Many academic disciplines contribute to the study of development and this type is offered in some schools as psychology (particularly as developmental psychology); in other schools, it is taught under sociology, human development, or family studies. Adolescence is a period of dramatic physical change marked by an overall physical growth spurt and sexual maturation, known as puberty; timing may vary by gender, cohort, and culture. The kinds of traditions and values that evolve in a particular culture serve to help members function in their own society and to value their own society.

The text emphasizes theories and their use in helping us understand development, focuses on the interplay of nature and nurture in development, and also provides an expansive examination of both biological and sociocultural influences on life-span development. However, as Aché children become older, they are allowed more freedom to move about, and by about age 9, their motor skills surpass those of U. Death and dying will be the topic of our last module, though it is not necessarily a stage of development that occurs at a particular age.In this module, we’ll examine these questions and learn about the major stages of development and what kind of developmental tasks and transitions we might expect along the way.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend you to go read a textbook unless you're REALLY passionate about the subject. In turn, learning about all of that development and development during adolescence and early adulthood will help us to more fully understand the person at age 46 (and so on throughout midlife and later adulthood).For instance, why do biological children sometimes act like their parents—is it because of genetics or because of early childhood environment and what the child has learned from their parents? As we have learned, human development refers to the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes and constancies in humans over time. It's unusual for me to read or review a textbook, but as my goal is to read 52 books a year, and I started college this year, I felt like I should include them on my list here in Goodreads.

Cognitive change is noticeable when we compare how 6-year olds, 16-year olds, and 46-year olds think and reason, for example. That means that we won’t just learn about one particular age period by itself; we will learn about each age period, recognizing how it is related to both previous developments and later developments. Physical development also includes puberty, sexual health, fertility, menopause, changes in our senses, and primary versus secondary aging. Developmental theories provide a set of guiding principles and concepts that describe and explain human development.Continuous development views development as a cumulative process, gradually improving on existing skills (Figure 2). While caring about others and the future, middle-aged adults may also be questioning their own mortality, goals, and commitments, though not necessarily experiencing a “mid-life crisis. With the lifespan developmental perspective, we will gain a more comprehensive view of the individual within the context of their own developmental journey and within social, cultural, and historical contexts. You can view the transcript for “Some Kind of Connection- the Up Series” here (opens in new window).

Inversely, the ability for adolescents to engage in spontaneous activity and creativity, both domains commonly associated with impulse behavior, decrease over the adolescent period in response to changes in cognition. The fact that the term puberty encompasses such a broad range of domains illustrates the multidimensionality component of development (think back to the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial domains of human development we discussed earlier in this module). This video gives a nice overview of the series (through the lens of a film analysis of what makes it so successful and engaging). We move through significant physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes throughout our lives—do these changes happen in a systematic way, and to everyone?Schools participate in this process by comparing students and making these comparisons public through team sports, test scores, and other forms of recognition. Each of these systems inevitably interact with and influence each other in every aspect of the child’s life, from the most intimate level to the broadest. New roles and responsibilities are explored, which may involve dating, driving, taking on a part-time job, and planning for future academics.