Applications of Lifespan Psychology - Research Paper Example

From these perspectives emerges, three researches predominate of lifespan as: psychometric research on cognitive gains and losses over the course of life; study on everyday cognition and real life context intelligence and the extension of piagetian cognitive structuralism to adult stage of post formal operations. In the psychometric research, Baltes and his associates(Santrock, 2009) summarizes the theoretical perspective of lifespan development as follows: Ontogenetic development that continues throughout the entire lifespan; as multidirectional which sees some development systems showing increases as others declines; and consist of combined occurrences of gains and losses.

Baltes, in the psychometric research further suggests that there is a much intra-individual plasticity in development and the development varies in accordance with historical-cultural conditions, implying that human growth is contextual and depended on the dialectical interactions of age-graded, history-graded, and non-normative influences (Gill, 2011). In the everyday cognition Rogoff in 1984 researches on the practical intelligence within the social and cultural context and stresses that all learning is social and cannot be seen as being inter-individual phenomena (Santrock, 2009).

Other studies of cognitive functioning have been done in real life situations the studies found out that cognitive performance in real life situations and in meaningful context such as in classroom or workplace are different from cognitive functioning induced in laboratory where learning tasks are contrived and artificial. In post formal thought in adulthood as defined by Sinnott in 1984, involves understanding and reconciling contradictions, engaging in problem-finding rather than problem solving, seeing relativity across multiple systems rather than within a single system, and understanding multi-causality rather than single causal factors underlying perceived effects(Santrock, 2009) Social Policy This is the government’s course of action for improving the welfare of its citizens in dimensions as values, economics, and political.

The concern has been raised that policy makers are not focusing so much at protecting the children and adult, hence lifespan researchers are increasingly doing studies that are aimed at improving the effective social policy (Santrock, 2009) Analysis of the Family Policy The United States’ national, state and city governments play an important role in influencing the well being of the children as demonstrated in the in the Children’s Defend Fund where when families fails or seriously endanger the children well being, the government steps in to help, but policies have not come to the conclusion that helping poor parents translates to helping their children as well (Gill, 2011).

The Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) designed in 1990 to primarily influence the behavior of the adults, by moving them off the welfare roll unto the paid employment (Santrock, 2009). The main aim of the program was that adults participating in it would receive more income when they worked, than if they did not. This implies that when the income of an adult poor parent gave rise to benefits to their children, as their school performance increased and their behavioral problems decreased according to Gennetian and Miller study on 2002, but a current MFIP study is examining the influence of specific services on low income families are at the risk of child maltreatment and other negative outcomes as