Lifespan Development

[Page 1966]Lifespan psychologists are concerned with human development from conception to death and view development as a lifelong process, which contrasts with approaches that focus only on dramatic gains from infancy through adolescence, assuming little or no change in adulthood and only losses in old age. From a lifespan perspective, gains and losses occur at all ages, with gains outweighing losses early in life and losses outweighing gains later in life.

Developmental shifts in allocation of resources across the lifespan occur. Relatively more resources are directed toward growth or optimization of skills and abilities early in life, with the focus shifting toward maintenance and/or compensation for losses later. Development is multidimensional, with skills developing in multiple domains (e.g., physical, cognitive, emotional, social) and from multiple causes ...