Theories of Lifespan Development in Psychology Essay

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Lifespan development is one of the major research areas in the field of psychology. Theories about lifespan development vary considerably, with some focusing almost exclusively on biological features of development and others purely on the psychological or social dimensions of development. As Staudinger & Lindenberger (2003) point out, "the description, explanation, and enhancement of development in individuals and groups of individuals are seen as important goals of scientific inquiry in most of the social, behavioral, and life sciences," (p. 1). Lifespan development includes issues such as the evolution of sensory-motor skills from birth to adulthood; the evolution of the sexual responses in the human system, and the evolution of moral reasoning. The primary objective of lifespan development research is to discover patterns in the ways individual human beings grow on different dimensions such as physiological changes, neurobiological development, emotional maturation, or social skills development.

An interesting sub-field of developmental psychology is the conceptualization of normative development itself, in research such as that "beliefs about normative cognitive and social aspects of life span development emerge in late middle childhood, solidify into culturally shared scripts by mid-adolescence, and remain subject to further change into old age," (Riediger, Voelkle, Schaefer & Lindenberger, 2014, p. 503). The ways people think about "normal" lifespan development varies from culture to culture and person to person, indicating for example the appropriate ages for important life transitions such as marriage and career development.

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Therefore, lifespan development illustrates the commonalities between psychology, sociology, and other social sciences.

Many lifespan development theories focus on "stages" or phases of development, and some also suggest that progression through the stages is linear. For example, Erikson and Freud each proposed a linear stage-based model of lifespan development. Many lifespan development theories spend a greater portion of time exploring the issues surrounding early childhood development such as the evolution of sensory and motor skills or the acquisition of language. Other theories might take a broader vantage point of lifespan development to critically inquire about late adulthood and end of life issues. Lifespan development is tacitly linked with aging, and often the biological age becomes almost synonymous with the stage of development. For instance, both Freud and Erikson present their theories of lifespan development in terms of age-based stages. Freud suggested that, for example, oral fixations can develop in infancy until 18 months of age. This is the same age-based developmental stage that Erikson associated with the development of feelings of trust for other people. The notion of lifespan development hinges on smooth progression through these stages,….....

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