Lifespan Development, Global Edition

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What is meant by the word “context”? It means that we are influenced by when and where we live. Our actions, beliefs, and values are a response to the circumstances surrounding us. Sternberg describes contextual intelligence as the ability to understand what is called for in a situation (Sternberg, 1996). The key here is to understand that behaviors, motivations, emotions, and choices are all part of a bigger picture. Our concerns are such because of who we are socially, where we live, and when we live; they are part of a social climate and set of realities that surround us. Important social factors include cohort, social class, gender, race, ethnicity, and age. Let’s begin by exploring two of these: cohort and social class. The organizational structure and flow of the text are consistent throughout and what one would expect in a text within the field of human development. The material is presented in a way that clearly connects to the material presented earlier, and there are no surprise sections or sections that seem out of place, as the table of contents clearly identifies what the reader should expect to find within each chapter. However, I believe a glossary/subject/author type index presented as a last chapter would be helpful for students looking for a specific concept or citation.

In Piaget’s view, around the same time children develop object permanence, they also begin to exhibit stranger anxiety, which is a fear of unfamiliar people. Babies may demonstrate this by crying and turning away from a stranger, by clinging to a caregiver, or by attempting to reach their arms toward familiar faces such as parents. Stranger anxiety results when a child is unable to assimilate the stranger into an existing schema; therefore, she can’t predict what her experience with that stranger will be like, which results in a fear response.

Development is contextual

The organization of the book is clear with a consistent flow. The table of contents helps students understand specifically what will be covered, compared to the more general developmental stage.

Define and distinguish between the three domains of development: physical, cognitive and psychosocial are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written Early in the text, the authors use the term "gestational parent" (singular), but then talked about "their" eggs (plural). As is happening in the discussion of gender today, we hear mismatched pronouns ("they" instead of "him/her"). I suppose most textbooks will use this. ?? Otherwise, I did not detect any grammar issues in the other portions of this source that I read. I may with a more comprehensive read. ?? Format is highly organized and flows logically from one topic to the next in each developmental section. This text is organized similar to a traditional text book which can be beneficial to students who are new to OER learning materials or to those who may wish to print the PDF version for study review. For example, 2-year-old Blake learned the schema for dogs because his family has a Labrador retriever. When Blake sees other dogs in his picture books, he says, “Look mommy, dog!” Thus, he has assimilated them into his schema for dogs. One day, Blake sees a sheep for the first time and says, “Look mommy, dog!” Having a basic schema that a dog is an animal with four legs and fur, Blake thinks all furry, four-legged creatures are dogs. When Blake’s mom tells him that the animal he sees is a sheep, not a dog, Blake must accommodate his schema for dogs to include more information based on his new experiences. Blake’s schema for dog was too broad, since not all furry, four-legged creatures are dogs. He now modifies his schema for dogs and forms a new one for sheep.Extending on the premise of multidirectionality, Baltes also argued that development is influenced by the “joint expression of features of growth (gain) and decline (loss)” [1] This relation between developmental gains and losses occurs in a direction to selectively optimize particular capacities. This requires the sacrificing of other functions, a process known as selective optimization with compensation. According to the process of selective optimization, individuals prioritize particular functions above others, reducing the adaptive capacity of particulars for specialization and improved efficacy of other modalities. The text covered all areas and ideas appropriately. Although several concepts and terms were defined, inclusion of a glossary would be more informative. The text covers most areas of subjects effectively and appropriately.

Culturally relevant content is integrated throughout the text. For example, many of the examples or included videos reference development in many cultures. Erikson proposed that we are motivated by a need to achieve competence in certain areas of our lives. According to psychosocial theory, we experience eight stages of development over our lifespan, from infancy through late adulthood. At each stage there is a conflict, or task, that we need to resolve. Successful completion of each developmental task results in a sense of competence and a healthy personality. Failure to master these tasks leads to feelings of inadequacy.Integrated examples of Lives in Context illustrate how our biology, cultural, lived experiences all are embedded in multiple layers of context, including family, culture, neighborhood, community, norms, values, and historical events. This key coverage is embedded in all sections throughout the text, linking to learning objectives, related core concepts, and to clear, real-life examples. Naturalistic observations involve observing behavior in its natural context. A developmental psychologist might observe how children behave on a playground, at a daycare center, or in the child’s own home. While this research approach provides a glimpse into how children behave in their natural settings, researchers have very little control over the types and/or frequencies of displayed behavior.

The most important aspect of contextualism as a paradigm is that the three systems of influence work together to affect development. Concerning adolescent development, the age-graded influences would help to explain the similarities within a cohort, the history-graded influences would help to explain the differences between cohorts, and the nonnormative influences would explain the idiosyncrasies of each adolescent’s individual development. When all influences are considered together, it provides a broader explanation of an adolescent’s development. Other Contextual Influences on Development: Cohort, Socioeconomic Status, and Culture Continuity: Jane moves from first grade to second grade to third grade without any major difficulties or problems. She does well in each grade, learns what she needs to learn, and moves on to the next grade. On the other hand, accommodation is creating space in a body of knowledge to insert new information. A child accommodates new words such as horse and cat and understands that not all animals with four legs and a tail are dogs. New schemas are created in the child's mind to organize this information. Assimilating involves using old knowledge to understand new situations, while accommodation involves redesigning old knowledge and understandings to include new knowledge. Critical Periods in Development

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How would you answer this dilemma? Kohlberg was not interested in whether you answer yes or no to the dilemma: Instead, he was interested in the reasoning behind your answer. The content presented in this text is relevant and provides the foundational knowledge required for anyone who wishes to pursue research or a career requiring an understanding of human development and therefore it should stand the test of time. However, as with any developmental course, it is important to be aware of demographic shifts and current relevant research trends and perhaps for this text, the supplemental materials could use more recent relevant research citations for students to explore. However, this will be the case for almost all developmental texts as we move into a post-pandemic world as the field explores such effects. The book has a consistent structure, beginning with the overall themes of the course and an introduction to research methods, then following each stage of human development. After the chapter on infancy, a chapter on parenting is included. This unit feels out of place and represents a slight departure from the overall consistent structure of the text.