Lifespan Perspective Nancy Zavala Psych 241 IN1 Shannon Parham ? LifeSpan Perspective The lifespan perspective theory studies and helps us understand human development. It helps us understand why we are the way we are. With this theory there is no one certain event or time that shapes us, rather it is everything, from the very beginning to the very end, that is continuously changing us. Everything, including social, environmental, and historical changes, are part of making each experience unique therefore, we each have a different outcome in life.
With every life event, as minor or major as it is, we learn from it and process other life events because of it. There are four key features in understanding the lifespan perspective: Multidirectionality, Plasticity, Historical context, and multiple causation. The first part of the lifespan perspective is Multidirectionality, development generally goes in all directions, it is not a straight path, we get better in one area, while loosing abilities in a different area. The second part is plasticity, meaning that we can change, learn or improve different skills.
