Life Span Perspective: A closer look at Birth to Death Psychology Psychology 375 April 8, 2011 Life Span Perspective: A closer look at Birth to Death Psychology Are we, humans, more than the meer sum of our parts? Are we more than our experiences or genetics? Is it possible for a persons personality, abilities or even psychological composition to be affected throughout their lifespan. In this paper we will discuss the meaning and intent of Lifespan Psychology, its assets and challenges in the ever growing field of psychology. We will exam the periods of human life that are profoundly affect by the perspectives and ideas behind this science.
Therefore, the role differences we observe are more of a product of our biological inheritance than acquired through socialisation. As the evolutionary approach is a biological one, it suggests that aspects of human behaviour have been coded by our genes because they were or are adaptive. However, a debate of this approach is the nature vs. nurture approach, nature supporting the evolutionary approach being that we have evolved through survival value and its ability to increase an individual’s opportunities to pass on their genes, an example showing this was Bowlby’s theory of attachment – concerning the role of evolution is the explanation of stress as an adaptive response to environmental pressures. Animals born without such responses die quickly. Nurture, on the other hand, is a view proposed by the social approach suggesting behaviour is affected by experience and environment.
However the unreliability of the results makes the claim an ongoing discussion and an open debate. The theory of evolution, first proposed by Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) implies that all species are derived from common ancestors through natural selection (Phoenix, 2007 p.118-121). Natural selection is thought to be the main factor resulting in the diversity of species: it has been defined as a natural process, whereby only the variants best adapted to their environment develop the ability of a longer survival and pass on the best characteristics to future generations. Natural selection in species leads to 'adaptation' which is a change in behaviour as a consequence of surrounding modification. Within humans many adaptations have happened through Darwin’s theory of natural selection, one of these adaptations is called Theory of Mind.
Life span development is the field of study that examines patterns of growth, change, and stability in behavior that occur throughout the life span (Feldman, 2011). It is a scientific approach that takes into consideration a multitude of factors when studying how human beings grow and develop. Some of the basic influences on lifespan development include: history, historical events such as the Great Depression or the era of terrorism ushered in by the events of September 11th, the culture one is raised in which includes religious influences, the physical environment, socioeconomic status, the era in which a person was born as it relates to others born in the same time period, and even genetics. While researchers may choose one field to focus their studies on, ultimately it is the combination of research of all of the different disciplines that help further our understanding of lifespan development. It is generally accepted that aspects of all of them should be taken into consideration when determining factors influencing development.
Lifespan Perspective Julieta Renton PSY/375 April 01, 2013 Heather Harrison Life-span Perspective A person’s life-span is from the moment of conception through his or her death. In the field of psychology, life-span development is the various stages that an individual passes through as he or she develops. The perspective of life-span development includes understanding the changes that occur in human development. Freud and Piaget offered different theories concerning life-span development. Freud’s theory is a basis of id, ego, and superego, whereas Piaget’s theory offers an explanation of human development as being cognitive and occurring over a person’s lifetime.
LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENTS AND HEALTHCARE NEEDS RESOURCE PACK Lifespan developments are the stages of development and progress from the birth of a person to his/her death and are studied in a variety of ways. Human growth and changes throughout our lifespan are developed with effect from the following: * Physical development -This is the development of the body including the brain, muscles and senses. This includes the need for food, drink and rest. * Cognitive development - This refers to how a person perceives, thinks and gains an understanding of the world through interaction of genetic and learned factors. This includes remembering, problem solving and decision making from childhood to adulthood.
Human development studies began with Darwin and other evolutionists who shared his theories. Darwin wanted to prove his theory of evolution; he believed the only approach to this was him studying human development. (Boyd& Bee, 2006) The definition of a lifespan is the average or minimum length of time an organism, material, or object can be expected to survive or last. (American Heritage Dictionary, 2000) The definition of development based on biology is the process of an individual organism growing organically a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level. (Collins English Dictionary, 2003) Ultimately the two words conjoined define the methodical intra-individual change associated with progresses corresponding to age.
Through his work on attachment (1940-1990), he endeavoured to understand the formation and functioning of the personal relationships we create throughout the life course, with particular emphasis on those formed in childhood (Howe,1995:46). He did not support the rationale of the psychoanalytical theories of his time, which looked at human motivation in terms of drives and put forward that children’s relationship with their parents was based on the gains connected with feeding and other drive reduction strategies (Howe, 1995:50). Instead, Bowlby put forward that the formation of attachments has been heavily encoded in humans through evolution and is vital for survival and is essentially instinctive. Although, Bowlby did not believe that attachment behaviour is an inherited trait that operates in isolation from
Lamarck- Lived from 1744-1829. Remembered for the incorrect proposals to explain how evolution occurs. By comparing living species with fossil forms, he had found what appeared to be several lines of descent; each differed by age and time. His two key principles are use and disuse, which was the idea that parts of the body that are used more become stronger and larger, and inheritance of acquired characteristics, which stated that an organism could pass these modifications to its offspring. Also though that evolution happens because organisms have an innate drive to become more
caTo answer the question, can we leave our past behind, we need to look at the origin of human behaviour, ideas and feelings-are they innate or learned{from past experiences)-nature or nurture? Nature is inherited abilities and genes present at birth, and Nurture is behaviours acquired after birth from the influence of experience. Many modern theorists suggest that experience, environment and genetics all play a role in influencing our present behaviour, but they don’t all agree on the degree of these influences. This essay will then look to examine can we ever leave our past behind by firstly examing the objects relation theory put forward by Melanie Klein and then Erickson theory of life stages. It will then contrast these theories with other theories and will look to answer this question.