What is the Cognitive Aspect of Lifespan Development?

The cognitive aspect of lifespan development refers to the changes that the brain and thought process undergo with aging. Broadly speaking, cognitive changes in the lifespan can be broken down into childhood, middle adulthood and late adulthood.

Child Cognitive Development

• Because the brain develops and grows most in childhood, much of developmental psychology is devoted to studying cognitive changes in this time period. Psychologist Jean Piaget created a theory of childhood cognitive development in which he proposed that humans move through stages of growth. His stages begin at birth with the sensorimotor period, are followed by preoperational and concrete operations in middle childhood and end with formal operations in the teenage years.

Middle Adulthood Cognition

• In middle adulthood, which spans the late 20s to late 50s, cognition is still developing, albeit subtly. In the beginning of this era, attention and working memory are at their sharpest. As adults grow and attain new information through life and work, they have a fully developed crystallized intelligence. Crystallized intelligence, a concept originated by psychologist Charles Spearman, refers to cognitive development based on what is learned and experienced.

Cognition in Late Adulthood

• In late adulthood, the time period beginning roughly in the early to mid 60s, adults begin to lose cognitive ability. During this stage in life, cognitive processes become vulnerable to memory loss and difficulty with mental flexibility. In this theory of lifespan development, Erik Erikson proposed that older adults can retain functions best by continuing to have new experiences as well as reviewing life and contemplating memories and choices that make up their unique life story.