The Five Life-Span Perspectives

Chapter 1 covers the scientific method, the many different theories of psychology as well as the five life-span perspectives. Berger writes the five steps of the scientific method are curiousity (posing a question), forming a hypothesis to test, testing the hypothesis, forming a conclusion and reporting the findings (p 4). Once the conclusion has been made and evidence has been collected to either support or refute the hypothesis, replication, including peer review, can begin. In regards to the controversies with nature vs nurture, our textbook suggest that it is not which one affects human development, rather how much of each (Berger p 5). The life-span perspective is the study of development for all phases of life. “This perspective leads

to a new understanding of human development as multidirectional, multicontextual, multicultural, multidisciplinary, and plastic (Berger p 7). Multidirectional perspective focuses on the growth and decline of certain developments in life.

For example, an elderly man who retires may become more creative (Berger p 8). The “speed and timing of impairments or improvement vary” (Berger p 8). During the critical period, the development must happen at a certain time or it won’t happen at all such as the development of limbs during the embryonic period (Berger p 8). The sensitive period is more relaxed and the development is most likely to happen (or is easier), but can still happen at a later time (Berger p 8). An example of development that has a sensitive period and not a critical one is the learning of language; more specifically, speech. Mulitcontextual perspective means the development flourishes or is hindered due to context; the physical surroundings or family configuration (Berger p 9). Historical context includes a cohort, or a group of people with a shared age (Berger p 10). Socioeconomic context simply refers to the SES, or social status. Multicultural perspective focuses on culture or the shared beliefs, norms, behaviors of a group of people (Berger p 12). The difference equal deficit error refers to the mindset that anyone unlike us, are inferior (Berger p

14). Plastic perspective means that people are molded yet maintain durability or identity; human growth is dynamic and ever-changing and predictions are not always accurate (Berger p 20). Berger covered in great detail some key people for the many aspects of psychology that were taught in Psychology 101. For psychoanalytic theory, Freud formed stages of development based on sexual pleasure centered around a particular body part (Berger p 24). Erikson’s theory used eight stages characterized by a challenging developmental crisis (Berger p 25). Behaviorism was developed by Watson who used psychology to observe and measure behavior; it was called the learning theory (Berger p 27). Classical conditioning was developed by Pavlor who was able to take a neutral stimulus and get a conditioned response by pairing the neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus that gave the desired response. Berger writes about Skinner on page 27 in our text, who used conditioning also, however, he used rewards and punishments, as well as reinforcements in what is called operant conditioning. The cognitive theory which involved thinking, attitudes, beliefs and assumptions was developed by a psychologist named Piaget (Berger p 29). Piaget describes two types of adaptation for regaining equilibrium after confusion (Berger p 30). Assimilation means letting new ideas fit into old ideas and accommodation means restructuring old ideas to include new experiences (Berger p 30). The humanism theory, developed by Maslow, involves the theory that everyone has the same basic needs and drives regardless of culture, gender, or background (Berger p 31). Also, as learned in PSY 103, Berger writes about correlation and causation. It’s important to remember that the two do not equal each other. Two instances can correlate without directly affecting each other. Sometimes causation is tough to prove. Lastly, Chapter 1 covered the ethics involved in scientific studies. It’s crucial to uphold standards in accordance with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) guidelines, as discussed in our text on page 41.
Chapter 2 focuses on the development of a person from zygote to newborn and discusses, in detail, genetic makeup, risk factors to avoid in order to grow a healthy baby and the nature vs nurture aspect of human growth.

Each gamete, both sperm and ova, has 23 pairs of chromosomes that match up creating a zygote. A man and a woman can produce more than 8 million versions of their chromosomes to create an astronomical number of offspring, each unique (Berger p 49). Small variations or repetitions, called alleles, can make a notable difference the different characteristics of a person (Berger p 49). The 23rd pair of chromosomes is significant in all zygotes because it’s the gene that determines whether a person will be male or female. The female is designated as XX, while the male is designated as Xy. “Alleles interact in a dominant-recessive pattern, in which one allele, the dominant gene, is far more influential than the other, the recessive gene” (Berger p 54). A carrier is a person who inherits a recessive gene that is not expressed in the phenotype, or the observable characteristics (Berger p 54). The prenatal development is divided into three main periods; germinal (the first two weeks), embryonic (week 3 through 8) and the fetal period (week 9 up to birth). The germinal period involves the first two weeks after conception and is characterized by rapid cell division and the beginning of cell differentiation (Berger p 57). The embryonic period includes the growth of crucial

body parts, both internal (heart, lungs, liver) and external (fingers and toes). Both of these early periods have critical periods, as discussed in chapter 1. The fetal period focuses on fetal growth, as well as the maturing of human function (Berger p 57). The age at which a fetus can survive outside of the womb is 22 weeks and is called the age of viability. After a baby is born, an assessment of their health,called the Apgar scale, is necessary to determine the baby’s vital signs. It uses a scale of 0,1 and 2 to measure color, heart rate, cry, muscle tone and breathing (Berger p 63). This scale was developed to alert doctors when a baby was in crisis. “If the five-minute Apgar is 7 or higher, all is well” (Berger p 63). A teratogen is anything that increases the risk of prenatal abnormalities such as drugs, viruses, pollutants, malnutrition, stress, and more (Berger p 73). “One crucial factor in the effect of a teratogen is timing- the age of the developing embryo or fetus when it is exposed to the teratogen” (Berger p 73). Some factors during pregnancy, including teratogens, can result in early birth causing low birth weight. Consequences of low birth weight (under 5 ½ pounds) include early death, vision and hearing impairments, cognitive impairments, and language delays (Berger p 80). Alcoholism and nearsightedness are two consequences that occur with the dynamic interaction between nature and nurture (genes, prenatal care, developmental age and culture) (Berger p 82). A baby born to a drinking mother is more prone to become an alcoholic later in life. In this example, it is clear that both nature (genes and development) and nurture (prenatal care) play a role in the determining factor of whether or not your child will grow up with a problem with alcoholism. Visual problems, such as nearsightedness, can be caused just as much by the environment as by heritability. Culture and demographic can play a huge role as well due to vitamin A deficiencies, like in Africa, or focuses on things in close range, such as video games, books and televisions, in the United States. “Knowing genetic risks helps parents avoid triggers for problems.” (Berger p 85).