whose grasp of the causes of everyday events, memory of the past, and mastery of language are sometimes astonishing. Physical Development: The growth rates and the changes in shape that occur from ages 2 through 6, as well as the toddler’s eating habits. A description of the acquisition of gross and fine motor skills follows noting the negative effects of environmental hazards on the development of motor skills. Cognitive Development: Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s views of cognitive development at this age. According to Piaget’s pre-operational stage , young children’s thought is pre-logical: Between the ages of about 2 and 6, they are capable of symbolic thought but unable to perform many logical operations and are limited by irreversible, ego-centered, and static thinking. Lev Vygotsky, a contemporary of Piaget’s, saw learning as a social activity more than as a matter of individual discovery. Vygotsky focused on the child’s zone of proximal development and the relationship between language and thought. what young children can do, including their emerging abilities to theorize
about the world. Although young children demonstrate rapid improvement in vocabulary and grammar, they have difficulty with comparisons and certain rules of grammar. the important issues of injury control and accidents, the major cause of childhood death. child maltreatment, including its prevalence, contributing factors, consequences for future development, treatment, and prevention. Psychosocial Development: the ways in which young children begin to relate to others in an ever widening social environment. where social understanding begins, with emotional development and the emergence of the sense of self. With their increasing social awareness , children become more concerned with how others evaluate them and better able to regulate their emotions. how children use play to help with their emerging ability to regulate their emotions. Although play is universal, its form varies by culture and gender. Baumrind’s parenting patterns and their effects on the developing child. The effects of the media, especially television, on parenting and family life in general. moral development during early childhood, focusing on the origins of helpful, prosocial behaviors in young children, as well as antisocial behaviors such as the different forms of aggressive behavior. The usefulness of the different forms of discipline, including punishment, in the child’s developing morality. gender differences that emerge during early childhood, focusing on the explanations offered by the major developmental theories. Life Span Middle Childhood physical Development:
Psychosocial Development: from ages 7 to 11, the child becomes stronger and more competent, mastering the biosocial and cognitive abilities that are important in his or her culture. Psychosocial accomplishments are equally impressive. the growing social competence of children, as described by Freud and Erikson. the growth of social cognition and self-understanding. The ways in which children cope with stressful situations. the ways in which families influence children, including the experience of living in single-parent, stepparent, and blended families. Although no particular family structure guarantees optimal child development, income levels and harmony and stability are important factors in the quality of family functioning. Children’s interactions with peers and others in their ever-widening social world is the subject of the third section. Although the peer group often is a supportive, positive influence on children, some children are rejected by their peers or become the victims of bullying. Life Span Adolescence Between the ages of 11 and 18, young people cross the great divide between childhood and adulthood. This crossing encompasses all three domains of development—physical, cognitive, and psychosocial. Physical development: the dramatic changes that occur in the bio-social domain, beginning with puberty and the growth spurt. The biosocial metamorphosis of the adolescent is discussed in detail, with emphasis on factors that affect the age of puberty, sexual maturation , and changes in body rhythms. Although adolescence is, in many ways, a healthy time of life, the text also addresses
two health hazards that affect many adolescents: sex too early and sexually transmitted illnesses. Cognitive Development: the cognitive advances and limitations of adolescence. With the attainment of formal operational thought, the developing person becomes able to think in an adult way—that is, to be logical, to think in terms of possibilities, and to reason scientifically and abstractly. Neurological development is the basis of these new developments. Although brain areas dedicated to emotional arousal mature before those dedicated to emotional regulation, ongoing myelination enables faster and deeper thinking. Even those who reach the stage of formal operational thought spend much of their time thinking at fewer advanced levels. The discussion of adolescent egocentrism supports this generalization in showing that adolescents have difficulty thinking rationally about themselves and their immediate experiences. Adolescent egocentrism makes them see themselves as psychologically unique and more socially significant than they really are. teaching and learning in middle school and high school. As adolescents enter secondary school, their grades often suffer and their level of participation decreases. The rigid behavioral demands and intensified competition of most secondary schools do not, unfortunately, provide a supportive learning environment for adolescents. Motivation theories Psychosocial Development: Adolescence brings a heightened quest for self-understanding and identity. Friends, family, community, and culture are powerful social forces that help or hinder the adolescent’s transition from childhood to adulthood. the adolescent’s efforts to achieve an identity, focusing on the impact of parents and peer groups on psychosocial development. While the search for identity brings with it certain difficulties, most adolescents reach adulthood safely and securely. Others have special problems, including depression and self-destruction that may lead to suicide and delinquent behavior.
considerably in recent years. The contemporary view of intelligence emphasizes its multidimensional nature. Most experts now believe that there are several distinct intelligences rather than a single general entity. the tendency of adults to select certain aspects of their lives to focus on as they age. In doing so, they optimize development in those areas and compensate for declines in others. Each person’s cognitive development occurs in a unique context influenced by variations in genes, life experiences, and cohort effects. the cognitive expertise that often comes with experience, pointing out the ways in which expert thinking differs from that of the novice. Expert thinking is more specialized, flexible, and intuitive and is guided by more and better problem-solving strategies. Psychosocial Development: Psychosocial development during adulthood is tied less to age than to context and circumstances. However, Erikson’s stage theory is important for pointing out that development continues throughout adulthood. Psychologists believe that personality serves as a source of continuity in middle age. The Big Five personality traits - neuroticism, agreeableness, extroversion, conscientiousness, and openness—tend to remain stable throughout the life span. During adulthood, two changes in personality are notable, however. Undesirable traits tend to become less prominent, and both men and women typically become more like the other sex. Life Span Late Adulthood biosocial, cognitive, and psychosocial development during late adulthood In a society such as ours, which glorifies youth, there is a tendency to exaggerate the physical decline brought on by aging. Physical Development: In fact, the changes that occur during the later years are largely a continuation of those that began earlier in adulthood, and the vast majority of the elderly consider themselves to be in good health.
Nonetheless, the aging process is characterized by an increased incidence of impaired vision and hearing , and by declines in the major body systems. These are all changes to which the individual must adjust. In addition, the incidence of life-threatening diseases becomes more common with every decade. Cognitive Development: changes in information processing experienced by older adults. As measured by standardized laboratory tests (which are often biased against the older adult), some cognitive processes become slower and less efficient during late adulthood. In part, this is because older adults use fewer and less efficient strategies to help them remember and solve problems. Age-related declines in cognitive functioning may also result from the neutrophils- biological changes tied to aging. these changes, which include the progressive loss of brain cells and, more important, the slowing of brain processes due to reduced production of key neurotransmitters. Most older adults are not hampered in their daily life by cognitive difficulties. Through their use of compensating memory techniques, such as practice and priming, older adults are able to function acceptably. The loss of cognitive function suffered by victims of dementia is also discussed. The most common forms of dementia are Alzheimer disease and multi-infarct dementia. Several diseases can cause subcortical dementia— among them Parkinson’s disease, Hunting ton’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. Many other problems, such as inadequate nutrition, alcohol abuse, and psychological illness, are misdiagnosed as dementia. As emphasized by such theorists as Maslow and Erikson, many older adults show new cognitive development during later life, developing a heightened aesthetic sense, gaining in wisdom, and becoming more philosophical. Psychosocial Development: the major theories of psychosocial development during late adulthood. Self theories emphasize the active part each person plays in his or her own psychosocial development. Stratification theories maintain that social forces limit individual choice and direct life at every stage, particularly in late adulthood. Dynamic theories emphasize that each person’s life is an active, self-propelled process, occurring within specific social contexts, which are constantly changing.
