lifespan development

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

the scientific study of how human beings change and remain stable across the entire course of life from conception to death; associated with Paul Baltes, who articulated key principles of the lifespan perspective including multidirectionality (development involves gains and losses at every age), plasticity (capacity for change throughout life), historical embeddedness (development is shaped by historical context), and multidisciplinarity; the lifespan perspective challenged earlier views that developmental change was confined to childhood and adolescence, establishing late adulthood and old age as periods of genuine psychological development deserving serious scientific attention