LIFE SPAN PERSPECTIVE

Life Span Perspective

Life Span Perspective

Introduction

The questions just listed are not merely of scientific interest. Each has applied, or practical, importance as well. In fact, scientific curiosity is just one factor that led human development to become the exciting field of study it is today. Research about development has also been stimulated by social pressures to improve people's lives. For example, the beginning of public education in the early twentieth century led to a demand for knowledge about what and how to teach children of different ages. The interest of the medical profession in improving people's health required an understanding of physical development, nutrition, and disease. The social service profession's desire to treat emotional problems and to help people adjust to major life events, such as divorce, job loss, war, natural disasters, or the death of loved ones, required information about personality and social development. And parents have continually sought expert advice about child-rearing practices and experiences that would foster happy and successful lives for their children.

Discussion and Analysis

Our large storehouse of information about human development is interdisciplinary. It grew through the combined efforts of people from many fields of study. Because of the need for solutions to everyday problems at all ages, researchers from psychology, sociology, anthropology, biology, and neuroscience have joined forces in research with professionals from education, family studies, medicine, public health, and social service, to name just a few. Together, they have created the field as it exists today—a body of knowledge that is not just scientifically important but also relevant and useful.

Basic Issues

Research on human development is a relatively recent endeavor. Studies of children did not begin until the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Investigations into adult development, aging, and change over the life course emerged only in the 1960s and 1970s (Pascual, 1990). But speculations about how people grow and change have existed for centuries. As they combined with research, they inspired the construction of theories of development. A theory is an orderly, integrated set of statements that describes, explains, and predicts behavior. For example, a good theory of infant- caregiver attachment would (1) describe the behaviors of babies of 6 to 8 months of age as they seek the affection and comfort of a familiar adult, (2) explain how and why infants develop this strong desire to bond with a caregiver, and (3) predict the consequences of this emotional bond for relationships throughout life. Theories are vital tools for two reasons. First, they provide organizing frameworks for our observations of people. In other words, they guide and give meaning to what we see. Second, theories that are verified by research provide a sound basis for practical action.

Once a theory helps us understand development, we are in a much better position to know how to improve the welfare and treatment of children and adults. As we will see, theories are influenced by the cultural values and belief systems of their times. But theories differ in one important way from ...