Life-Span Developmental Psychology

Life-Span Development Psychology: Research and Theory covers the issues and problems associated with a life-span conceptualization of developmental psychology. The book discusses the status,issues, and antecedents of life-span developmental psychology; an approach to theory construction in the psychology of development and aging; and models and theories of development. The text also describes the methodology and research strategy in the study of developmental change; the application of multivariate strategies to problems of measuring and structuring long-term change; and the mechanisms required for the operation of perception and recognition. Learning and retention; language; and intellectual abilities are also considered. Developmental psychologists will find the study invaluable.

Contenu

List of Contributors
Preface
Conceptual Status and History

1. Status and Issues of a Life-Span Developmental Psychology
   I. Introduction
   II. Developmental Disciplines: The Study of Change
   III. General Developmental Psychology
   IV. Human Life-Span Developmental Psychology
   V. Conclusions and Perspectives
2. Historical Antecedents of Life-Span Developmental Psychology
   I. Introduction
   II. American Beginnings
   III. Clinical Work with Children
   IV. Educational Psychology
   V. Behaviorism
   VI. Developmental Psychology in the 1920s and 1930s
   VII. Child-Study Institutes
   VIII. Other Early Influences
   IX. Maturity and Old Age
   X. Child Psychology through the Middle of the Century
   XI. Post World War II
   XII. Who Studies the Life-Span
   XIII. Longitudinal Studies of the Life-Span
   XIV. Conclusion
3. Life-Span Developmental Psychology in Europe: Past and Present
   I. Introduction
   II. Prescientific Origins of Life-Span Developmental Psychology
   III. Scientific Origins of Life-Span Developmental Psychology
   IV. Concluding Remarks
   Theory Construction
4. An Approach to Theory Construction in the Psychology of Development and Aging
   I. Introduction
   II. Evidence and Inference: A Case History and Commentary
   III. The Deductive Function of Theories
   IV. Theories and the Analysis of Arguments
   V. A Simple Exercise in Theory Construction: The Internal Logic of a Theory of the Effects of Age on Creative Thinking
   VI. A Difficult Exercise in Theory Construction: The Internal Logic of the Theory of Disengagement
   VII. The Role of Models and Analogies in Theory Construction
   VIII. Commentary on Birren's Counterpart Theory of Aging
   IX. Conclusions
5. Models of Development and Theories of Development
   I. Introduction
   II. Models and Theories
   III. The Concept of Development
   IV. The Mechanistic and Organismic Models of Development
   V. Summary and Conclusions
   General Methodology
6. Methodology and Research Strategy in the Study of Developmental Change
   I. Introduction: The Age Variable in Developmental Research
   II. The Formulation and Assessment of the Dependent Variable in Developmental Studies
   III. The Longitudinal Method: Its Value and Limitations and Some Compromise Solutions
   IV. The Descriptive Analysis of Developmental Functions
   V. The Study of Functional Relations among Developmental Variables
   VI. The Study of Individual Differences within the Developmental-Functional Framework
   VII. Conclusion
7. Application of Multivariate Strategies to Problems of Measuring and Structuring Long-Term Change
   I. Introduction
   II. Implications of Multivariate Techniques for Studying Patterns of Change
   III. Implications of Factor Analysis for Structuring Qualitative and Quantitative Change: Factor Loading Patterns and Factor Scores
   IV. Correlational Techniques which Bear directly on the Problems of Structuring Change
   V. Overview of More Generalized Correlational Techniques
   VI. Areas of Convergence between Multivariate Techniques and Developmental Concepts
   VII. Conclusion
   Perception and Cognition
8. Life-Span Changes in Visual Perception
   I. Introduction
   II. Visual Illusion
   III. Spatial Orientation
   IV. Part-Whole Differentiation
   V. Perceptual Closure
   VI. Speed of Recognition
   VII. Conclusion
9. Light Detection and Pattern Recognition: Some Comments on the Growth of Visual Sensation and Perception
   I. Introduction
   II. Some History of Sensation and Perception
   III. The Mechanisms of Detection and Recognition
   IV. Detection and Recognition in Neonates
   V. Simultaneous Detection and Recognition
   VI. Detection, Recognition, and Method
   VII. Perception and Judgment
   VIII. Detection Theory
   IX. Muddy and Cloudy Developmental Data
10. Cognitive Changes in Adulthood
    I. Differences between Child and Adult Cognitive Changes
    II. The Role of Experience in Adult Cognitive Change
    Learning and Retention
11. Learning in Children and in Older Adults
    I. Conditioning
    II. Discrimination Learning
    III. Paired-Associate and Serial Learning
    IV. Incidental Learning
12. The Experiential Origins of Human Behavior
    I. Introduction
    II. Unconditioned and Conditioned Behavior
    III. A Brief Review of Selected Facts about Infant Behavior Plasticity
    IV. Comments on the Concept of "State
    V. Summary
13. Retention-Forgetting as a Nomological Network for Developmental Research
    I. Introduction
    II. Verbal Learning: Models, Processes, and Paradigms
    III. A Nomological Network for Retention-Development Relationships
    IV. Interference Theory and Retention-Development Relationships
    V. Retention-Development Relationships for Recognition Learning
    VI. Concluding Comments
    Language
14. The Language Acquisition Process: A Reinterpretation of Selected Research Findings
    I. Introduction
    II. Intralingual Relations
    III. Psycholinguistic Operations
15. Research on Language Acquisition: Do We Know Where We Are Going
    I. Historical Introduction
    II. Psycholinguistics
    Intellectual Abilities
16. Organization of Data on Life-Span Development of Human Abilities
    I. Introduction
    II. Unity and Differentiation among Abilities
    III. Processes Basic to Intellectual Functioning
    IV. Development of Abilities in Childhood
    V. Development of Abilities in Adulthood and Old Age
    VI. General Summary
17. Comparative Factor Analytic Studies of Intelligence throughout The Human Life-Span
    I. Introduction
    II. Relevant Hypotheses and Results
    III. Methodological Aspects and Problems
    IV. Discussion and Conclusions
18. A Reinterpretation of Age Related Changes in Cognitive Structure and Functioning
    I. Introduction
    II. Age Changes versus Age Differences versus Cultural Change
    III. The Impact of Generational Differences
    IV. Empirical Evidence Bearing upon Generation Differences in Intelligence
    V. Conclusions
    References
    Author Index
    Subject Index