Adaptation across the Lifespan: Towards a Processual Evolutionary Explanation of Human Development

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Evolutionary Psychology

Background:

• Lifespan perspective in developmental psychology is underdeveloped.
• Most research focuses on age-specific periods, not the entire lifespan or cross-lifespan relationships.
• Existing lifespan approaches often concentrate solely on adulthood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the need for a more systematic lifespan perspective in developmental psychology.
• To introduce accommodative adjustment as a key regulatory process across the lifespan.
• To propose an evolutionary approach to developmental psychology for understanding ontogeny.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of existing literature on lifespan development.
• Examination of accommodative adjustment as a developmental process.
• Theoretical proposal of an evolutionary approach to ontogeny.

Main Results:

• Lifespan approaches are underrepresented compared to age-specific studies.
• Accommodative adjustment exemplifies developmental regulation across the lifespan, showing stability as a variant of development.
• An evolutionary framework, applying adaptation and history to ontogeny, is proposed to explain developmental changes.

Conclusions:

• A systematic, cross-lifespan perspective is crucial for developmental psychology.
• Accommodative adjustment demonstrates that stability is a form of development.
• An evolutionary approach offers a robust framework for understanding human development across the entire lifespan.