Extending on the premise of multidirectionality, Baltes also argued that development is influenced by the “joint expression of features of growth (gain) and decline (loss)”.

These findings suggest that cognitive function, particularly memory, can be significantly improved in mature adults with age-related cognitive decline by using brain plasticity-based training methods. In the table below, we’ll review some of the major theories that you learned about in your introductory course and others that we will cover throughout this text. 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? Freud emphasized the importance of early childhood experiences in shaping our personality and behavior. What else would you want them to know about you, your development, and your experiences to really understand you?Adolescence, or the age roughly between 12-18, is marked by puberty and sexual maturation, accompanied by major socioemotional changes. He believed, based on Locke’s environmentalist position, that human behavior can be understood in terms of experiences and learning. Death and dying will be the topic of our second to last module, though it is not necessarily a stage of development that occurs at a particular age. When John Watson wrote the book Psychological Care of Infant and Child in 1928, he sought to add clarification surrounding behaviorists’ views on child care and development. KFF is an endowed, nonprofit organization filling the need for trusted, independent information on national health issues.

While there is certainly individual variation, members of a social class tend to share similar lifestyles, patterns of consumption, parenting styles, stressors, religious preferences, and other aspects of daily life. There is a reciprocal interaction between nature and nurture as they both shape who we become, but the debate continues as to the relative contributions of each.Of course, there is a certain discomfort in thinking about death, but there is also a certain confidence and acceptance that can come from studying death and d ying. They are waiting longer to move out of their parents’ homes, finish their formal education, take on work/careers, get married, and have children.