LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT: Taking Sides--Clashing Views in Life-Span Development, Second Edition
UNIT 1
GENERAL ISSUES IN THE STUDY OF LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT Issue 1. Does the Cultural Environment Influence Life-Span Development More than Our Genes? YES: Paul Ehrlich and Marcus Feldman, from “Genes and Cultures: What Creates Our Behavioral Phenome?” Current Anthropology (February 2003) NO: Gary Marcus, from “Making the Mind: Why We’ve Misunderstood the Nature-Nurture Debate,” Boston Review (December 2003/January 2004)
Stanford University professors of biology Paul Ehrlich and Marcus Feldman argue that human behavior exhibits such complexity that genetic programs simply can’t explain the way people develop. Psychologist and researcher Gary Marcus asserts that research clearly demonstrates how a relatively small number of genes influence our environmental learning by “cascading” to determine the paths of our behavioral development.Issue 2. Are Peers More Important than Parents during the Process of Development?YES: Judith Rich Harris, from “How to Succeed in Childhood,” Wilson Quarterly (Winter 1991) NO: Howard Gardner, from “Do Parents Count?” New York Times Book Review (November 5, 1998)
Developmental psychology writer Judith Rich Harris presents a strong and provocative argument suggesting that parents do not influence child development to any significant degree, while peers and social groups have a primary influence. Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner reviews Harris’s work and suggests her argument is overstated and misleading—parents do matter.Issue 3. Do Significant Innate Differences Influence the Career Success of Males and Females?YES: Steven Pinker, from “The Science of Gender and Science: Pinker Vs. Spelke: A Debate,” Edge: The Third Culture (May 2005) NO: Elizabeth Spelke, from “The Science of Gender and Science: Pinker Vs. Spelke: A Debate,” Edge: The Third Culture (May 2005)
After the Harvard president controversially suggested innate gender differences may play a role in men’s disproportionate representation in science careers, cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker suggested that research does find clear innate differences between men and women in some basic cognitive abilities relevant to success. Harvard psychologist Elizabeth Spelke draws on research into cognitive development to suggest that the major reasons for any differences in career success lie in social, rather than genetic, forces.
UNIT 2
PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT AND INFANCY Issue 4. Does Prenatal Exposure to Drugs Such as Cocaine Create “Crack Babies” with Special Developmental Concerns?YES: Sherri McCarthy and Thomas Franklin Waters, from “A Crack Kid Grows Up: A Clinical Case Report,” Journal of Offender Rehabilitation (vol. 37, 2003) NO: Mariah Blake, from “The Damage Done: Crack Babies Talk Back,” Columbia Journalism Review (September/October 2004)
Sherri McCarthy and Thomas F. Waters, educational psychology and criminal justice professors at Northern Arizona University, review the research on “crack babies” suggesting a link between prenatal cocaine exposure and serious physical, socioemotional, and cognitive effects requiring special care and attention. Journalist and editor Mariah Blake contends that the idea of “crack babies” with special needs is more a media creation than a medical fact.Issue 5. Is There a “Myth of the First Three Years”? YES: Gwen J. Broude, from “Scatterbrained Child Rearing,” Reason (December 2000) NO: Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families, from “Zero to Three: Response to The Myth of the First Three Years,” http://www.zerotothree.org/no-myth.html
Gwen J. Broude, who teaches developmental psychology and cognitive science at Vassar College, reviews, supports, and augments John Bruer’s idea that a “myth of the first three years” has falsely used neuroscience to claim that infancy is the only critical developmental period. Zero to Three, a national organization devoted to promoting healthy infant development, contradicts Bruer’s idea by asserting that a great deal of diverse research supports the idea that the first three years are critical to development and success in adulthood.Issue 6. Are There Good Reasons to Allow Infants to Consume Electronic Media, Such as Television? YES: Victoria Rideout, Elizabeth Hamel, and the Kaiser Family Foundation, from “The Media Family: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers and Their Parents,” A Report of the Kaiser Family Foundation (May 2006) NO: Daniel R. Anderson and Tiffany A. Pempek, from “Television and Very Young Children,” American Behavioral Scientist (January 2005)
Victoria Rideout, Elizabeth Hamel, and the Kaiser Family Foundation find that television and electronic media allow families to cope with busy schedules and are of value to parents of infants. Psychologists Daniel Anderson and Tiffany Pempek, instead focus on infant learning. In their review of available literature, they concur with the American Academy of Pediatrics in recommending that infants should have no exposure to television.
UNIT 3
EARLY CHILDHOOD AND MIDDLE CHILDHOOD Issue 7. Is Advertising Responsible for Childhood Obesity? YES: The Kaiser Family Foundation, from “The Role of Media in Childhood Obesity,” Issue Brief (February 2004) NO: Debra J. Holt, Pauline M. Ippolito, Debra M. Desrochers, and Christopher R. Kelley, from “Children’s Exposure to Television Advertising in 1977 and 2004: Information for the Obesity Debate,” Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Economics Staff Report (June 1, 2007)
In a review of research on media exposure and childhood obesity the Kaiser Family Foundation concludes that exposure to advertising, more than inactivity, best explains the increasing rates of childhood obesity. In contrast, the Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Economics Staff specifically evaluated television advertising to children and found that increasing rates of childhood obesity do not correspond with increasing exposure to food advertising.Issue 8. Does Emphasizing Academic Skills Help At-Risk Preschool Children?YES: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, from Strengthening Head Start: What the Evidence Shows (June 2003) NO: C. Cybele Raver and Edward F. Zigler, from “Another Step Back? Assessing Readiness in Head Start,” Young Children (January 2004)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services argues that preschool programs can help young children most by emphasizing academic and cognitive skills. Professors C. Cybele Raver and Edward F. Zigler argue that overemphasizing academic and cognitive skills at the expense of social, emotional, and physical well-being is a mistake dependent on misguided efforts to make the entire educational system focused on concrete assessment.Issue 9. Is Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD) a Legitimate Medical Condition That Affects Childhood Behavior? YES: Michael Fumento, from “Trick Question,” The New Republic (February 2003) NO: Rogers H. Wright, from “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: What It Is and What It Is Not,” in Rogers H. Wright and Nicholas A. Cummings, eds., Destructive Trends In Mental Health: The Well-Intentioned Path To Harm (Routledge, 2005)
Science journalist and writer Michael Fumento suggests that despite the extensive political controversy, it is clear that ADHD is a legitimate medical condition disrupting childhood. Psychologist Rogers Wright argues that ADHD is a transitory condition and fad diagnosis rather than an enduring disease.
UNIT 4
ADOLESCENCE Issue 10. Are Efforts to Improve Self-Esteem Misguided? YES: Roy F. Baumeister, Jennifer D. Campbell, Joachim I. Krueger, and Kathleen D. Vohs, from “Exploding the Self-Esteem Myth,” Scientific American (January 2005) NO: William B. Swann, Christine Chang-Schneider, and Katie Larsen McClarty, from “Do People’s Self-Views Matter? Self-Concept and Self-Esteem in Everyday Life,” American Psychologist (February–March 2007)
Psychologist Roy Baumeister and colleagues found that despite its popularity, self-esteem contributes little of value to children and development. Psychologist William Swann and colleagues argue that substantive versions of self-esteem do facilitate positive developmental trajectories.Issue 11. Should Contemporary Adolescents Be Engaged in More Structured Activities? YES: Joseph L. Mahoney, Angel L. Harris, and Jacquelynne S. Eccles, from “Organized Activity Participation, Positive Youth Development, and the Over-Scheduling Hypothesis,” Social Policy Report (August 2006) NO: Alvin Rosenfeld, from “Comments on ‘Organized Activity Participation, Positive Youth Development, and the Over-Scheduling Hypothesis’,” http://www.hyper-parenting.com/start.htm (2001)
Psychologist Joseph Mahoney and colleagues recognize the concern about “over-scheduling” but present research suggesting that the benefits to structured activities outweigh any costs. Child psychiatrist Alvin Rosenfeld asserts that all of the data suggest that most youth and adolescents need less structured activity and more balance.Issue 12. Does Violent Media Cause Teenage Aggression? YES: Nancy Signorielli, from Violence in the Media: A Reference Handbook ABC-CLIO (2005) NO: Jonathan L. Freedman, from Media Violence and Its Effect on Aggression: Assessing the Scientific Evidence (University of Toronto Press, 2002)
Professor of communication Nancy Signorielli uses research to support the popular assumption that media violence bears some responsibility for the acts of aggression that receive widespread publicity. Professor of psychology Jonathan L. Freedman argues that, despite many research efforts to demonstrate a link between media violence and teen aggression, the data does not support that case.
UNIT 5
YOUTH AND EARLY ADULTHOOD Issue 13. Are Contemporary Young Adults More Selfish than Previous Generations?YES: Jean M. Twenge, from Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled—and More Miserable Than Ever Before (Free Press, 2006) NO: Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, from “Suffering, Selfish, Slackers? Myths and Reality about Emerging Adults,” Journal of Youth and Adolescence (January 2007)
Drawing on data gathered from several generations of college students and young adults, psychologist Jean Twenge asserts that contemporary young adults are perilously narcissistic. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a psychologist who coined the term “emerging adulthood,” counters that while contemporary young adults are self-focused they are not selfish.Issue 14. Are College Graduates Unprepared for Adulthood and the World of Work?YES: Mel Levine, from “College Graduates Aren’t Ready for the Real World,” The Chronicle of Higher Education (February 18, 2005) NO: Frank F. Furstenberg, Jr., et al., from “Growing Up Is Harder to Do,” Contexts (Summer 2004)
Professor of pediatrics, author, and child-rearing expert Mel Levine argues that contemporary colleges are producing a generation of young adults who are psychologically “unready” for entering adulthood and the world of work. Sociologist Frank Furstenberg and colleagues assert that major social changes have extended the transition to adulthood, and college graduates are the group most apt to cope with these social changes.
UNIT 6
MIDDLE ADULTHOOD Issue 15. Is the Institution of Marriage at Risk? YES: Andrew J. Cherlin, from “The Deinstitutionalization of American Marriage,” Journal of Marriage and Family (September 2004) NO: Frank Furstenberg, from “Can Marriage Be Saved?” Dissent (Summer 2005)
Sociologist Andrew J. Cherlin suggests that the institution of marriage is losing its preeminence and may become just one of many relationship options for couples. Frank Furstenberg, on the other hand, proposes that the institution of marriage will persist with appropriate government policies and support to families.Issue 16. Can Lesbian and Gay Couples Be Appropriate Parents for Children? YES: American Psychological Association, from “APA Policy Statement on Sexual Orientation, Parents, & Children” (July 2004) NO: Timothy J. Dailey, from “State of the States: Update on Homosexual Adoption in the U.S.,” Family Research Council (no. 243, 2004)
The American Psychological Association’s research concluded that all of the evidence suggests that lesbian and gay couples are as equally competent to parent as heterosexual couples. In contrast, Timothy Dailey asserts that homosexual relationships are less stable than heterosexual marriages and thus are less able to provide a stable two-parent home for children.Issue 17. Is Religion a Pure Good in Facilitating Well-Being during Adulthood?YES: David G. Myers, from “Wanting More in an Age of Plenty,” Christianity Today (April 2000) NO: Julie Juola Exline, from “Stumbling Blocks on the Religious Road: Fractured Relationships, Nagging Vices, and the Inner Struggle to Believe,” Psychological Inquiry (vol. 13, 2002)
Psychologist and author David Myers asserts that religion is an anticdote to the discontent many adults feel despite incredible relative material wealth. Professor of psychology Julia Juola Exline asserts that research suggesting religion to be a pure good for adult development neglects to account for the fact that it can also be a source of significant sadness, stress, and confusion.
UNIT 7
LATER ADULTHOOD Issue 18. Can We Universally Define “Successful Aging”? YES: John W. Rowe and Robert L. Kahn, from “Successful Aging,” The Gerontologist (vol. 37, 1997) NO: Martha B. Holstein and Meredith Minkler, from “Self, Society, and the ‘New Gerontology’,” The Gerontologist (vol. 43, 2003)
With a drastically increasing population of the elderly, professors of medicine John W. Rowe and Robert L. Kahn suggest that a unified model of healthy aging is necessary to guide work with the elderly. Martha B. Holstein and Meredith Minkler, professors of religion and public health, respectively, counter that a unified model of successful aging is based on particular values and assumptions that may not be fair to marginalized populations.Issue 19. Are Brain Exercises Unhelpful in Preventing Cognitive Decline in Old Age? YES: Timothy A. Salthouse, from “Mental Exercise and Mental Aging: Evaluating the Validity of the ‘Use It or Lose It’ Hypothesis,” Perspectives on Psychological Science (2006) NO: Carmi Schooler, from “Use It—and Keep It, Longer, Probably: A Reply to Salthouse,” Perspectives on Psychological Science (March 2007)
Although mental exercises designed to maintain mental functioning in old age have become quite popular, psychologist Timothy Salthouse asserts that there is little convincing evidence to support that appealing idea. Carmi Schooler, a researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health, counters that although the loss of mental functioning with age is not fully understood there is good reason to believe that more activity can delay cognitive decline.Issue 20. Should the Terminally Ill Be Able to Have Physicians Help Them Die?YES: Richard T. Hull, from “The Case for Physician-Assisted Suicide,” Free Inquiry (Spring 2003) NO: Margaret A. Somerville, from “The Case against Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide,” Free Inquiry (Spring 2003)
Philosopher Richard T. Hull claims that allowing physician-assisted suicide will appropriately give control over dying to patients and families rather than medical professionals. Ethicist Margaret Somerville instead asserts that allowing euthanasia oversimplifies the complex issues at the end of life, and allows people to ignore the imperative of providing appropriate care.
