This requires the sacrificing of other functions, a process known as selective optimization with compensation. And the community is influenced by macrosystems, which are cultural elements such as global economic conditions, war, technological trends, values, philosophies, and a society’s responses to the global community. Culture is learned from parents, schools, churches, media, friends, and others throughout a lifetime. Some developmental theories focus on the formation of a particular quality, such as Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. It would be natural to wonder which of the perspectives provides the most accurate account of human development, but clearly, each perspective is based on its own premises and focuses on different aspects of development.

The study of development traditionally focused almost exclusively on the changes occurring from conception to adolescence and the gradual decline in old age; it was believed that the five or six decades after adolescence yielded little to no developmental change at all. Each chapter focuses on a domain of development (such as physical growth, cognition, or personality) and includes information on four life Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood. In Baltes’ theory, the paradigm of contextualism refers to the idea that three systems of biological and environmental influences work together to influence development.The input of those people is modified by the cognitive and biological state of the individual as well. Some cohort labels popularized in the media for generations in the United States include Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z. One experiment designed by Röder and colleagues (1999) compared the auditory localization skills of people who are blind with people who are sighted by having participants locate sounds presented either centrally or peripherally (lateral) to them. Interactions with primary caregivers (and others) undergo changes influenced by possible separation anxiety and the development of attachment styles. But isn’t it possible that development during one period affects development in other periods and that humans can grow and change across adulthood too?

Each perspective encompasses one or more theories—the broad, organized explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest. Learning that occurs when a voluntary response is strengthened or weakened by its association with positive or negative consequences.

The list of the periods of development reflects unique aspects of the various stages of childhood and adulthood that will be explored in this book, including physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes. Psychologist Erik Erikson suggests that we struggle with issues of trust, independence, and intimacy at various points in our lives (we will explore this thoroughly throughout the course. Many lifespan developmentalists use an eclectic approach, drawing on several perspectives at the same time because the same developmental phenomenon can be looked at from a number of perspectives.

Members of a cohort have experienced the same historical events and cultural climates which have an impact on the values, priorities, and goals that may guide their lives. Controversy surrounds euthanasia (helping a person fulfill their wish to die)—active and passive types, as well as physician-assisted suicide, and legality varies within the United States. With the lifespan developmental perspective, we will gain a more comprehensive view of the individual within the context of their own developmental journey and within social, cultural, and historical contexts. Think about the lifespan and make a list of what you would consider the basic periods of development. This relation between developmental gains and losses occurs in a direction to selectively optimize particular capacities.As you may have already noticed, physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development are often interrelated, as with the example of brain development. As individuals move through life, they are faced with many challenges, opportunities, and situations that impact their development. Another psychologist who recognized the importance of the environment on development was American psychologist, Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005), who formulated the ecological systems theory to explain how the inherent qualities of a child and their environment interact to influence how they will grow and develop. In his view, children “construct” their knowledge through processes of “assimilation,” in which they evaluate and try to understand new information, based on their existing knowledge of the world, and “accommodation,” in which they expand and modify their cognitive structures based on new experiences. Each of these systems inevitably interact with and influence each other in every aspect of the child’s life, from the most intimate level to the broadest.