Lifespan development belongs to the greater field of human development. From a high-level view, human development is a discipline that engages the optimizing of several factors of human life and fields of study to help people live their best lives. Show
A human development professional is likely to study a mix of sociology, biology, psychology, behavior, emotion, genealogy, education, religion, and more. Generally speaking, any field that contributes to an understanding of the multifaceted and complex nature of humanity is a field studied by lifespan development professionals. Let’s take a closer look at what lifespan development is, what professionals glean from this knowledge, and more. What is Lifespan Development?As described by the American Psychological Association, human lifespan development studies how humans learn, mature, and adapt from infancy to adulthood to elderly phases of life. Some areas of focus include physical, cognitive, social, intellectual, perceptual, personality, and emotional growth. What are the benefits of pursuing this field?Some might wonder what the benefit is of pursuing a field that is tangled up with so many different and complex areas of studies. Lifespan development offers people a way to make discoveries and changes to their lives as they pertain to these discoveries. Here are some benefits you may experience as a result of studying lifespan and human development: A better understanding of othersAmong their five reasons to study human development, VeryWellMind outlines one as a better understanding of your friends, family, and those around you. Lifespan development offers an extension of these benefits by granting professionals better insights into how and why people become who they are and whom they become over time. The possibility for an improved quality of lifeFollowing the maturation and development of people over time allows professionals to assess how to best optimize their lives. The same article by VeryWellMind states, “while every person is a little bit different, human development tends to follow a remarkably predictable pattern. Once you’ve studied development, you’ll know what’s typical at certain ages.” Studying human development can help illuminate atypical patterns in people at any stage in life and help spot developmental challenges that could be inhibiting one’s quality of life and seek out solutions. Self-discoveryIn the midst of studying lifespan development, it’s not unlikely to find applications to your personal life. With this knowledge, you might find yourself learning more about who you are, reflecting on your childhood, adulthood, and looking toward what the future might hold too. Lifespan development is a field that encompasses the complexities of human beings, their growth, and personhood. It offers a way to study a vast array of subjects in one field. If you find yourself interested in multiple fields but can’t seem to settle on just one option, lifespan and human development offer a way in which you don’t have to choose. Human Development programsOur Human Development programs introduce the sociological, emotional, biological, and psychological factors that contribute to an individual’s development. See below for the entire list of programs available at Pacific Oaks:
Learn more about Pacific Oaks CollegeInterested in advancing your career in human development? Learn more about beginning your education in human development at Pacific Oaks! Pacific Oaks is proud to be a nonprofit and regionally accredited higher education institute that offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology, early childhood education, marriage and family therapy, and more. Request more info today by completing the required information below. Figure 1. The developmental domain of psychology includes topics on learning and conditioning as well as lifespan development. Developmental psychology is the scientific study of development across a lifespan. Developmental psychologists are interested in processes related to physical maturation. However, their focus is not limited to the physical changes associated with aging, as they also focus on changes in cognitive skills, moral reasoning, social behavior, and other psychological attributes. Early developmental psychologists focused primarily on changes that occurred through reaching adulthood, providing enormous insight into the differences in physical, cognitive, and social capacities that exist between very young children and adults. For instance, research by Jean Piaget demonstrated that very young children do not demonstrate object permanence. Object permanence refers to the understanding that physical things continue to exist, even if they are hidden from us.  Figure 2. Piaget is best known for his stage theory of cognitive development. If you were to show an adult a toy, and then hide it behind a curtain, the adult knows that the toy still exists. However, very young infants act as if a hidden object no longer exists. The age at which object permanence is achieved is somewhat controversial (Munakata, McClelland, Johnson, and Siegler, 1997). Behavioral PsychologyAnother critical field of study under the development domain is that of learning and behaviorism, which you read about already. The primary developments in learning and conditioning came from the work of Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, Edward Lee Thorndike, and B. F. Skinner. Contemporary behaviorists apply learning techniques in the form of behavior modification for a variety of mental problems. Learning is seen as behavior change molded by experience; it is accomplished largely through either classical or operant conditioning. What is the study of lifespan psychology?Life-span psychology aims to identify and illuminate normal developmental changes in all areas of psychological functioning, including but not limited to personality, from birth until death.
What is lifespan development theory psychology?Life-span developmental theory concerns. the study of individual development, or ontogenesis, from conception to death. A key assumption of this theory is that develop- ment does not cease when adulthood is reached (Baltes, Lindenberger, & Staudinger, 1998, p. 1029)1.
Is lifespan development developmental psychology?Developmental Psychology, also known as Human Development or Lifespan Development, is the scientific study of ways in which people change, as well as stay the same, from conception to death. You will no doubt discover in the course of studying that the field examines change across a broad range of topics.
What is developmental psychology also called?developmental psychology, also called Life-span Psychology, the branch of psychology concerned with the changes in cognitive, motivational, psychophysiological, and social functioning that occur throughout the human life span.
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