Life Span Development Pdf
Candi Ruman
The Life-Span Development Laboratory at Northwestern University examines pathways toward healthy development across the life span with a focus on emotions in individuals and couples. Our research combines insights and paradigms from life-span developmental, affective, and relationship science. We use multiple methods (autonomic physiology, behavioral observations, subjective emotional experience ratings, linguistic markers), age-diverse samples (from adolescence to late life), diverse study designs (experimental and longitudinal), and single-subjects and dyadic approaches (studying married couples, parents and children, and friends). Our research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Aging, the Retirement Research Foundation, and a NARSAD Young Investigator Award from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. Our studies have been published in PNAS, Annual Review of Developmental Psychology, Psychological Science, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Affective Science, Emotion, Psychological Medicine, and many other outlets. They have often garnered attention from national and international media (e.g., New York Times), and several rank in the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric. You can find an overview of our publications here, our current research projects here, and our research team here. You can contact us at life...@northwestern.edu.
WVU has an illustrious history in life-span development as the first program in this field. Our program continues to provide in-depth training to the next generation of life-span developmental psychologists. Graduates are highly successful in obtaining employment and find positions in academia, government, research institutions, foundations and applied settings.
The Ph.D. in developmental psychology combines breadth of training in perspectives on normal development across the life span with depth and rigor of training in an area of specialization selected by the student. The program produces disciplined researchers who are also skilled classroom instructors. Students are funded via teaching and research assistantships.
Students attend professional conferences and present their research to regional, national, and international audiences. At conferences, mentors facilitate professional networking of graduate students. Students submit their work for publication in scholarly journals and books, and nearly all students publish their research prior to graduation. The department and college provide funds to support student research and travel to conferences.
The depth of teaching training provided to our graduate students goes beyond that of many institutions. Some graduate programs allow students to teach their own courses, but provide little support or supervision. Others allow only minimal involvement (e.g., serving as a teaching assistant). In our program, the vast majority of first-year students teach an introductory-level undergraduate course under the direct supervision of a faculty member.
Upon graduation, most graduate students have taught one or more courses as the instructor of record. This experience provides our graduates with a competitive edge when they enter the job market. Many have obtained jobs at teaching-oriented universities immediately upon graduation.
The curriculum offers breadth and depth of training in life-span developmental psychology. Breadth is obtained through courses in infancy, childhood, adolescence and young adulthood, adulthood and aging and conceptual and methodological issues. Depth of training is obtained through conducting research in an area of specialization, elective courses and topical seminars in life-span developmental psychology.
Professional development is facilitated through seminars that target issues relevant to new and advanced students. Developmental faculty and graduate students share their research through informal presentations in a bi-weekly lunch research group.
The developmental curriculum is organized so that breadth of training in life span developmental psychology is obtained through courses in infancy, childhood, adolescence and young adulthood, adulthood and aging and conceptual and methodological issues in developmental psychology. Research specialization in age periods and topical areas occurs through research, elective courses and topical seminars in developmental psychology.
We offer comprehensive training for students preparing for careers as college teachers. All students receive teaching training that allows them to become competent classroom instructors. Some combine their interests in research and teaching by conducting research on teaching (see bottom of this page for a representative list). Students whose career plans emphasize college teaching can earn a graduate certificate in university teaching and/or pursue a specialization in college teaching when designing their plan of study (details below). Students teaching experiences culminate in a comprehensive teaching portfolio.
We use a novel method to train teachers. Some graduate programs allow students to teach their own courses but provide relatively little support or supervision. Others allow only minimal involvement (e.g.,serving as a teaching assistant). In our program, the vast majority of first-year students teach an introductory level undergraduate course under the direct supervision of a faculty member. Students who are teaching for the first time enroll in a one credit teaching seminar taught by a faculty member who guides and supports their first semester of college teaching.
Graduate student instructors receive highly structured, hands-on teaching experience supported by intense supervision. A faculty supervisor designs the course and develops multimedia lectures. Lectures are delivered by graduate students. This inventive method of instruction allows graduate students, most of whom are teaching for the first time, to focus on how to teach rather than on what to teach. Faculty supervisors observe classes, meet with instructors weekly, and provide instructors with individualized feedback to develop their teaching skills. Not only do students develop their instructional presentation skills, they also become proficient in the use of multiple methods of presentation (e.g. PowerPoint, video, document cameras) and online course management instruction systems (e.g. WVU eCampus, WebCT).
The depth of teaching opportunities available to our graduate students goes beyond that of many institutions. As a result of these many opportunities, students often complete the program with direct teaching experience in as many as three or four courses. Students have highly developed teaching skills and knowledge, placing them at an advantage in their search for an academic position involving teaching.
Developmental students may also develop their teaching repertoire by engaging in some combination of the activities listed below (some of which also are applicable to the 15-credit certificate offered through the Office of Graduate Education and Life). These activities are in addition to the comprehensive training that all students receive.
Each graduate program sets their own term of admission and application deadline. Applicants can only apply for admission for the term displayed below. Any questions regarding the application deadline should be directed to the graduate program representative.
Fall: December 1
Lifespan development in psychology belongs to the greater field of human development. From a high-level view, human development is a discipline that engages the optimizing of several factors of human life and fields of study to help people live their best lives.
A human development professional is likely to study a mix of sociology, biology, psychology, behavior, emotion, genealogy, education, religion, and more. Generally speaking, any field that contributes to an understanding of the multifaceted and complex nature of humanity is a field studied by lifespan development professionals.
As described by the American Psychological Association, human lifespan development studies how humans learn, mature, and adapt from infancy to adulthood to the elderly phases of life. Some areas of focus include physical, cognitive, social, intellectual, perceptual, personality, and emotional growth.
Lifespan development gives individuals a deeper understanding of both themselves and others. While every individual grows in their own unique way, human lifespan development gives educators, counselors, and other mentors the tools to teach others and help them become self-determined.
According to an article in the online resource Verywell Mind, five reasons to study human development include having a better understanding of your friends, family, and those around you. Lifespan development offers an extension of these benefits by granting professionals better insights into how and why people become who they are and who they become over time.
This course examines the span of human development from conception to death. Students will explore biological, cognitive and socioemotional domains of development and their interaction across the lifespan, with a focus on the influence of culture and individual differences. The course emphasizes understanding and applying both developmental theories and empirical research, with a focus on continuity and the diversity of developmental pathways.