Life-Span Development Psychology: Research and Theory covers the issues and problems associated with a life-span conceptualization of developmental psychology. The book discusses the status,issues, and antecedents of life-span developmental psychology; an approach to theory construction in the psychology of development and aging; and models and theories of development. The text also describes the methodology and research strategy in the study of developmental change; the application of multivariate strategies to problems of measuring and structuring long-term change; and the mechanisms required for the operation of perception and recognition. Learning and retention; language; and intellectual abilities are also considered. Developmental psychologists will find the study invaluable.

List of Contributors Preface Conceptual Status and History 1. Status and Issues of a Life-Span Developmental Psychology I. Introduction II. Developmental Disciplines: The Study of Change III. General Developmental Psychology IV. Human Life-Span Developmental Psychology V. Conclusions and Perspectives 2. Historical Antecedents of Life-Span Developmental Psychology I. Introduction II. American Beginnings III. Clinical Work with Children IV. Educational Psychology V. Behaviorism VI. Developmental Psychology in the 1920s and 1930s VII. Child-Study Institutes VIII. Other Early Influences IX. Maturity and Old Age X. Child Psychology through the Middle of the Century XI. Post World War II XII. Who Studies the Life-Span XIII. Longitudinal Studies of the Life-Span XIV. Conclusion 3. Life-Span Developmental Psychology in Europe: Past and Present I. Introduction II. Prescientific Origins of Life-Span Developmental Psychology III. Scientific Origins of Life-Span Developmental Psychology IV. Concluding Remarks Theory Construction 4. An Approach to Theory Construction in the Psychology of Development and Aging I. Introduction II. Evidence and Inference: A Case History and Commentary III. The Deductive Function of Theories IV. Theories and the Analysis of Arguments V. A Simple Exercise in Theory Construction: The Internal Logic of a Theory of the Effects of Age on Creative Thinking VI. A Difficult Exercise in Theory Construction: The Internal Logic of the Theory of Disengagement VII. The Role of Models and Analogies in Theory Construction VIII. Commentary on Birren's Counterpart Theory of Aging IX. Conclusions 5. Models of Development and Theories of Development I. Introduction II. Models and Theories III. The Concept of Development IV. The Mechanistic and Organismic Models of Development V. Summary and Conclusions General Methodology 6. Methodology and Research Strategy in the Study of Developmental Change I. Introduction: The Age Variable in Developmental Research II. The Formulation and Assessment of the Dependent Variable in Developmental Studies III. The Longitudinal Method: Its Value and Limitations and Some Compromise Solutions IV. The Descriptive Analysis of Developmental Functions V. The Study of Functional Relations among Developmental Variables VI. The Study of Individual Differences within the Developmental-Functional Framework VII. Conclusion 7. Application of Multivariate Strategies to Problems of Measuring and Structuring Long-Term Change I. Introduction II. Implications of Multivariate Techniques for Studying Patterns of Change III. Implications of Factor Analysis for Structuring Qualitative and Quantitative Change: Factor Loading Patterns and Factor Scores IV. Correlational Techniques which Bear directly on the Problems of Structuring Change V. Overview of More Generalized Correlational Techniques VI. Areas of Convergence between Multivariate Techniques and Developmental Concepts VII. ConclusionPerception and Cognition 8. Life-Span Changes in Visual Perception I. Introduction II. Visual Illusion III. Spatial Orientation IV. Part-Whole Differentiation V. Perceptual Closure VI. Speed of Recognition VII. Conclusion 9. Light Detection and Pattern Recognition: Some Comments on the Growth of Visual Sensation and Perception I. Introduction II. Some History of Sensation and Perception III. The Mechanisms of Detection and Recognition IV. Detection and Recognition in Neonates V. Simultaneous Detection and Recognition VI. Detection, Recognition, and Method VII. Perception and Judgment VIII. Detection Theory IX. Muddy and Cloudy Developmental Data 10. Cognitive Changes in Adulthood I. Differences between Child and Adult Cognitive Changes II. The Role of Experience in Adult Cognitive ChangeLearning and Retention 11. Learning in Children and in Older Adults I. Conditioning II. Discrimination Learning III. Paired-Associate and Serial Learning IV. Incidental Learning 12. The Experiential Origins of Human Behavior I. Introduction II. Unconditioned and Conditioned Behavior III. A Brief Review of Selected Facts about Infant Behavior Plasticity IV. Comments on the Concept of "State¿ V. Summary 13. Retention-Forgetting as a Nomological Network for Developmental Research I. Introduction II. Verbal Learning: Models, Processes, and Paradigms III. A Nomological Network for Retention-Development Relationships IV. Interference Theory and Retention-Development Relationships V. Retention-Development Relationships for Recognition Learning VI. Concluding Comments Language 14. The Language Acquisition Process: A Reinterpretation of Selected Research Findings I. Introduction II. Intralingual Relations III. Psycholinguistic Operations 15. Research on Language Acquisition: Do We Know Where We Are Going I. Historical Introduction II. Psycholinguistics Intellectual Abilities 16. Organization of Data on Life-Span Development of Human Abilities I. Introduction II. Unity and Differentiation among Abilities III. Processes Basic to Intellectual Functioning IV. Development of Abilities in Childhood V. Development of Abilities in Adulthood and Old Age VI. General Summary 17. Comparative Factor Analytic Studies of Intelligence throughout The Human Life-Span I. Introduction II. Relevant Hypotheses and Results III. Methodological Aspects and Problems IV. Discussion and Conclusions 18. A Reinterpretation of Age Related Changes in Cognitive Structure and Functioning I. Introduction II. Age Changes versus Age Differences versus Cultural Change III. The Impact of Generational Differences IV. Empirical Evidence Bearing upon Generation Differences in Intelligence V. Conclusions References Author IndexSubject Index