心理学与生活-第58章
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yourself old； like the 83…years…old woman that refused to shop in a certain store because she
considered the clothes they carried only appropriate for old ladies。
An Aging Society
With the emphasis on “saving social security” that everyone saw in the 2000 presidential election；
we have just begun to see the ing impact of the aging of American society。 As the population
continues to age； and there are relatively fewer young people to physically and economically care
for older people； there will clearly have to be some major changes in many social programs and
how some elements in our society function。 For example； social security will have to be changed to
keep it from being insolvent when the “baby boom” generation reaches its peak retirement
years。 Programs like Medicare will also have to be revamped。 Retirement ages may be moved farther
back； so that the standard retirement age in the not…too…distant future may be 70 instead of 65。 While
today’s elderly are generally healthier than the elderly of previous generations； as they reach their
80s and 90s （and even 100s） many will need extensive health care and nursing home care。 This will
require record numbers of health…care workers to help care for the elderly。 In what other ways might
an aging population impact society？ This can be a thought…provoking discussion for students。
Euthanasia
One of the more controversial issues related to aging and the health problems that often acpany
it is the issue of euthanasia。 Dr。 Jack Kervorkian’s active euthanasia efforts eventually resulted in
his being jailed； but brought a lot of controversy； and publicity to this issue。 You might ask students
how they feel about this issue。 Is active euthanasia ever justified？ If so； under what circumstances？
What moral issues does active euthanasia raise？ What potential abuses could result from legalized
active euthanasia？ What about the “slippery slope” argument that once we begin allowing active
euthanasia in some cases； it bees easier to begin allowing it for less severe cases； and eventually
bees just an easy way of getting rid of “inconvenient” elderly people who are a “nuisance”
because of their ill health and disfort？
While most Americans oppose active euthanasia； because of these potential abuses； the picture is
not as clear when it es to the issue of passive euthanasia； in which no active steps are taken to
shorten the person’s life； but no efforts are made to keep them alive when the person could be kept
alive with outside help。 Some researchers claim that well over 50％ of physicians have occasionally
engaged in passive euthanasia。 How do students feel about this？ How do their feelings about
passive euthanasia differ from their feelings about active euthanasia？
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CHAPTER 11： HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN
BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILES
Alfred Binet （1857–1911）
Born in Nice； France； Alfred Binet was the only child of a physician father and artist mother。
Following the separation of his parents when he was young； Binet lived with his mother； moving to
Paris when he was 15； and entering law school in 1872。 Following receipt of his license to practice
law in 1878； he did not enter into practice and was seemingly not enamored with the profession；
menting； “As for the law； that is the career of men who have not yet chosen a vocation。” Binet
subsequently began reading psychology at the Bibliotheque Nationale； though he never acquired a
graduate degree in the discipline。
Following several years of “studying” psychology in the library； in 1883 Binet began working at
Charcot’s laboratory at the Salpetriere； one of Paris’s well…known hospitals； only to sever his
relationship with Charcot and his colleagues； following a disagreement in 1890。 He joined the staff
at the Laboratory of Physiological Psychology at the Sorbonne； became its Director three years later；
and remained in that position until his death。
During the 1890s； Binet turned his interests to the goal of understanding and measuring the
individual differences noted in intelligence； studying the relevant works of Galton； Spearman； and
Cattell。 In 1907； following the development of a test that would measure individual differences in
cognitive functioning； Binet wrote； “It was under these circumstances that our devoted collaborator；
Dr。 Simon； and I formulated a plan for measuring intelligence which we called “a metric scale of
intelligence” （Binet & Simon； 1909/1975）。
The scale that Binet and Simon developed had a great deal in mon with one of its latter…day
versions； the Stanford…Binet Scale； in that the prototype included tests of “digit span； vocabulary；
reproduction of block designs； paper folding； prehension； and similarities。” Binet and Simon
revised their scale in 1908 and 1911； expanding the size of the scale and including items making it
more socioeconomically and intellectually diverse。 Binet went on to establish an experimental
laboratory school； apparently the first of its kind in Europe； in which he discovered that 5 percent of
children experienced problems in school simply because they could not see the blackboard。
As a man； Binet was described as energetic and inclined to spend most of his time working。 His
collaborator； Simon； wrote of him that； “to examine patients with him was always an extreme
pleasure； for he brought to the situation so much imagination。” That seems a fitting tribute for a
man who contributed so much to the assessment and measurement of intelligence。
Jean Piaget （1896–1980）
Until his death in 1980 at the age of 84； Jean Piaget retreated to his cabin in the Alps each summer；
where he spent most of his days analyzing the mass of research data generated over the past year at
his Center of Genetic Epistemology。 During long walks along the mountain trails； he mulled over
the latest experimental results and； in the crisp evenings； he formulated his conclusions。 With the
approach of fall； he descended from the mountain with the manuscript for a book and several
journal articles in his hand。 This time…honored procedure of careful observation followed by
seclusion for thought and synthesis enabled him to bee one of the more prolific if not the most
famous psychologist of the century。
Piaget has been widely known in this country only since the translation of his works in the 1960s；
but in Europe he was recognized as an expert in the field of cognitive development in the 1930s。 As
a 10…year…old child in 1906； he published his notes on the habits of the albino sparrow he observed
near his home in Switzerland。 At the age of 16； he was remended for a curator’s position at the
207
PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE
natural history museum in Geneva； but declined in favor of continuing his education。 He studied
natural science at the University of Neuchatel； obtaining his doctorate at the age of 21。 His readings
in philosophy stimulated an intense interest in epistemology； the study of how humans acquire
knowledge。 Convinced that cognitive development had a genetic basis； Piaget decided that the best
approach to studying it would be through its behavioral and biological ponents。 Psychology
appeared； to Piaget； to be the discipline that best incorporated this approach。
Piaget sought training in several distinguished European psychology laboratories and universities；
gaining his first major breakthrough into the understanding of chronological stages of growth
while working at Alfred Binet’s laboratory school in Paris。 While designing and administering
intelligence tests to French children； he became intrigued with the characteristic wrong answers
that many of the children gave to his questions。 In pursuing these wrong answers； he came to the
realization that the children were employing a process of thought and interpretation that was
decidedly different in nature from that employed by adults。 Mindful of the concept of evolution
from his training as a biologist； Piaget proposed that mental development also evolves and that the
intellect passes through several stages of growth。
The theory of cognitive development Piaget was formulating centered on the stages of growth in
early childhood； thus it seemed natural to him to observe his own three children； as they grew from
infancy to preadolescence。 His careful experiments and conclusions based on these observations；
published in journal articles and then in book form； brought him immediate recognition in Europe。
While Piaget then expanded his experiments to enpass a much larger group of subjects； his
approach to research was not altered。 He observed； asked questions； uncovered new and sometimes
puzzling facts； and attempted to integrate his findings with what was presently known。
Eventually； he formed a theory from the whole enterprise of explaining his observations。 Piaget has
been criticized for disregarding the traditional methods of scientific inquiry。 He almost never
designed experiments to support preliminary hypotheses； and did not rely heavily on hard
statistical data for the conclusions he reached。 To his credit； Piaget responded with good humor to
scholarly attacks on his work； claiming that if he were to begin with a rigid plan and hypothesis； he
would be forced to ignore the fascinating phenomena falling outside of such narrow constraints。
He insisted on his freedom to look for the new and the unexpected。 Even in his eighties； he
continued to ask questions； to probe； and to integrate。 The disciplines of both cognitive and
developmental psychology benefited enormously from Piaget’s curiosity about how the child es
to understand the world and his or her place in it。
Harry Harlow （1905–1981）
Harry Harlow received his Ph。D。 from Stanford University in 1930。 He subsequently joined the
faculty at the University of Wisconsin； where he remained until 1974； when he left to bee a
research professor at the University of Arizona。 While at Wisconsin； Harlow established the highly
regarded Primate Laboratory； where he conducted much of his celebrated research on learning；
affective； and social development in monkeys。 He is best known for his research on social isolation
and the importance of the mother–infant relationship in the development of healthy； psychosocial
behavior。 He was elected President of the American Psychological Association in 1958。
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CHAPTER 11： HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN
TIMELINE
Yea Event
r
1883 G。 Stanley Hall published The Contents of Children’s Minds； one of the earlier
American studies on child development。
1893 Hall founded the National Association for the Study of Childhood； one year after
founding the American Psychological Association。
1895 James Baldwin； whose views influenced those of Piaget； published Mental
Development in the Child and the Race。
1914–
1918
World War I was fought。
1920 James Watson and Rosilie Raynor published the results of their “Little Albert”
study。
1921 Lewis Terman initiated the first large…scale longitudinal study of child
development； focusing on the gifted child。
1925 Arnold Gese
