Читать книгу Lifespan Development - Tara L. Kuther - Страница 42

Chapter 1: Understanding Human Development: Approaches and Theories

Chapter 2: Biological and Environmental Foundations

Chapter 3: The Prenatal Period, Birth, and the Newborn

Development is a lifelong process. We experience many dynamic changes in biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes that interact over time. For example, brain development, a biological change, permits more sophisticated thinking, or cognitive development, which influences socioemotional development, including how children understand emotions and how they interact with other people.

All throughout life, we are embedded in multiple contexts that influence, and are influenced by, us. The specific contexts and the relative importance of each shift over time. In infancy, the family context is most pertinent because an infant spends all of its time with its caregivers. As the child develops and enters school, peer and school contexts become increasingly important. In adolescence and adulthood, the work context emerges.

All of the contexts in which we are embedded interact, influencing each other. Interactions at home with parents and siblings influence interactions at school and in the peer group. We are also embedded in a larger neighborhood context, with a more distal influence on us, through factors such as the availability of parks and playgrounds, after-school programs, and feelings of safety. We and our ever-changing contexts are also embedded in a culture that influences our values, attitudes, and beliefs throughout our lives.

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