Life Span Perspective Paper
Life Span Perspective Paper
Mihaela Ciobanu-Osborne
PSY/375
12/09/11
Instructor: Dr. Lisa Holbert
Life Span Perspective Paper
In order to get a good perspective of the life span of a human being, a person first needs to understand changes that take place. The life span perspective is mostly about knowing the different stages in life and when they occur. These changes should be viewed as the outcome of culture and the specific situations that are in play at the time of the change. There are several traits that describe what life span perspective is in the human development process. First, life span perspective is an ongoing process that is not controlled by any one age period. Second, the life span perspective consists of three different domains. The three domains are physical, cognitive, and social. The three domains illustrate smooth strokes not rigid edges of the life span perspective. The three domains are used to organize the research of human development. The physical domain of life span perspective looks at the psychological changes that take place over a lifetime. These changes include, but are not limited to, puberty, menopause, and bone loss. The cognitive domain of life span perspective is researched the mental changes that occur throughout an individual’s lifetime. These changes include thinking, problem solving, and memory. The cognitive domain has to do with many things starting with how children learn to read to memory loss that comes with old age. The social domain of life span perspective analyzes cultural and environmental development throughout an individual’s life. Third, some aspects of life span perspective increase while other aspects seem to decrease (Stantrock, 2003). This particular perspective is called plastic. Finally, life span perspective is contextual. This means that the person consistently responds to and acts on context that includes several different context. These contexts include an individual’s biological
Mihaela Ciobanu-Osborne
PSY/375
12/09/11
Instructor: Dr. Lisa Holbert
Life Span Perspective Paper
In order to get a good perspective of the life span of a human being, a person first needs to understand changes that take place. The life span perspective is mostly about knowing the different stages in life and when they occur. These changes should be viewed as the outcome of culture and the specific situations that are in play at the time of the change. There are several traits that describe what life span perspective is in the human development process. First, life span perspective is an ongoing process that is not controlled by any one age period. Second, the life span perspective consists of three different domains. The three domains are physical, cognitive, and social. The three domains illustrate smooth strokes not rigid edges of the life span perspective. The three domains are used to organize the research of human development. The physical domain of life span perspective looks at the psychological changes that take place over a lifetime. These changes include, but are not limited to, puberty, menopause, and bone loss. The cognitive domain of life span perspective is researched the mental changes that occur throughout an individual’s lifetime. These changes include thinking, problem solving, and memory. The cognitive domain has to do with many things starting with how children learn to read to memory loss that comes with old age. The social domain of life span perspective analyzes cultural and environmental development throughout an individual’s life. Third, some aspects of life span perspective increase while other aspects seem to decrease (Stantrock, 2003). This particular perspective is called plastic. Finally, life span perspective is contextual. This means that the person consistently responds to and acts on context that includes several different context. These contexts include an individual’s biological
References: Berger, K. (2008). The Developing Person Through the Life Span (7th ed.). New York: Worth Publishers. Stantrock, J. (2003). Life Span Psychology: Theory and Application to Intellectual Functioning. Annual Review of Psychology, 50(1), 471.