Life span developmental psychology is the field of psychology that involves the examination of both constancy and change in human behavior across the life span, that is, from conception to death. The focus of the study of developmental psychology is to further our knowledge of how we evolve over our entire life span. The study of development is possible within a range of topics in modern psychology like social psychology, cognitive psychology, abnormal psychology, comparative psychology, and neuro psychology. Child development is one of the studies in developmental psychology. The study of children is important because it has the potential to inform us about the nature of human development. By studying the earlier changes of behavior, we can …show more content…
If there is no single path that development should take, then that is multi-directionality. Development is comprised of multiple abilities. These abilities go different directions and show different types of change. In development, there is a belief that development involves both gains and losses. Baltes believed that any developmental process involves both gains and losses. Development varies around the different contexts in which we live our lives. Baltes said that developmental psychology is multi-disciplinary. The first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive development was Jean Piaget. He contributed a theory of child cognitive development, detailed observational studies of cognition in children and a series of simple but ingenious tests to reveal different cognitive abilities. Before Piaget, the common idea in psychology was that children are merely less competent thinkers than adults.Piaget thought that cognitive development was a progressive reorganization of mental processes as a result of growing up and experiencing the different environments. There are three main stages to adulthood: early adulthood, middle adulthood, and late
Paris is a place full of adventure, excitement, and fun. From childhood into adulthood, all those things help to shape us as individuals and aid in the development process. Developmental science, according to the text, Exploring Lifespan Development by Laura Berk is, “a field of study devoted to understanding constancy and change throughout the lifespan” (Berk, 3). Naturalistic observation is one of the most valid ways of studying this field. It enables one to explore and analyze the theories and subjects within the field in an in-depth manner.
Child psychology, also called child development, is the study of the psychological processes of children and especially, how they develop as young adults and how they differ from one child to the next. It basically tends to map onto children’s physical, cognitive and social/emotional development. Psychologists attempt to make sense of every aspect of child development, including how children learn, think, interact and respond emotionally to people around them and understand emotions and their developing personalities, temperaments and skills. It also includes how individual, social and cultural factors may influence their development. Child study is of comparatively recent origin.
According, to Piaget a progressive reorganization of mental processes resulting from biological maturation and environmental experience. The theory deals with the nature of knowledge itself and how humans gradually come to obtain, construct, and implement it. Erickson (1902-1994) Erickson developed an eight-stage psychosocial theory of development. Erickson believed to conflicting ideas must be resolved to become a well-functioning member of society.
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development states four stages of cognitive development. During the first Sensorimotor Stage which Piaget
Developmental psychology is a scientific approach that describes growth, change and coherence throughout life. Developmental psychology looks at how one's thoughts, feelings and behavior change throughout his or her life. An important part of the theories within this discipline focus on development in childhood; because it is the time that elapses throughout the life of the individual when the most change occurs. Developmental psychologists examine broad theoretical domains such as biological, social, emotional, and cognitive processes. Prenatal development refers to the process of development of a baby from a single cell after pregnancy to embryo and then to a fetüs.
Key Person in Lifespan Development: Erik Erikson Erik Erikson was a fundamental person who expressed his ideas of lifespan development occurring from birth to death. Erik Erikson, the son of Karla Abrahamen and a father whose name remain unknown (Psyography: Biographies on Psychologists, n.d.) studied at various schools studying arts and language. He became the first child analysts during his attendance at Harvard Medical School. (Sharkey, 1997). Also, he was employed in various educational schools.
Before I started this research task, I believed that the nature vs Nurture debate has a 50:50 influence on the development, where as now, I think its more 25:75. It has changed, as this task has made me realise that there are far more nurture factors which can affect a child's development. This is due to nurture being a continual occurrence through out everyone's life, whether its from parents, teachers or even in a work force. Where as, the nature can only go so far, and even then certain genetic conditions might need to be activated before it takes affect. By researching into the Nature Vs Nurture debate, I have found that some theorists are still valid, even after decades after their time.
Developmental psychology is the study of the human mind and behaviour as it progresses through various stages of development and influences. These influences can come from a variety of societal influences, such as religion, spiritual ideas, political views, cultural norms and customs, and different expectations therein based on a variety of demographic factors, such as age and gender norms and expectations. Because these can vary based on cultures and countries, so too do the models used to understand human behaviour and those who apply these models of understanding. This can lead to various views on what is normal, right or wrong behaviour or expectations.
Child psychology, also called child development, is the study of the psychological processes of children and especially, how they develop as young adults and how they differ from one child to the next. It basically tends to map onto children’s physical, cognitive and social/emotional development. Psychologists attempt to make sense of every aspect of child development, including how children learn, think, interact and respond emotionally to people around them and understand emotions and their developing personalities, temperaments and skills. It also includes how individual, social and cultural factors may influence their development. Child study is of relatively recent origin.
Chapter 5 discuses developmental psychology, behavioral psychology, and cognitive psychology. Developmental psychology allows us to understand how difficult learning is. The biggest factor of developmental psychology is how mature the cognitive skills of the child are. The process of the child’s cognitive skills take time and if the child isn’t allowed to time properly mature cognitively, the child could be faced with cognitive issues. Every child learns differently and at different rates.
Brief History Jean Piaget was a Twentieth century Swiss psychologist and was the first psychologist to systematically study the cognitive development of children. Thomas (2005) wrote that early in Piaget’s career he worked with children and his observations and interactions with the students led him to the theory that a young person's cognitive processes are inherently different from those of adults (pp. 188-9). According to Ahmad, et al. (2005) , Piaget showed that when compared to adults, young children think in differently and he then came to the conclusion that cognitive development was an ongoing process which occurred due to maturation and interaction with the environment (p. 72).
Jean Piaget was a trained biologist best known for his theory of cognitive development. He thought of the cognitive structures as a “biological system whose purpose was to permit the organism to adapt and survive”(Newman & Newman pg82). The whole focus of this was that every creature tries to attain equilibrium. Equilibrium according to Piaget was “a balance between the structure of the mind and the environment, at a certain congruency between the two, that would indicate that you have a good model of the universe. ”(Boeree).His contribution to the study of human development was the study of children’s growth and their increasing aptitude to understand their world.
In chapter 8 of Contemporary Human Behavior Theory by Robins, the main topic of discussion was on theories of life span development. The theories of life span development describe process of individual growth and development over the life cycle, delineate stages of development that corresponds to specific age periods, focuses on the individual’s mastery of skills and tasks, and are useful in formulating assessment and intervention plans for individuals, families, and small groups (Robbins, 2012, pg. 201). In life span theories the life cycle is divided into age related stages according to Santrock’s developmental periods. These stages are prenatal, infancy, early childhood, middle and late childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood, and
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Cognition is a process where different aspects of the mind are working together that lead to knowledge. Piaget’s cognitive development theory is based on stages that children go through as they grow that lead them to actively learn new information. Cognitive change occurs with schemes that children and adults go through to make sense of what is happening around them. The change that occurs is activity based when the child is young and later in life correlates to mental thinking. Piaget’s stages of cognitive development start from birth to adulthood
DEVELOPMENT PSYCHOLOGY: REFLECTIVE ESSAY In life of an individual there are several developmental changes or events which occur as continuity of span of life. Some of life developmental stages include infantile, adolescence, maturity, and adulthood. These phases have biological, social, psychological and physiognomic reasons to which an individual completed the course of life. Psychological analysis upon the developmental stages include the focus on characterization, demarcation and the social interaction of individual’s life (Baltes & Schaie, 2013).