Life-Course : A Socio-Cultural Perspective

This chapter characterizes a socio-cultural psychology of the life-course, and shows how it differs from other approaches of the life-course. General principles for such a psychology are highlighted, and a particular attention to ruptures, transitions, and the processes these involve, is proposed. Such a basic “grammar” enables us to highlight a few dynamics of development; empirical situations chosen along typical life-courses exemplify them. Issues to be further examined can thus be highlighted.