Module 1 - Lifespan Develpment

• Developmental psychology


  The scientific study of changes that occur in human beings throughout their lives
• Characteristics of human development


  • Development is multidimensional
  • Development is lifelong, and change is apparent across the lifespan
  • Development is multidirectional
  • Development is multidisciplinary
  • Development is multicontextual
• General domains/dimensions of development


  • Physical
  • Cognitive
  • Psychosocial - refers to developmental changes in emotions & psychological concerns, & social relationships
• Stage theories


  • Developmental change often occurs in distinct stages
  • Stages are qualitatively different from each other
  • Stages are set in a universal sequence
• Freud's psychosexual stages of development


  1. Oral (0-2 age)

  2. Anal (2-3 age)

  3. Phallic (3-7 age)

  4. Latency (7-11 age)

  5. Genital (11-Adult age)
• Piaget's stages of cognitive development


  1. Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to 2 age)

  2. Preoperational Stage (2 to 7 age)

  3. Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 11 age)

  4. Formal Operational Stage (12 and above age)
• Kohlberg's theory of moral development


  1. Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment

  2. Stage 2: Self-Interest

  3. Stage 3: Interpersonal accord and conformity

  4. Stage 4: Authority and Maintaining Social Order

  5. Stage 5: Social Contract

  6. Stage 6: Ethical Principles
• Erik Erikson


  • Father of Developmental Psychology
  • Encompassing the entire lifespan in his theory
  • Psychosocial theory forms a foundation for much of discussion of psychosocial development
• Erikson's eight ages of man

  1. Oral Sensory (Infancy) 0-1 age

  2. Muscular Anal (Early Childhood) 1-3 age

  3. Locomotor Genital (Play age) 3-6 age

  4. Latency (School Age) 7-11 age

  5. Puberty and Adolescence (Adolescence) 12-18 age

  6. Young Adulthood (Early Adulthood) 19-29 age

  7. Middle Age (Adulthood) 30-64 Age

  8. Maturity (Old Age) 65 age onward
• Views of development


  • Discontinuous Development - Stage Theories
  • Continuous Development - Vygotsky, & Information Theorist
• Human development is multidirectional
• Human development is multidisciplinary
• Human development is multicontextual
• Different contexts that affect development


  • The Cohort Effect
  • Socioeconomic Status
  • Culture
• Periods of development


  • Prenatal
  • Infancy and Toddlerhood (0-2 age)
  • Early Childhood (3-5 age)
  • Middle Childhood (6-11 age)
  • Adolescence (12 – 19 age)
  • Early Adulthood (20-40 age)
  • Middle Adulthood (40-65 age)
  • Late Adulthood (Beyond age 65)
• Developmental psychology examines change and development across a broad range of topics and context, including physical development, cognitive development, social and emotional development, and self-concept and identity formation
• Lifespan development refers to changes throughout an individual's lifetime.
• Psychologists use theories as frameworks to understand how individuals develop throughout their lives.
• Developmental psychology is concerned with how people change over time, from conception through old age.
• Development is the process by which an individual changes over time, including physical growth, cognitive development, socialization, personality formation, and emotional maturation.
• Physical development includes growth, maturation, and adaptation to environmental demands.
• Emotional development encompasses feelings, moods, and attitudes towards oneself and others.
• Developmental psychology is interdisciplinary, drawing upon insights from fields like biology, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, and neuroscience.
• Age is not always a good indicator of development because some children may be more advanced than others at the same chronological age.
• Cognitive development involves learning about the world around us and developing mental abilities such as perception, memory, language, problem solving, decision making, and creativity.
• Moral development concerns how we develop moral reasoning and principles, often influenced by cultural norms and societal expectations.
• Personality development describes the unique characteristics that make up who we are as individuals, including traits, values, beliefs, goals, and behaviors.