Lifespan Perspectives Paper
Life-Span Perspective Paper
Tiffany B
From the day of conception until the day of death, humans are constantly changing and developing. Most of the changes that individuals go through are common biological and psychological changes. One of the obvious elements of change is when a development is being defined (Smith, 2009). This is when the development involves the advancement from one life stage to another. Human development takes place in a process of certain stages in which helps us understand human development. However there are many concerns related to lifespan development. Two examples are nature versus nurture and continuity versus discontinuity.
The study of lifespan development developed and grew from Darwin’s development and understanding of evolution. Lifespan is defined by G. Stanley Hall as “the period of time from conception extending to death” (Boyd & Bee, 2006). This process begins with the development of a fetus from a single celled organism. As the unborn child enters into the world, his environment begins to have influence over his development (WGBH Educational Foundation, 2001). Developmental psychology uses the term ‘lifespan development’ to “encompass all of the development that occurs from birth throughout life. Lifespan development covers all stages of development and progress from the birth of a person to his death and is studied in a variety of ways” (Herron, 2010). Human development consists of periods and each period consists of a transition to the next period. Each of these periods contains necessary changes to the individual’s life and this process can take many years to fully complete (Smith, 2009).
There are many characteristics that define what lifespan perspective is in relation to human development. According to Boyd & Bee, lifespan perspective is “the current view of developmentalists important changes that occur throughout the entire human lifespan and that these changes must be interpreted in terms
Tiffany B
From the day of conception until the day of death, humans are constantly changing and developing. Most of the changes that individuals go through are common biological and psychological changes. One of the obvious elements of change is when a development is being defined (Smith, 2009). This is when the development involves the advancement from one life stage to another. Human development takes place in a process of certain stages in which helps us understand human development. However there are many concerns related to lifespan development. Two examples are nature versus nurture and continuity versus discontinuity.
The study of lifespan development developed and grew from Darwin’s development and understanding of evolution. Lifespan is defined by G. Stanley Hall as “the period of time from conception extending to death” (Boyd & Bee, 2006). This process begins with the development of a fetus from a single celled organism. As the unborn child enters into the world, his environment begins to have influence over his development (WGBH Educational Foundation, 2001). Developmental psychology uses the term ‘lifespan development’ to “encompass all of the development that occurs from birth throughout life. Lifespan development covers all stages of development and progress from the birth of a person to his death and is studied in a variety of ways” (Herron, 2010). Human development consists of periods and each period consists of a transition to the next period. Each of these periods contains necessary changes to the individual’s life and this process can take many years to fully complete (Smith, 2009).
There are many characteristics that define what lifespan perspective is in relation to human development. According to Boyd & Bee, lifespan perspective is “the current view of developmentalists important changes that occur throughout the entire human lifespan and that these changes must be interpreted in terms
References: Smith, M. (2009). Lifespan Development and Lifelong Learning. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/biblio/lifecourse_development.htm Boyd, D., & Bee, H. (2006). Lifespan Development. (4th Ed.). Uppersaddle River, NJ: Pearson. WGBH Educational Foundation. (2001). Lifespan Development Our Amazing Capacity for Change, Retrieved from http://www.learner.org/discoverypsychology/development/ Herron, R. (2010). Definition of Lifespan Development. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/facts_6066997_definition-lifespan-development.html Boyd, D., & Bee, H. (2009). Lifespan Development. (5th ed.). Uppersaddle River, NJ: Allyn & Bacon Sandrock, J