Developmental Psychology Which Is Concerned with Various Developmental Changes Occurring in an Individual from Conception Till Death
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1 1 Topic – 1 INTRODUCTION – BEGINNINGS Unit Structure 1.0 Objective 1.1 Introduction 1.2 New Conceptions: An Orientation to life span development 1.3 Key Issues and Questions: Nature and nurture of lifespan development. 1.4 Theoretical perspective on lifespan development 1.5 Research Methods 1.6 Let's sum up 1.7 Questions References 1.0 OBJECTIVES After studying this unit you should: a) Understand what is life span development and the different approaches to it. b) Know how culture, ethnicity and race influence development. c) Comprehend the key issues and questions, the nature and nurture influences on development. d) Become aware of the various theoretical perspectives on life span development. e) Know the various research methods and related areas in the study of life span development. 1.1 INTORDUCTION In this section we would study how the world‘s first test-tube baby was born and the various aspects of life span development. We would also discuss the field of life span development, its scope, approaches, etc. 1.1.1 New Conception: The first test tube baby born in the world was called as Louise Brown and it was born as a result of ―In Vitro Fertilization 2 (IVF) method. In this method fertilization of a mother‘s egg by a father‘s sperm takes place outside the mother‘s body. The case of Louise Brown is not an isolated one. More than 1.5 million babies have been born till date, using IVF procedure, which has become routine. Though Louise Brown‘s conception was novel, but her development has followed a predictable pattern. Many issues influence human development ranging from cloning to poverty to prevention of AIDS. 1.1.2 Issues Central to Life Span Development: Many issues are central to life span development which includes: How does one develop physically? How does an individual‘s understanding of the world changes through different periods of one‘s life. How our personality and social relationship develop and change over a period of time. Development psychologists have attempted to understand how our biological development is shaped by our inheritance (nature) and environment (nurture). 1.2 NEW CONCEPTIONS: AN ORIENTAION TO LIFE SPAN DEVELOPMENT 1.2.1 What is Life Span Development? Life span development is an important field of Developmental Psychology which is concerned with various developmental changes occurring in an individual from conception till death. It is a diversified and a growing field concerned with application. It studies various aspects of human development including physical, intellectual and social. Life span development is a field of study that takes a scientific approach and examines patterns of growth, change and stability in behaviour that occur throughout the lifespan. Life span development focuses on human development. It seeks to understand universal principles of development. To know how cultural, racial and ethnic differences affect development. 3 To understand the traits and characteristics that differentiates one person from another. It should be remembered that human development is a continuous process which lasts throughout one‘s life. Developmental Psychologists are not only interested in changes that take place as we develop, but they are also interested in stability. They are interested in knowing when and how human behaviour reveals consistency and continuity with prior behaviour. 1.2.2 Scope of Life Span Development: Life span development covers several diverse areas. Some topical areas in lifespan development are as follows: a) Physical Development: Physical development includes how our brain, nervous system, muscles and sense organs influence our development. Our biological needs such as the need for food, hunger, drink, sleep, etc., influence and shape our behaviour. It also studies how malnutrition influence human growth, how one‘s physical performance declines as one ages, etc. b) Cognitive Development: It studies how growth and changes influence intellectual capabilities. Cognitive developmentalists examine how learning, memory, problem solving and intelligence influence our development. They also study how problem solving and intelligence influence our development. They also study how problem –solving skills change over the course of one‘s life. c) Personality and social development: Personality development is the study of stability and change in the characteristics that differentiate one person from another over the life span. Social development is concerned with the ways in which individuals interactions and relationships with others grow, change and remain stable over the course of life. Developmental psychologists are interested in personality development and are interested in studying stable, enduring personality traits throughout the life span. Social developmental psychologists are interested in examining how racism or poverty or divorce influences our development. 1.2.3 Age Ranges and Individual Differences with respect to Development: Our life span is divided into following broad age ranges. 1) The Prenatal Period (from conception to birth) 2) Infancy and Toddlerhood (birth to three years) 4 3) The Preschool Period (3 to 6 years) 4) Middle Childhood (6 to 12 years) 5) Adolescence (12 to 20 years) 6) Young Adulthood (20 to 40 years) 7) Middle Adulthood (40 to 65 years) 8) Late Adulthood (65 to Death) 1.2.4 Social Constructions: These above mentioned periods or age ranges are social constructions. A social construction is a shared notion of reality that is widely accepted but is a function of society and culture at a given time. Each of these periods is arbitrarily and culturally derived. For e.g., the concept of childhood as a special period did not exist during the 17th century. During this period, children were seen simply as miniature adults. Similarly, the adulthood period which is considered to have begun from 20 years varies from culture to culture. In some cultures, adulthood starts much earlier than what is stated above. There are also substantial differences in the timing of events in each people‘s lives. Individuals mature at different rates and reach developmental milestones at different points. Even environment plays a significant role. For example, the typical age of marriage varies from one culture to another, depending upon the functions that marriage plays. 1.2.5 Link between Topics and Ages: Each of the broad areas of life span, such as physical, cognitive, social and personality development plays an important role throughout the life span. Developmental experts generally emphasize on one area at a given period of time such as: Physical development during prenatal period or adolescence, etc. Social development during preschool years. Social relationships in late adulthood, etc. 1.2.6 Influence of Culture, Ethnicity, Race and Development: Many variables influence one‘s development. One such variable is culture. Different cultures and subcultures have their own views of appropriate and inappropriate child rearing, depending upon the goals for children that they have. We can achieve a better understanding of human development if we take into consideration: a) Broad culture factors such as orientation toward individualism or collectivism. 5 b) Gender differences. c) Differences in racial and socio economic levels. When we take the above factors into consideration, not only can we achieve a better understanding of human development but we can also make precise applications for improving our social conditions. At this stage, let us understand the difference between race and ethnic group. Race: It is a biological concept, which refers to classification based on physical and structural characteristics of species. Unfortunately, the term race has acquired a negative connotation, ranging in its meaning from skin color to religion to culture. It is also imprecise as a concept. It should also be remembered that different races are not genetically distinct. About 99.9 % of human‘s genetic make up is identical in all humans. This makes the issue of race insignificant. Ethnic Group and Ethnicity: These are broader terms referring to cultural background, nationality, religion and language. An ethnic group is a group of human individuals who share a common, unique self-identity. Some words used to refer to a group as a separate ethnic group are: tribe, clan, nation, lineage, family, society, community and heritage. An ethnic group or ethnicity is a population of human beings whose members identify with each other, either on the basis of a presumed common genealogy or ancestry, or recognition by others as a distinct group, or by common cultural, linguistic, religious, or territorial traits. Understanding Human Diversity: In order to understand human developments one need to take into consideration the issue of human diversity. Development psychologists have acquired greater understanding about the universal principles of development and have been able to distinguish it from culturally determined differences by scientifically assessing and studying similarities and differences among various ethnic, cultural and racial groups. 1.2.7 Cohort Influences on Development: Cohort refers to a group of people born at around the same time in the same place. Major social events such as wars, economic upturns and depressions, famines, epidemic, etc., have similar influences on members of a particular cohort. With respect to cohort influences or effects three types of influences are worth nothing. i) History-graded influences ii) Age graded influences 6 iii) Socio cultural-graded influences. We would discuss each of this briefly. History-graded Influences: Biological and environmental influences associated with a particular historical moment. For example people in Mumbai who witnessed 26/7 floods or those in New York who experienced 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center experienced biological and environmental challenges due to the attack. Age-graded Influences: These are biological and external influences that are similar in a particular age, group, regardless of when or where they are raised. For example, biological events such as puberty and menopause are universal events that occur at about the same time in all societies.