Baltes P B
Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Education, Berlin, Germany.
Am Psychol. 1997 Apr;52(4):366-80. doi: 10.1037//0003-066x.52.4.366.
Drawing on both evolutionary and ontogenetic perspectives, the basic biological-genetic and social-cultural architecture of human development is outlined. Three principles are involved. First, evolutionary selection pressure predicts a negative age correlation, and therefore, genome-based plasticity and biological potential decrease with age. Second, for growth aspects of human development to extend further into the life span, culture-based resources are required at ever-increasing levels. Third, because of age-related losses in biological plasticity, the efficiency of culture is reduced as life span development unfolds. Joint application of these principles suggests that the life span architecture becomes more and more incomplete with age. Degree of completeness can be defined as the ratio between gains and losses in functioning. Two examples illustrate the implications of the life span architecture proposed. The first is a general theory of development involving the orchestration of 3 component processes: selection, optimization, and compensation. The second considers the task of completing the life course in the sense of achieving a positive balance between gains and losses for all age levels. This goal is increasingly more difficult to attain as human development is extended into advanced old age.
从进化和个体发生的角度出发，概述了人类发展的基本生物遗传和社会文化架构。涉及三个原则。第一，进化选择压力预示着与年龄呈负相关，因此，基于基因组的可塑性和生物潜能会随着年龄增长而降低。第二，为了使人类发展的成长方面进一步延伸到更长的寿命阶段，需要不断增加基于文化的资源。第三，由于与年龄相关的生物可塑性丧失，随着寿命发展的展开，文化的效率会降低。这些原则的联合应用表明，寿命架构会随着年龄增长变得越来越不完整。完整程度可以定义为功能增益与损失之间的比率。两个例子说明了所提出的寿命架构的含义。第一个是一个涉及三个组成过程协调的一般发展理论：选择、优化和补偿。第二个考虑的是在所有年龄阶段实现增益与损失之间的积极平衡意义上完成生命历程的任务。随着人类发展延伸到高龄阶段，这个目标越来越难以实现。
