Preface
Lifespan Development was originally authored by Diana K. Riser, Rose Spielman, and David Biek, and published by OpenStax, Rice University. It is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). The original work is available at openstax.org. This version has been adapted for use in the Universal Open Textbook Initiative.
About Lifespan Development
Lifespan Development aligns to the topics and objectives of most introductory developmental psychology and human development courses taught across departments. Grounded in foundational theories and scientific research, the text teaches students about core aspects of human development—physical, cognitive, social, emotional—across the lifespan. A primary goal of the book is to incorporate content, scholarship, and activities that explore a variety of perspectives that encourage all students to feel seen and included.
Most importantly, the text is grounded in sound, current scholarship. Both researchers and practitioners in the discipline sometimes have complicated and disparate views on issues that are simply part of understanding the lifespan and supporting people through its phases. Lifespan Development strives to openly address complex topics with scholarly responsibility and an effort to increase equity and inclusion in the research presented, as well as to foster student engagement in the classroom through relevant examples and applications. Focused on driving meaningful and memorable learning experiences, the narrative places concepts in contexts that give students the means to understand human development and how that knowledge can be applied to and improve their own lives and the lives of others.
Pedagogical Foundation
Learning Objectives
Every module begins with a set of clear and concise learning objectives designed to help the instructor decide what content to include or assign, and to guide student expectations of learning. After completing the end-of-module exercises, students should be able to demonstrate mastery of the learning objectives.
Key Features
- It Depends: Weaves scientific inquiry by presenting emerging research on topics that are complex, nuanced, and on which the scientific community may not have consensus.
- Intersections and Contexts: Highlights the interconnectedness of contexts, developmental systems, and the individual. It encompasses contexts such as culture, race, class, gender, and typical vs. atypical development.
- Life Hacks: Provide specific guidance on how students can apply the material in the chapter to improve their own lives and the lives of others.
Section Summaries
Section summaries distill the information in each section for both students and instructors down to key, concise points addressed in the section.
Key Terms
Key terms are bold and are followed by a definition in context. Definitions of key terms are also listed in the Glossary, which appears at the end of the chapter.
Assessments
A variety of assessments allow instructors to confirm core conceptual understanding, elicit brief explanations that demonstrate student understanding, and offer more in-depth assignments that enable learners to dive more deeply into a topic.
- Review Questions test for conceptual understanding of key concepts.
- Check Your Understanding Questions require students to explain concepts in words.
- Personal Application Questions dive deeply into the material to support longer reflection, group discussion, and life application of course concepts.
- Essay Questions require more complex and comprehensive analysis of concepts, including the intersection of topics as they are applied across the lifespan.
Answers to Questions in the Book
The end-of-chapter Review, Check Your Understanding, and Essay Questions are intended for homework assignments or classroom discussion; thus, only a limited number of student-facing answers for Review Questions are provided. Answers and sample answers are provided in the Instructor Solution Manual, for instructors to share with students at their discretion, as is standard for such resources.
About the Authors
Senior Contributing Authors
Diana K. Riser, Catawba College
Diana K. Riser holds a PhD in Developmental & Biological Psychology with a Minor in Women's & Gender Studies from Virginia Tech. She is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Catawba College. Her teaching and scholarly work are focused on developmental psychology, risk and protective factors in human development, promoting resilience in survivors of child trauma, and promoting healthy parent-child relationships.
Rose Spielman, Connecticut State Community College
Rose Spielman was the content lead for the OpenStax Introduction to Psychology textbook. She has worked as a licensed clinical psychologist for over 30 years, with the last ten years at the Connecticut Department of Developmental Services. She has also taught for decades, most recently at CT State Community College.
David Biek, Middle Georgia State University
David Biek is the Dean of the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Middle Georgia State University. David earned his doctorate in developmental psychology at Cornell University and completed his master's work at Columbia. His scholarly and applied work is focused on understanding the informal factors behind academic achievement in adolescents and young adults.
Contributing Authors
Aisha P. Adams, Catawba College
Alisa Beyer, Chandler-Gilbert Community College
Ellen Cotter, Georgia Southwestern State University
Kathleen Hughes, University of Calgary
Deepti Karkhanis, Bellevue College
Kristopher J. Kimbler, Florida Gulf Coast University
Julie Lazzara, Chandler-Gilbert Community College
Rebecca McDonald, Washington & Jefferson College
Ronald Mossler, Los Angeles Valley College
Paula Mullineaux, Hamline University
Amy Osmon, Daytona State College
Jason Spiegelman, Community College of Baltimore County
Erik Uliasz, Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School / Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth
John Woodman, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Reviewers
David Baskind, Delta College
Bakhtawar Bhadha, Pasadena City College
Ashley Biddle, Leeward Community College
Carla Bluhm, College of Coastal Georgia
John Broderick, Central Louisiana Technical Community College
L. Grant Canipe, The Chicago School
Amy Coren, Pasadena City College
Erica Gelven, Quinnipiac University
Jeffery Gray, Charleston Southern University
James Guinee, University of Central Arkansas
Tanya Harrell, Young Harris College
Alishia Huntoon, Oregon Institute of Technology
Jeannine Klein, Mohave Community College
Elizabeth Levin, Laurentian University
Megan Lorenz, Augustana College
Lisa Maag, East Carolina University
Ivan Mancinelli-Franconi, Clackamas Community College
Sylvia McCree-Huntley, University of Maryland, Baltimore
Julie McIntyre, Russell Sage College
Jan Mendoza, Golden West College
Tamara Monroe, Delaware Valley University
Susan O'Donnell, George Fox University
Lakshmi Raman, Oakland University
Pamela Ratvasky, The Ohio State University
Bridget Reigstad, Normandale Community College
Sherri Restauri, Coastal Carolina University
Jonathan Santo, University of Nebraska Omaha
Starlette M. Sinclair, Florida Gulf Coast University
Jon Skalski, Brigham Young University-Idaho
Jerry Sorrell, Tarrant County College
Rachelle Tannenbaum, Anne Arundel Community College
Karen Tinsley, Guilford College
Virginia Tompkins, The Ohio State University
Additional Resources
Instructor resources for this book include an instructor's answer guide, a test bank with over 400 questions, and PowerPoint lecture slides. These are available through the OpenStax instructor resources page for this book. Instructors can also find and share community-created teaching materials at oercommons.org/hubs/OpenStax.