Final answer:
Paul Balte's Life Span Developmental Theory, or selective optimization with compensation theory, outlines how individuals manage development through selection, optimization, and compensation, particularly as they age.
Step-by-step explanation:
Paul Balte's Life Span Developmental Theory
Paul Balte's Life Span Developmental Theory, also known as selective optimization with compensation theory, proposes that successful development throughout the life course involves three components: selection, optimization, and compensation. These components help individuals adapt to the changes and challenges faced during different life stages. Balte's framework emphasizes that aging is a process that involves balancing the losses with the gains. This dynamic and adaptable approach to development highlights that goal-setting (compensation) is a personalized process and that individuals actively select and optimize their abilities and resources to navigate life's complexity.
The theory is particularly relevant in gerontology, where researchers apply these concepts to understand how individuals can age successfully by managing the trade-offs between diminishing abilities and the strengths they retain or develop. Unlike deterministic theories, Balte's emphasizes the proactive role of individuals in shaping their own development through these mechanisms of selection, optimization, and compensation.