The Lifespan
Perspectives and Basic
Issues in Human
Development
Learning Objectives
Discuss different perspectives
01 and issues in Human Development
The Lifespan Perspectives
1 Development is a lifelong process
We do not stop growing once we reach
adulthood, we continue developing new
understandings of our environment and the
world around us. Our relationships may
flourish, while maintaining few friends.
The Lifespan Perspectives
2 Development is multidirectional
Development in one area is
simultaneous with other areas. While
children are learning to walk, their
socialization skills is also enhanced
The Lifespan Perspectives
Development always involves both gain
3
and loss
Development at every age involves both
growth and decline. For example, gaining a
capacity for logical thought as a school-aged
child may mean losing some capacity for
fanciful and imaginative thinking of a
preschooler.
The Lifespan Perspectives
4 Development is characterized by lifelong
plasticity
Plasticity refers to the capacity to
change in response to positivity or
negative experience
The Lifespan Perspectives
5 Development is shaped by its
historical/cultural context
A person’s development is affecetd by
the culture and the history of the
society he or she grew up in. (careers
students in a particular community
pursue
The Lifespan Perspectives
6 Development is multiply influence
Human development is the product of
ongoing interactions between a
changing person and his or her changing
world
The Lifespan Perspectives
Understanding development requires
7 multiple disciplines
Human development is best understood
by having knowledge of the
psychological perspectives, biological
underpinning and sociological context.
Basic Issues in Human
Development
01 Assumption About Human Nature
A. Original Sin
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
portrayed children as inherently
selfish and bad, believing that it
was society’s task to control
their selfish and aggressive
impulses and to teach them in
positive ways
01 Assumption About Human Nature
B. Inherently Good
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
(1712-1778) argued that
children were innately good,
of that they were born with
an intuitive understanding
right and wrong,
01 Assumption About Human Nature
B. Inherently Good
and that they would
develop in positive
directions as long as
society did not interfere
with their natural
tendencies.
01 Assumption About Human Nature
C. Tabula Rasa
John Locke (1632-1704) maintained that an
infant is a tabula rasa, or a blank slate
waiting to be written on by his or her own
experiences, Locke believe that children are
innately good nor bad; they could develop in
any number of directions depending on their
own experiences.
02 Nature and Nurture
Nature refers to the behavior
and characteristics manifested
because of the influence of
biological forces (heredity and
biologically-based dispositions)
02 Nature and Nurture
Nurture refers to the
influence brought about by the
exposure to the environment
(includes learning experiences,
child-rearing, societal changes
and culture).
03 Activity and Passivity
Some theorists believe that
children are curious, active
creatures who in a very real sense
orchestrate their own development
by exploring the world around them
or by shaping their own environment.
03 Activity and Passivity
Other theorists view humans as
passive beings who are largely
products of forces beyond their
control-usually environmental
influences (but possibly strong
biological forces)
04 Continuity and Discontinuity
Discontinuity theories picture
the course of development as
more like a series of steps, each
of which elevates the individual
to anew (and presumably more
advance) level of functioning.
04 Continuity and Discontinuity
Continuity theorists view
human development as a
process that occurs in small
steps, without sudden
changes.
05 Universally and Context-Specificity
The extent to which
developmental changes are
common to everyone (universal)
or different from person to
person (context specific)
