Life-span development chap. notes

I. Life-Span Perspective A. Historical - view of children and child development has changed throughout history 1. Aries used samples of art to conclude life development consisted of only two phases: * Infancy and adulthood * Results biased toward only studying European Aristocrats 2. Egyptians, Grecians and Romans held rich conceptions of children's development 3. Three Philosophical Views * Original Sin (Middle Ages) - children are inherently evil and societal constraints and salvation are necessary for children to become mature adults * …

…for development? B. Continuity and Discontinuity 1. Continuity - gradual cumulative change from conceptive onward 2. Discontinuity - distinct stages and qualitative changes C. Stability and Change 1. Stability - older version of his or her younger self 2. Change - individual becomes different with age 3. Dialectical model - emphasizes continual change resulting from an individual's action and reaction to social and historical conditions 4. Extent to which experiences early or later in life play a prominent role in development