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Development is commonly described as a series of improvements in performance and functioning, but in fact development is multidirectional, meaning that it consists of both gains and losses, growth and decline, throughout the lifespan (Baltes et al., 2006; Overton & Molenaar, 2015). For example, infants are born with a stepping reflex, an innate involuntary response in which they make step-like movements when held upright over a horizontal surface (for more on infant reflexes, see Chapter 4). The stepping reflex disappears by about 2 months but reemerges as a voluntary action at 8 to 12 months of age as infants begin walking with support (Adolph & Franchak, 2017). Throughout life, there is a shifting balance between gains, improvements in performance (common early in life), and losses, declines in performance (common late in life) (Baltes et al., 2006). At all ages, however, individuals can compensate for losses by improving existing skills and developing new ones (Boker, 2013). The speed at which people think tends to slow in late adulthood, for example, but increases in knowledge and experience enable older adults to compensate for the loss of speed when completing everyday tasks (Hess, Leclerc, Swaim, & Weatherbee, 2009; Margrett, Allaire, Johnson, Daugherty, & Weatherbee, 2010). The brain naturally adapts to a lifetime of sensory experiences in order to portray the world around us efficiently and accurately as we age into older adulthood (Moran, Symmonds, Dolan, & Friston, 2014).

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Figure 1.1 Multidimensional Nature of Development

Advances in physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development interact, permitting children to play sports, learn more efficiently, and develop close friendships.

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We are born with a stepping reflex, an innate involuntary response. When this infant is held under the arms in a standing position on a flat surface, his legs move in a stepping motion.

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Some plasticity is retained throughout life. Practicing athletic activities can help older adults rebuild muscle and improve balance.

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