| . | Proposition From Baltes (1987) . | Corollary Arguments and Evidence . |
|---|---|---|
| Proposition #1 | Development is a lifelong process | From conception to death, development is characterized by continuous (i.e., cumulative) and discontinuous (i.e., emergent or innovative) processes; all age periods, including infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age, are of equal importance from the lifespan perspective (Baltes, 1987) |
| Proposition #2 | Development is multidimensional and multidirectional | Considering cognitive abilities, some indicators (e.g., working memory), on average, tend to decline with age, some remain relatively stable across the lifespan, and others (e.g., experience-based knowledge and judgment) typically improve with age (Baltes et al., 1999; Salthouse, 2012) |
| Proposition #3 | Development involves the dynamic and joint occurrence of growth (or gains) and decline (or losses) in different domains of functioning | Both learning (which leads to personal growth) and physical decline are possible in different phases of the lifespan. However, losses increasingly outweigh gains in functioning at higher ages (i.e., changing loss–gain ratio; Baltes, 1987). |
| Proposition #4 | Development is partially context-dependent | Development is embedded in, coincides with, influences, and is influenced by, historical time and events, sociocultural conditions, and other contextual factors or levels of organization (Baltes, 1987; Lerner, 1996). |
| Proposition #5 | Development results from the interaction of three systems of influence which define the paradigm of contextualism and the “tri-factor model” of developmental contextualism | Baltes (1987) and Lerner (1996) describe normative age-graded influences (i.e., age-related person and contextual determinants that most people encounter as they age), normative history-graded influences (i.e., person and contextual determinants that most people living during a certain historical period are experiencing), and non-normative influences (i.e., person and contextual determinants that are rather idiosyncratic and uncommon). |
| Proposition #6 | There is potential for plasticity, or within-person modifiability, in development | Person and contextual factors can positively or negatively impact an individual’s experiences and behavior at any age, and the lifespan perspective aims to better understand the range, potentials, and limits of plasticity in development (Baltes, 1987) |
| Proposition #7 | Individual development needs to be studied at multiple levels of analysis | Development must be understood across different levels, ranging from the biological level to the psychological and social-relational levels to the sociocultural and macro-institutional levels (Lerner, 1996). Thus, development needs to be investigated by scholars working in multiple scientific disciplines, including anthropology, biology, sociology, medical sciences, and psychology. A mono-disciplinary view is not sufficient to fully understand the nature of development (Baltes, 1987). |
| . | Proposition From Baltes (1987) . | Corollary Arguments and Evidence . |
|---|---|---|
| Proposition #1 | Development is a lifelong process | From conception to death, development is characterized by continuous (i.e., cumulative) and discontinuous (i.e., emergent or innovative) processes; all age periods, including infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age, are of equal importance from the lifespan perspective (Baltes, 1987) |
| Proposition #2 | Development is multidimensional and multidirectional | Considering cognitive abilities, some indicators (e.g., working memory), on average, tend to decline with age, some remain relatively stable across the lifespan, and others (e.g., experience-based knowledge and judgment) typically improve with age (Baltes et al., 1999; Salthouse, 2012) |
| Proposition #3 | Development involves the dynamic and joint occurrence of growth (or gains) and decline (or losses) in different domains of functioning | Both learning (which leads to personal growth) and physical decline are possible in different phases of the lifespan. However, losses increasingly outweigh gains in functioning at higher ages (i.e., changing loss–gain ratio; Baltes, 1987). |
| Proposition #4 | Development is partially context-dependent | Development is embedded in, coincides with, influences, and is influenced by, historical time and events, sociocultural conditions, and other contextual factors or levels of organization (Baltes, 1987; Lerner, 1996). |
| Proposition #5 | Development results from the interaction of three systems of influence which define the paradigm of contextualism and the “tri-factor model” of developmental contextualism | Baltes (1987) and Lerner (1996) describe normative age-graded influences (i.e., age-related person and contextual determinants that most people encounter as they age), normative history-graded influences (i.e., person and contextual determinants that most people living during a certain historical period are experiencing), and non-normative influences (i.e., person and contextual determinants that are rather idiosyncratic and uncommon). |
| Proposition #6 | There is potential for plasticity, or within-person modifiability, in development | Person and contextual factors can positively or negatively impact an individual’s experiences and behavior at any age, and the lifespan perspective aims to better understand the range, potentials, and limits of plasticity in development (Baltes, 1987) |
| Proposition #7 | Individual development needs to be studied at multiple levels of analysis | Development must be understood across different levels, ranging from the biological level to the psychological and social-relational levels to the sociocultural and macro-institutional levels (Lerner, 1996). Thus, development needs to be investigated by scholars working in multiple scientific disciplines, including anthropology, biology, sociology, medical sciences, and psychology. A mono-disciplinary view is not sufficient to fully understand the nature of development (Baltes, 1987). |
| . | Proposition From Baltes (1987) . | Corollary Arguments and Evidence . |
|---|---|---|
| Proposition #1 | Development is a lifelong process | From conception to death, development is characterized by continuous (i.e., cumulative) and discontinuous (i.e., emergent or innovative) processes; all age periods, including infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age, are of equal importance from the lifespan perspective (Baltes, 1987) |
| Proposition #2 | Development is multidimensional and multidirectional | Considering cognitive abilities, some indicators (e.g., working memory), on average, tend to decline with age, some remain relatively stable across the lifespan, and others (e.g., experience-based knowledge and judgment) typically improve with age (Baltes et al., 1999; Salthouse, 2012) |
| Proposition #3 | Development involves the dynamic and joint occurrence of growth (or gains) and decline (or losses) in different domains of functioning | Both learning (which leads to personal growth) and physical decline are possible in different phases of the lifespan. However, losses increasingly outweigh gains in functioning at higher ages (i.e., changing loss–gain ratio; Baltes, 1987). |
| Proposition #4 | Development is partially context-dependent | Development is embedded in, coincides with, influences, and is influenced by, historical time and events, sociocultural conditions, and other contextual factors or levels of organization (Baltes, 1987; Lerner, 1996). |
| Proposition #5 | Development results from the interaction of three systems of influence which define the paradigm of contextualism and the “tri-factor model” of developmental contextualism | Baltes (1987) and Lerner (1996) describe normative age-graded influences (i.e., age-related person and contextual determinants that most people encounter as they age), normative history-graded influences (i.e., person and contextual determinants that most people living during a certain historical period are experiencing), and non-normative influences (i.e., person and contextual determinants that are rather idiosyncratic and uncommon). |
| Proposition #6 | There is potential for plasticity, or within-person modifiability, in development | Person and contextual factors can positively or negatively impact an individual’s experiences and behavior at any age, and the lifespan perspective aims to better understand the range, potentials, and limits of plasticity in development (Baltes, 1987) |
| Proposition #7 | Individual development needs to be studied at multiple levels of analysis | Development must be understood across different levels, ranging from the biological level to the psychological and social-relational levels to the sociocultural and macro-institutional levels (Lerner, 1996). Thus, development needs to be investigated by scholars working in multiple scientific disciplines, including anthropology, biology, sociology, medical sciences, and psychology. A mono-disciplinary view is not sufficient to fully understand the nature of development (Baltes, 1987). |
| . | Proposition From Baltes (1987) . | Corollary Arguments and Evidence . |
|---|---|---|
| Proposition #1 | Development is a lifelong process | From conception to death, development is characterized by continuous (i.e., cumulative) and discontinuous (i.e., emergent or innovative) processes; all age periods, including infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age, are of equal importance from the lifespan perspective (Baltes, 1987) |
| Proposition #2 | Development is multidimensional and multidirectional | Considering cognitive abilities, some indicators (e.g., working memory), on average, tend to decline with age, some remain relatively stable across the lifespan, and others (e.g., experience-based knowledge and judgment) typically improve with age (Baltes et al., 1999; Salthouse, 2012) |
| Proposition #3 | Development involves the dynamic and joint occurrence of growth (or gains) and decline (or losses) in different domains of functioning | Both learning (which leads to personal growth) and physical decline are possible in different phases of the lifespan. However, losses increasingly outweigh gains in functioning at higher ages (i.e., changing loss–gain ratio; Baltes, 1987). |
| Proposition #4 | Development is partially context-dependent | Development is embedded in, coincides with, influences, and is influenced by, historical time and events, sociocultural conditions, and other contextual factors or levels of organization (Baltes, 1987; Lerner, 1996). |
| Proposition #5 | Development results from the interaction of three systems of influence which define the paradigm of contextualism and the “tri-factor model” of developmental contextualism | Baltes (1987) and Lerner (1996) describe normative age-graded influences (i.e., age-related person and contextual determinants that most people encounter as they age), normative history-graded influences (i.e., person and contextual determinants that most people living during a certain historical period are experiencing), and non-normative influences (i.e., person and contextual determinants that are rather idiosyncratic and uncommon). |
| Proposition #6 | There is potential for plasticity, or within-person modifiability, in development | Person and contextual factors can positively or negatively impact an individual’s experiences and behavior at any age, and the lifespan perspective aims to better understand the range, potentials, and limits of plasticity in development (Baltes, 1987) |
| Proposition #7 | Individual development needs to be studied at multiple levels of analysis | Development must be understood across different levels, ranging from the biological level to the psychological and social-relational levels to the sociocultural and macro-institutional levels (Lerner, 1996). Thus, development needs to be investigated by scholars working in multiple scientific disciplines, including anthropology, biology, sociology, medical sciences, and psychology. A mono-disciplinary view is not sufficient to fully understand the nature of development (Baltes, 1987). |
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