Theoretical propositions of life-span developmental psychology: On the dynamics between growth and decline.

Abstract

Life-span developmental psychology involves the study of constancy and change in behavior throughout the life course. One aspect of life-span research has been the advancement of a more general, metatheoretical view on the nature of development. The family of theoretical perspectives associated with this metatheoretical view of life-span developmental psychology includes the recog-nition of multidirectionality in ontogenetic change, consideration of both age-connected and discon-nected developmental factors, a focus on the dynamic and continuous interplay between growth (gain) and decline (loss), emphasis on historical embeddedness and other structural contextual fac-tors, and the study of the range of plasticity in development. Application of the family of perspectives associated with lif