Concept of Lifespan

UNIT 1 CONCEPT OF LIFESPAN Development

DEVELOPMENT

Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2. Lifespan Development
1.2.1 Meaning of Development
1.2.2 Emergence of Lifespan Development
1.2.3 Lifespan Studies
1.2.4 Concept of Lifespan Development
1.3 Features of Lifespan Development
1.4 Stages in Lifespan Development
1.5 Research Methods for the Study of Lifespan Development
1.6 Let Us Sum Up
1.7 Unit End Questions
1.8 Glossary
1.9 Suggested Readings and References

1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit we are going to introduce you to the concept of lifespan development
and discuss the emergence of the concept, some key features of lifespan
development, the different stages in lifespan development, as well as the research
methods to study lifespan development. This unit first discusses the meaning
and emergence of Lifespan development along with the Lifespan studies and
their salient features followed by the stages in the lifespan. Finally the unit deals
with the research techniques that are employed for the study of lifespan
development. In this way understanding the process of development and how it
is related to skills, abilities and general behaviour will help the student to acquire
knowledge about the development of humans at different stages and the very
many problems one comes across etc.

1.1 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit, you will be able to:
• Explain Lifespan development;
• Identify the key features of Lifespan development;
• Explain how behaviour changes through life as a function of development
and the interaction of biopsychosocial factors overtime; and
• Analyse research methods used in measuring Lifespan development.

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Developmental Factors in
Children 1.2 LIFE SPAN DEVELOPMENT
Lifespan development is a process beginning at conception that continues until
death. Lifespan development can be defined as a methodical, intra individual
change associated with progressions corresponding to age. Levinson has put
forward that the lifespan consists of four 25 years. The first 25 years belong to
childhood and adolescence, the second 25 years to early adulthood, the next 25
years to middle adulthood and the last 25 years to late adulthood.

According to lifespan development concept, the lifespan development is

multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary and contextual. The
human development domains consist of the physical domain, the cognitive domain
and the social domain. The physical domain consists of the physical changes
during growth, the cognitive domain refers to how humans learn and the social
domain is in regard to the development of social skills and developing
relationships. All disciplines such as sociology, psychology, medicine, biology,
anthropology etc., are interested in the lifespan development and thus
understanding of lifespan development requires viewing human development
from various perspectives. Thus one could state that human development is a
multidisciplinary study of how people change and how they remain the same
over time. It reflects the complexity and uniqueness of each person and each
person’s experiences as well as commonalities and patterns across people. There
are four interactive forces that combine to shape human development and these
are : (i) Biological (ii) Psychological (iii) socio cultural and (iv) Life cycle forces.

i) Biological structure or environment of human includes glands, nervous

system, respiratory system etc. All these affect the individual’s personality.
For example, if pituitary glands do not work in normal ways then the
individual’s physical growth will be affected and this will bring about a
change in the person’s personality. Biological forces include all genetic and
health related factors that affect development. They provide raw material
(in case of genetics) and set boundary conditions (in the case of one’s health)
for development. Example for this could be Prenatal development, brain
maturation, puberty, menopause, facial wrinkling and change in cardio-
vascular functioning, diet, exercise etc.

First of all the height of the body grows up due to biological development.
However if the growth is abnormal it would affect the individual’s personality
and mental state. For instance, being too tall can make some people feel
inferior and being too short can make some not only inferior but also can
make them dependent on others for many things.

Secondly, biological factors also determine the responsiveness of an

individual, such as one may be more impulsive and emotional than others,
one may get more easily excited than others etc. To give an example a person
being too jumpy can make others tease the person or paste some paper bag
with some label behind etc. At the same time being too bovine makes others
consider the person a joker and attach funny notices as “Kick Me” etc. on
one’s back or make others feel like taking away the person’s belongings and
not return for some time thereby reducing the person to tears.

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 Thirdly our growth and development depend on the glandular balanced Concept of Lifespan
Development
secretions. The Rosicrucians defined seven glandular types based on the
predominance of the gonads, adrenals, pancreas, thymus, thyroid, pituitary
and pineal glands. Each glandular type has a particular bony formation and
skin type, musculature and hairyness.

Nutrition too plays a significant role in the physical growth and development.
For instance access to common salt, access to iodine, access to zinc, and the
presence of lead and copper contaminations all these affect the physical
growth and even produce abnormalities in physical development.

Hereditary factors also are extremely important which to an extent determines

even the ways in which one behaves in society. Some have more
predisposition to be aggressive and angry while in some cases a person may
be hereditarily predisposed to calmness and prefer being alone rather than
with people. Some are more gregarious while some are withdrawn . Some
are more intelligent than others. All these factors are part of hereditary factors.

ii) Psychological forces include all internal perceptual, cognitive, emotional

and personality factors that affect development. These factors determine
variations among individuals. Example for this would be Intelligence, self
confidence, honesty, self esteem. Although a child’s mental development
presupposes a kind of network in which internal and external factors are
intertwined, it is possible to unravel their distinct, respective roles. The
internal factors are presumably responsible for the strict sequence of
developmental phases, the chief determinant of which is the growth of the
organs.

The problem of the relations between functional maturation and functional

learning now arises. During the course of mental development new activities
emerge that must necessarily have their source in the functional activation
of matured organic structure. Unless the child is able to find that physically
he can indulge in many activities, learning will have no value. Hence physical
growth is important which may influence personality development.

It has been said that play is the activity uniquely appropriate to the child.
Play is a stage in the total development of the child that disappears of its
own accord at succeeding periods. Indeed, play is mingled in all of the
child’s activity so long as that activity remains spontaneous and untouched
by objects introduced for educative purposes. At the beginning, games are
purely functional; then come games of make-believe and games of practical
skill.

In his play the child repeats the impressions of events he has just experienced.
He reproduces; he imitates. For the very young child, imitation is the only
rule of the game so long as he is unable to go beyond the concrete, living
model to abstract instructions.

Initially, children’s comprehension is no more than the assimilation of others

to themselves and themselves to others, and in this process imitation plays
an important role. Imitation, as the instrument of this fusion, demonstrates
a contradiction that explains certain contrasts on which play thrives.
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Developmental Factors in Imitation is not random; the child is very selective. He imitates people who
Children
enjoy the most prestige in his own eyes, those who evoke his positive,
affectionate feelings. At the same time, the child “borrows” or becomes
these persons. Always totally immersed in what he is doing, he accordingly
imagines and wishes himself to be them. But soon his latent awareness of
this borrowing arouses in him feelings of hostility against the person serving
as a model, whom he cannot eliminate. He finally comes to resent this person
whose absolutely incontestable and frustrating superiority he often continues
to experience.

Between the ages of six and seven it becomes possible to disengage the
child from his spontaneous activity and to divert his interest to others. Until
comparatively recently, productive labour, including factory work, began at
this age. Indeed, in some colonial countries this is still the case. In France,
the child enters school at this age and tackles the demands of formal
education—which include self-discipline.

Two contradictory elements are basic to all imitation. One is a plastic union
in which the external impression is taken in and then discharged again gently
from its strange receptacle, leaving only those elements that are able to be
incorporated into existing mental structures. The result is a new, albeit
rudimentary, capacity. The second and active aspect, equally important to
the first, is execution and completion. The ensuing act requires tentative,
and sometimes obvious, gropings. Separation and recombination of suitable
elements are operations whose often long-enduring imperfections indicate
the difficulties these processes involve. In particular, the rediscovered
gestures and movements may not yet be in the right order. Taken by
themselves they by no means reproduce the model; they must conform to
the requirements of an internal prototype. However, as they become more
explicit, they make possible and even encourage objective comparisons with
the external model. Alternation between these two contrary but
complementary phases of intuitive assimilation and controlled execution
may then assume a more or less rapid cadence until the imitation appears
adequate.

iii) Socio-cultural forces include interpersonal, societal, cultural and ethnic

factors that affect development. To understand development we need to
know how people and environments interact and relate to each other. The
family, peers, coworkers and social institutions and culture influence
development. Knowing the culture from which the person comes provides
information about important influences that appear throughout the lifespan.
Example for this is poverty.

iv) Life cycle forces reflect differences in how the same event affects people of
different ages. Each individual is a product of a unique combination of these
forces. No two individuals even in the same family experience these forces
in the same way. Even identical twins have different friendship networks
partners and occupations. Robert V. Kail and John C. Cavanaugh wrote in
“Human Development: A Life-Span View” that the influence of life-cycle
forces “reflects the influences of biological, psychological, and socio-cultural
forces at different points in the life span.” Age, physical and mental well-
being, financial status, and social support systems are crucial factors in the
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 developmental life cycle. According to Erikson, the life cycle goes through Concept of Lifespan
Development
8 stages starting from infancy to old age and the life forces during each
stage influences the development of the individual.

The four forces, viz., biological, psychological, social and cultural forces as well
as life cycle forces provide the best in understanding the bio-psycho-social
framework for a comprehensive understanding of human development. For
instance Pregnancy can bring happiness and anticipation for one woman, but
can also bring about anxiety and concern for another.

Psychologists have developed different viewpoints for understanding

development. Some consider development at particular points in the lifespan,
while others take a more holistic view. A contemporary view of development
that covers all aspects of human behaviour throughout the entire life cycle from
conception to old age is the concept of lifespan development.

Self Assessment Questions

1) Discuss the biological forces in human development.
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2) What are the psychological forces influencing human development?
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3) Describe the socio-cultural forces in human development
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4) Elucidate the life cycle forces which influence human development
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Developmental Factors in 1.2.1 Meaning of Development
Children
The term ‘Development’ is not limited to growing larger. Instead it consists of a
progressive series of quantitative and qualitative changes that occur in an orderly,
coherent way leading the individual towards maturity. The term ‘Progressive’
signifies that the changes are directional leading forward rather than backward.
The quantitative changes are the changes in quantity or amount such as increase
in size, height, weight, circumference of the body vocabulary etc. The qualitative
changes are the changes in kind, structure, organisation and function.

The terms ‘orderly and coherent’ suggest that development is not a haphazard,
casual type, but there is a definite relationship between each stage and the next
in the developmental sequence. Each change is dependent upon what preceded
it and it, in turn affects what will come after. Development results in new
characteristics and new abilities in the individual. It consists of a transition from
lower to higher stages of activity or function.

From the moment of conception until death the individual is constantly changing,
he is never static. There is some development at each stage in the life span of the
individual, but more development occurs in the early years of life than after
maturity is attained. During adulthood changes do continue but at a slower rate
until deterioration that characterises old age (senescence) sets in. Thus
development is a continuous process which starts even before birth. Birth is only
an incident in the long succession of changes and not the beginning.

1.2.2 Emergence of Life Span Development

In the past most of the scientific literature on development focused on childhood
and adolescent years. This was because the changes that occur during these early
years are rapid in rate and obvious and observable, especially the physical, mental
and personality differences which are not as readily detectable in later life as in
early years. It was also assumed that the adult can be understood in terms of
childhood experiences since the adult was perceived as an end product rather
than as a continuously developing individual. Also the life expectancy was
relatively short and few researchers directed their energies toward the study of
the entire life cycle. The physical and behavioural changes in adulthood were so
subtle that their significance in the developmental sequence was ignored for
many years.

Interest in adult development and ageing evolved only in the late 1940’s. The
rapid growth of the adult population and longer life expectancy gave rise to a
number of problems to the adults themselves as well as to their families, employers
and the society. This created a need to pay attention to the developmental changes
in the adult years of life. In addition, by studying the events of adulthood like
marriage, parenthood or occupational status, the entire life cycle can be placed
in a more balanced perspective. Recently a new theoretical view of studying
growth and development of behavioural changes of the entire life cycle from
conception through old age emerged as a pursuit of scientific research. It
emphasises on development as a lifelong process and that each period of a person’s
life span is influenced by what has already occurred and will effect the periods
that follow.

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1.2.3 Life Span Studies Concept of Lifespan
Development
The life span studies in U.S. grew out of programs designed to follow children
over a period of years, through adulthood. Major studies began around 1930s.
The Berkeley Growth Study, the Oakland Growth Study and the Fels Research
Institute Study have also yielded information on long term development.

G. Stanely Hall (1844-1924) one of the first psychologists became interested in

aging. In 1922 he published a book on ‘Senescence: The last half of life’. Sixty
years later, Stanford University opened the first major research unit devoted to
aging. In 1946 National Institutes of Health (NIH) were reporting findings on
topics like emotional aspects of aging, intellectual ability and emotional reaction
time. Hall in 1904 published work on ‘adolescence’, which provoked much
discussion. He also developed a normative approach which is effective in
explaining about life span development.

1.2.4 Concept of Life Span Development

The concept of lifespan development views human development from the
biopsychosocial frame work. It is multiple determined and cannot be understood
within a single framework.

The assumptions underlying this concept are as follows:

Development is a continuous life long process of growing up and growing old
beginning at conception and ending with death. No single period in a person’s
life can be understood without knowing what occurred before and what comes
after.

Development is affected by social, environmental and historical changes. Thus

the experiences of one generation may not be the same as that of another.

Life span development does not consist of one series of changes in behaviour
that begins at conception, accumulates, with age and end with death.

Developmental behaviours may periodically rise, be transformed or eliminated

as life continues.

New patterns of development may cause social change by influencing society.

Even social change can influence development. Making Law against the
punishment of children at home and in schools is due to its harmful effects on
personality development of the child.
Self Assessment Questions
Fill in the blanks
1) Qualitative changes in development include ...........................................
2) Emergence of lifespan is because of .....................................................
3) The biopsychosocial framework in development involves ...........factors.
4) Define and describe life span development in detail
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Developmental Factors in
Children 5) Discuss physical development in humans and indicate the various forces
that influence the growth and development.
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6) What is the meaning of development? How does it differ from growth?
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7) Discuss how the concept of development emerged.
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8) Delineate the concept of life span development.
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1.3 FEATURES OF LIFE SPAN DEVELOPMENT

Development is a complex phenomenon Baltesetal (1999) identified four key
features of life span development. These features are multidimensionality,
plasticity, historical context and multiple causation.
1) Multidimensionality: Development involves both growth and decline as
people grow in one area they may slow in another and at different rates. For
e.g.: People’s vocabulary ability tends to increase throughout life but reaction
time tends to slow down with ages. Many predictable behaviour changes
occur through maturation as a result of growth of central nervous system as
long as the needed environment is present.
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2) Plasticity: One’s capacity is not predetermined. Many skills can be learned Concept of Lifespan
Development
or improved with practice even in later life. For example people can learn
ways to remember information to deal with decline in memory ability with
age. However, there is a limit for the potential improvement which is set by
heredity.

3) Historical context: Each of us develops within a particular set of

circumstances determined by the historical time in which we are born and
the culture in which we grow up. Example, Economic problems due to
depression in 1930’s, competition was less. As economy expanded
advancement was rapid, more carriers opened when these individuals were
in the twenties. Now in late 1990’s conditions are different competition is
great opportunities limited and prospects for advancement lower.

4) Multiple causation: Development results from biological, psychological,

socio-cultural and life cycle forces. For e.g: Even two children growing up
in the same family have different experiences if one has a developmental
disability and the other does not.

The relative impact of these factors on the lifespan development vary. The
age related biological factors are most important in childhood and old age.
The age related abilities and behaviour develop naturally with advancing
age, e.g. Motor skills like skating, cognitive skills like grouping of objects
into categories and social behaviours like the proper way to behaviour in
school.

5) History related events: These events are more important in early adulthood
and have a maximum effect because at that time the individual is more
affected by his / her social interaction with others. For e.g: War, economic
recession, changes in the roles of males and females etc. Even the life
experiences of people born in the same year (cohort) are similar and these
can have lifelong effects upon the individual.

Behaviour related to unique life events refer to the events that are experienced by
the individual and are not related to age or social conditions. Example; death of
the parent, moving to a new city etc. In old age the unique life events are most
influential, but the importance of age related factors increases. All these factors
combine to affect an individual’s development throughout life.
Self Assessment Questions
1) What are the features of life span development?
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Developmental Factors in
Children 2) Discuss critically each of these features.
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1.4 STAGES IN LIFE SPAN DEVELOMENT

Another important aspect used by developmental psychologists is stages of
development. As the individual grows many behaviours occur in a certain order
and in certain groupings. Each of these groupings of behaviour is called a stage
of development. The skills learned during one stage are the necessary building
blocks for the new skills that define the next stage.
For example the behaviour also remains stable for a time after a new stage is
reached until behaviour indicating a new stage is seen. Our life span is divided
into eight major stages or periods. These are:
Stages of development Major developments
1) Prenatal stages (conception to birth) • Formation (basic body structure
and organs)
• Physical growth is most rapid of
all life span stages
• Vulnerability to environmental
influences is great
2) Infancy and babyhood(Birth to age 3) • New born is dependent ,
incompetent
• All senses operate at birth
• Physical growth and development
of motor skills are rapid
• Ability to learn and remember
• Is present in early weeks of life
• Attachment to parents and others
develop at the end of first year
• Self awareness develops in the
second year
• Comprehension and speech
develop rapidly
• Interest in other children increases
3) Early childhood (3 years to 6 years) • Family still focus of life but other
children become more important
• Gross and fine motor skills
improve
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 Concept of Lifespan
• Ply, imagination become more Development
elabourate
• Cognitive immaturity
• Behaviour is egocentric
• Independence, self control and
self care increases
4) Late childhood ((6 years to 12 years) • Physical growth slows
• Peers become important
• Concrete logical thinking
develops
• Egocentricism diminishes
• Memory and language skills
increase
• Cognitive ability improves
• Athletic skills improve
• Self concept develops
5) Adolescence (12 years to 20 years) • Physical changes are rapid and
profound
• Reproductive maturity is attained
• Search for identity becomes
central
• Abstract thinking develops
• Adolescent geocentricism persis
in some behaviours
• Peers help to develop and test self
concept
• Good relationships with parents
6) Early adulthood (20 years to 40 years) • Most people marry and become
parents
• Physical health at the peak
• Career choices are made
Intellectual abilities become
complex
• Sense of identity continues to
develop
7) Middle adulthood (40 years to 60 years) • Search for meaning in life assumes
importance
• Menopause in women
• Problems solving skills and
wisdom are high
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Developmental Factors in
Children • Caring of children and elderly
parents may cause stress.
• Empty nest syndrome due to
children leaving the home
• Midlife crisis . Career success at
the peak. Burnout occurs
8) Late adulthood (60 years and above) • Health and physical ability
declien
• Intelligence and memory
deteriorates
• Slowing down of reaction time
• Retirement creates more leisure
time but reduces income in life.
• Need to find purpose in life to
face the impending death.
Human development is divided into two major phases: Early phase and Later
phase. The early phase constitutes prenatal stage, childhood and adolescence
and is characterised by rapid age related increases in physical size and abilities.
These changes also occur in the late phase (early, middle and late adulthood) but
more slowly. People’s abilities continue to develop as they adapt to the
environment.

Self Assessment Questions

Fill in the blanks
1) Development is ........................................ process
2) Development is affected by ...............,................,.................changes.
3) Human development characterised by multi dimensionality and plasticity
is fundamental to the ........................................perspective.
4) When certain groups of behaviour occurs in the same order and in certain
groupings they form .................................... .

1.5 RESEARCH METHODS FOR THE STUDY OF

LIFE SPAN DEVELOPMENT
Since development is a continuous process that occurs over a life time, special
research techniques are employed to study it. These are: 1) Longitudinal method,
2) Cross sectional method, 3) Sequential method and 4) Time lag method.
1) Longitudinal Method: This method is used to study developmental changes
in the same individual or group, over a period of time. The same individual
is tested at different ages. This method describes age changes. This method
is sensitive to individual patterns of change. It avoids cohort effects.
The method also has some disadvantages such as the following:
1) it is time consuming and expensive.
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 2) It is expensive to keep up with a large sample for a long period. Concept of Lifespan
Development
3) Another problem is that of constancy of the sample over the course of
research and the difficulty to maintain contact with the sample for
several years in a highly mobile society.
4) Some subjects may loose interest and may not continue.
5) These dropouts may be different from their peers and this fact also
may distort the outcome.
6) Another short coming is that the results can be affected by repeated
testing.
7) Due to practice effect people tend to do better in later tests.
Example: Case study of a juvenile delinquent.
2) Cross- Sectional Method: This method studies the developmental changes
by testing individuals of different ages at the same time only once. This
method describes age differences. This helps to get the norms or standards
of typical pattern of development for different ages. This method is faster
and cheaper than the longitudinal method. It does not loose subjects who
dropout of the study since the subjects are tested only once.
The major drawback of this method is that it is affected by cohort effects
meaning that differences among age groups could result from environmental
conditions as well as developmental processes.

Example: Studying sociability or aggressive behaviour of 7 years old.

3) Sequential Method: This is a more complex method designed to overcome

the drawback of longitudinal method and cross-sectional method. This
method combines the best features of both the longitudinal and cross-
sectional methods. People in a cross-sectional sample are tested more than
once and the results are analysed to determine the differences that show up
overtime for the different groups of subjects. This method gives a more
realistic assessment. This method can isolate cohort effects, where age related
changes are due to dropouts or some other cause.

4) Time Lag Method: The concept of this method is to study the development
of individuals of different age groups in different years to determine the
effect of historical events on behaviour. This method is rarely used in
Developmental Psychology, because it takes a long time and large numbers
of subjects are required and have to be of the same age at the time of testing.

Self Assessment Questions

Fill in the blanks

1) The ..................................... method is used when the personality

development is traced from childhood to adulthood.

2) When we want to study the social ability of seven year olds the method
used is ....................................................................................

3) .............................. is the method used to determine cohort the effects.

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Developmental Factors in
Children 1.6 LET US SUM UP
In this unit we have discussed the following points:

The concept of development as a progressive series of qualitative and quantative

changes that occur in an orderly coherent way leading the individual towards
maturity.

Development as a continuous life long process.

The biopsychosocial frame work of development which assumes that the four
interactive forces biological psychological socio-cultural and life cycle forces
combine to shape development.

The recent emergence of concept of life span development and life span studies.

The key features of life span perspective viz, multidimensionality, plasticity,

historical context and multiple causation.

The various stages in the Lifespan of the individual like prenatal stage, infancy,
childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle age and old age which undergo
changes in physical, mental and personality that are related to the development
of various skills and abilities and behaviour in general.

Special research techniques employed for the study of development such as

longitudinal, cross-sectional and sequential and time lag methods have been
discussed.

1.7 UNIT END QUESTIONS

1) What is Development? Explain the factors that shape development?
2) What are the key features of Lifespan development?
3) Mention the various developmental stages in the Lifespan of an individual.
4) What research methods are used to study Lifespan development?

1.8 GLOSSARY
Coherent : Each change is dependent on what occurred
before it and inturn, affects what will occur
after.
Cohort : People born in the same year.
Cross sectional method : A method used to study lifespan
development in which individuals of
different ages are studied at the same time.
History related events : Events that occurred at a particular historical
(past) time.
Longitudinal method : Where the development of the same
individual is studied over a long period of
time.
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Stage : When certain groups of behaviour occur in Concept of Lifespan
Development
a certain order and in certain groupings they
constitute stage.
Time lag method : Time lag method is to study development of
different age groups in different years to
determine the effects of historical events on
the behaviour.

1.9 SUGGESTED READINGS AND REFERENCES

Kail, R and Cavanaugh.J (2003) Human Development: A Life Span View:
Thomson & Wadsworth, U.S.A

Smith.E, Sarason.G and Sarason.R (1992) Psychology the Frontiers Of

Behaviour’ Harper & Row, New York.

References
Baltes, P.B.Linderberge, U & Staudinger, U (1998) Life Span Theory In
Developmental Psychology In R M.Lerner, Ed. Handbook of Child Psychology
Vol.1. Theoretical Models of Human Development, Wiley, New York.

Riley,M.W (1979) Aging from Birth to Death: Interdisciplinary Perspectives.

West view press, NY

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