Chapter 1
Foundations
Foundations of Lifespan
Lifespan Development
Development
Issues, Theories, Research
The Birth of Psychology
Wilhem Wundt – Structuralism
William James – Functionalism
Sigmund Freud – Psychoanalysis
The Concept of Developmental Psychology
Developmental Psychology
- It is one area of psychology that explains the course of physical, social, emotional,
moral and intellectual development over a person’s lifespan.
Issues in Developmental Psychology
Nature versus Nurture Debate
Nature - biological and inherited
Nurture -environment
Nature
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
“children are gentle savages”
- he viewed children with innate purity, but may become corrupted by evils of society.
Nurture
John Locke
“tabula rasa”
- viewed children as passive recipients of knowledge
,Early Experience or Later Experience
Sigmund Freud
Psychoanalytic Theory
Much of a child’s personality is completely established by the age of five. Those who
have experienced deprived or abusive childhood might never adjust or develop
normally.
Erik Erikson
Psychosocial Theory
Later experiences carry more weight than early ones. The early childhood experiences
does not necessarily have a dominating effect in the personality of a person.
Continuity vs Discontinuity
▪ Continuous model describes development as a relatively smooth process, without
sharp or distinct stages, through which an individual must pass.
▪ Discontinuous model describes development as a series of discrete stages, each of
which is characterized by at least one task that an individual must accomplish before
progressing to the next stage.
Development
Development refers to the progressive series of changes of an orderly and coherent type toward
the goal of maturity.
▪ Growth – quantitative change
▪ Development – qualitative change
Rate of Development
1. Rapid Development- observed during the prenatal period and continues throughout
babyhood up to the first 6 years of life.
2. Slow Development- starts from 6 years to adolescence. In the onset of adolescence, the
rate of development is once more accelerated.
Implications of the Rate of Development
1. Maturation- which depends upon hereditary endowment of an individual, sets limit
beyond which development cannot go on even when learning is encouraged.
2. Developmental Readiness- is the individual’s state of preparedness with respect to one
or more areas of his functioning
,Life Span Development
Life Span Psychology
- often referred as Developmental Psychology.
- Development, as a lifelong process beginning at conception and ending in death, is in
itself a discipline worthy of study.
Stages in the Life Span
1. Prenatal Period - conception to birth
2. Infancy - birth to end of 2nd week
3. Babyhood - end of 2nd week to end of 2nd year
4. Early Childhood - 2 to 6 years
5. Late Childhood - 6 to 10 or 12 years
6. Puberty - 10 or 12 to 13 or 14 years
7. Adolescence - 13 or 14 to 18 years
8. Early adulthood - 18 to 35 years
9. Middle adulthood - 35- 65
10. Late adulthood/old age - 65 years- death
Havighurst’s Developmental Tasks during the Life Span (Hurlock, 1982)
1. Babyhood and Early Childhood
✓ Learning to take food
✓ Learning to walk
✓ Learning to talk
✓ Learning to control the elimination of body wastes
✓ Learning sex differences and sexual modesty
✓ Getting ready to read
✓ Learning to distinguish right and wrong to develop a conscience
2. Late Childhood
✓ Learning physical skills necessary for ordinary games
✓ Building a wholesome attitude toward oneself as a growing organism
✓ Learning to get along with age-mates
✓ Beginning to develop appropriate masculine or feminine social roles
✓ Developing fundamental skills in reading, writing and calculating
✓ Developing concepts necessary for everyday living
✓ Developing conscience, a sense of morality and a scale of values
✓ Developing attitudes toward social groups and institutions
✓ Achieving personal independence
, 3. Adolescence
✓ Achieving new & more mature relations w/ age mates or both sexes
✓ Achieving a masculine or feminine social role
✓ Accepting one’s physique and using one’s body effectively
✓ Desiring, accepting & achieving socially responsible behavior
✓ Achieving emotional independence from parents & other adults
✓ Preparing for an economic career
✓ Preparing for marriage and family life
✓ Acquiring new set of values and an ethical system as a guide to behavior- developing
an ideology
4. Early Adulthood
✓ Getting started in an occupation
✓ Selecting a mate
✓ Learning to live with a marriage partner
✓ Starting a family
✓ Rearing children
✓ Managing a home
✓ Taking on civic responsibility
✓ Finding a congenial social group
5. Middle Age
✓ Achieving adult, civic and social responsibility
✓ Assisting teenage children to become responsible and happy adults
✓ Developing adult leisure time activities
✓ Relating oneself to one’s spouse as a person
✓ Accepting and adjusting to the physiological changes of middle age
✓ Reaching and maintaining satisfactory performance in one’s occupational career
✓ Adjusting to aging parents
6. Old Age
✓ Adjusting to decreasing physical strength and health
✓ Adjusting to retirement and reduced income
✓ Adjusting to death of spouse
✓ Establishing an explicit affiliation with members of one’ age group
✓ Establishing satisfactory physical living arrangements
✓ Adapting to social roles in a flexible way
Foundations
Foundations of Lifespan
Lifespan Development
Development
Issues, Theories, Research
The Birth of Psychology
Wilhem Wundt – Structuralism
William James – Functionalism
Sigmund Freud – Psychoanalysis
The Concept of Developmental Psychology
Developmental Psychology
- It is one area of psychology that explains the course of physical, social, emotional,
moral and intellectual development over a person’s lifespan.
Issues in Developmental Psychology
Nature versus Nurture Debate
Nature - biological and inherited
Nurture -environment
Nature
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
“children are gentle savages”
- he viewed children with innate purity, but may become corrupted by evils of society.
Nurture
John Locke
“tabula rasa”
- viewed children as passive recipients of knowledge
,Early Experience or Later Experience
Sigmund Freud
Psychoanalytic Theory
Much of a child’s personality is completely established by the age of five. Those who
have experienced deprived or abusive childhood might never adjust or develop
normally.
Erik Erikson
Psychosocial Theory
Later experiences carry more weight than early ones. The early childhood experiences
does not necessarily have a dominating effect in the personality of a person.
Continuity vs Discontinuity
▪ Continuous model describes development as a relatively smooth process, without
sharp or distinct stages, through which an individual must pass.
▪ Discontinuous model describes development as a series of discrete stages, each of
which is characterized by at least one task that an individual must accomplish before
progressing to the next stage.
Development
Development refers to the progressive series of changes of an orderly and coherent type toward
the goal of maturity.
▪ Growth – quantitative change
▪ Development – qualitative change
Rate of Development
1. Rapid Development- observed during the prenatal period and continues throughout
babyhood up to the first 6 years of life.
2. Slow Development- starts from 6 years to adolescence. In the onset of adolescence, the
rate of development is once more accelerated.
Implications of the Rate of Development
1. Maturation- which depends upon hereditary endowment of an individual, sets limit
beyond which development cannot go on even when learning is encouraged.
2. Developmental Readiness- is the individual’s state of preparedness with respect to one
or more areas of his functioning
,Life Span Development
Life Span Psychology
- often referred as Developmental Psychology.
- Development, as a lifelong process beginning at conception and ending in death, is in
itself a discipline worthy of study.
Stages in the Life Span
1. Prenatal Period - conception to birth
2. Infancy - birth to end of 2nd week
3. Babyhood - end of 2nd week to end of 2nd year
4. Early Childhood - 2 to 6 years
5. Late Childhood - 6 to 10 or 12 years
6. Puberty - 10 or 12 to 13 or 14 years
7. Adolescence - 13 or 14 to 18 years
8. Early adulthood - 18 to 35 years
9. Middle adulthood - 35- 65
10. Late adulthood/old age - 65 years- death
Havighurst’s Developmental Tasks during the Life Span (Hurlock, 1982)
1. Babyhood and Early Childhood
✓ Learning to take food
✓ Learning to walk
✓ Learning to talk
✓ Learning to control the elimination of body wastes
✓ Learning sex differences and sexual modesty
✓ Getting ready to read
✓ Learning to distinguish right and wrong to develop a conscience
2. Late Childhood
✓ Learning physical skills necessary for ordinary games
✓ Building a wholesome attitude toward oneself as a growing organism
✓ Learning to get along with age-mates
✓ Beginning to develop appropriate masculine or feminine social roles
✓ Developing fundamental skills in reading, writing and calculating
✓ Developing concepts necessary for everyday living
✓ Developing conscience, a sense of morality and a scale of values
✓ Developing attitudes toward social groups and institutions
✓ Achieving personal independence
, 3. Adolescence
✓ Achieving new & more mature relations w/ age mates or both sexes
✓ Achieving a masculine or feminine social role
✓ Accepting one’s physique and using one’s body effectively
✓ Desiring, accepting & achieving socially responsible behavior
✓ Achieving emotional independence from parents & other adults
✓ Preparing for an economic career
✓ Preparing for marriage and family life
✓ Acquiring new set of values and an ethical system as a guide to behavior- developing
an ideology
4. Early Adulthood
✓ Getting started in an occupation
✓ Selecting a mate
✓ Learning to live with a marriage partner
✓ Starting a family
✓ Rearing children
✓ Managing a home
✓ Taking on civic responsibility
✓ Finding a congenial social group
5. Middle Age
✓ Achieving adult, civic and social responsibility
✓ Assisting teenage children to become responsible and happy adults
✓ Developing adult leisure time activities
✓ Relating oneself to one’s spouse as a person
✓ Accepting and adjusting to the physiological changes of middle age
✓ Reaching and maintaining satisfactory performance in one’s occupational career
✓ Adjusting to aging parents
6. Old Age
✓ Adjusting to decreasing physical strength and health
✓ Adjusting to retirement and reduced income
✓ Adjusting to death of spouse
✓ Establishing an explicit affiliation with members of one’ age group
✓ Establishing satisfactory physical living arrangements
✓ Adapting to social roles in a flexible way
