Glossary / Lexicon

Deutsch: Entwicklung / Español: Desarrollo / Português: Desenvolvimento / Français: Développement / Italiano: Sviluppo /

Development refers to the systematic and successive changes that follow a logical or orderly pattern over a long period of time and enhance a child's adaptation to the environment.

For example: Development refers to the systematic continuities and changes in the individual that occur between conception - when a sperm penetrates an ovum creating a new organism and death; predictable changes that occur in structure or function over the life span; and refer to processes by which organisms unfold features and traits, grow, and become more complex and specialized in structure and function.

Development in psychology refers to the systematic changes and continuities in cognitive, emotional, and social abilities across a person's lifespan. It encompasses physical growth, intellectual advancements, emotional maturation, and social adaptation from infancy to old age. Psychological development is influenced by genetics, environment, culture, and life experiences, shaping an individual's personality, behavior, and mental processes.

Description

Developmental psychology is a field that studies how humans grow and change throughout their lives. It examines different stages, such as infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and aging, to understand how psychological processes evolve. Theories of development, such as those proposed by Jean Piaget (cognitive development), Erik Erikson (psychosocial development), and Lev Vygotsky (sociocultural development), provide frameworks for analyzing these changes.

Cognitive development focuses on how thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving skills evolve over time. Emotional development explores how individuals manage and express emotions, while social development examines relationships and interactions with others. Psychological development is shaped by both nature (genetics) and nurture (environment), with factors such as parenting styles, education, culture, and personal experiences playing crucial roles.

Historically, early psychological theories focused on childhood as the primary period of development. However, modern perspectives recognize that development is a lifelong process, with important changes occurring even in adulthood and old age. Research in developmental psychology contributes to fields such as education, mental health, and social policy, providing insights into learning processes, emotional well-being, and social behavior.

Special Considerations in Psychological Development

Certain aspects of psychological development require special attention, such as developmental disorders, trauma, and the impact of early childhood experiences. Conditions like autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and learning disabilities affect developmental trajectories and may require specialized interventions. Early experiences, such as attachment to caregivers and exposure to stress or neglect, can have long-term effects on mental health and emotional stability.

Application Areas

• Child Development: Understanding how children learn, think, and interact with their environment.
• Educational Psychology: Applying developmental principles to improve teaching methods and learning outcomes.
• Clinical Psychology: Diagnosing and treating developmental disorders and psychological conditions.
• Gerontology: Studying psychological changes in aging and promoting mental well-being in older adults.
• Social Work: Supporting individuals in different life stages through counseling and intervention programs.
• Neuroscience: Examining how brain development influences cognitive and emotional functions.

Well-Known Examples

• Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development: Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages.
• Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages: Eight life stages, from infancy (trust vs. mistrust) to late adulthood (integrity vs. despair).
• Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development: Emphasizes the role of social interaction in learning and cognitive growth.
• Freud’s Psychosexual Stages: Theoretical framework on how personality develops through childhood experiences.
• Attachment Theory (Bowlby & Ainsworth): Explains how early bonds with caregivers shape future relationships and emotional security.

Risks and Challenges

• Developmental Delays: Some individuals may experience slower progress in cognitive, emotional, or social development due to genetic or environmental factors.
• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Trauma, neglect, or abuse in early years can lead to mental health issues and difficulties in emotional regulation.
• Educational Inequality: Limited access to quality education and learning resources can hinder cognitive and social development.
• Aging and Cognitive Decline: Aging-related changes, such as memory loss and reduced cognitive flexibility, pose challenges in later life.
• Cultural and Societal Influences: Different cultural expectations and societal pressures shape developmental pathways in unique ways.

Similar Terms

• Lifespan Development: The study of psychological changes across the entire life course.
• Growth: Refers more to physical changes rather than psychological aspects.
• Maturation: The natural unfolding of biological and psychological potential over time.
• Learning: A process that influences development but is distinct from innate growth.

Weblinks

• finanzen-lexikon.de: 'Entwicklung' in the finanzen-lexikon.de (German)
• bremen-huchting.de: 'Entwicklung' in the bremen-huchting.de (German)
• top500.de: 'Development' in the glossary of the top500.de
• umweltdatenbank.de: 'Entwicklung' im Lexikon der umweltdatenbank.de (German)
• environment-database.eu: 'Development' in the glossary of the environment-database.eu
• allerwelt-lexikon.de: 'Entwicklung' in the allerwelt-lexikon.de (German)
• information-lexikon.de: 'Entwicklung' in the information-lexikon.de (German)
• space-glossary.com: 'Development' in the space-glossary.com
• travel-glossary.com: 'Development' in the travel-glossary.com

Articles with 'Development' in the title

• Atypical development: Atypical development refers to the development that deviates from the typical developmental pathway in a way that is harmful to the individual.
• Career development: Career development is a term used in industrial and organizational psychology that refers to the stages of development that people go through throughout their lives
• Cephalocaudal development: Cephalocaudal development refers to a sequence of physical maturation and growth that proceeds from the head (cephalic region) to the tail (or caudal region)
• Cognitive development: Cognitive development refers to age-related changes that occur in mental activities, such as attending, perceiving, learning, thinking, and remembering
• Cognitive-developmental theory: Cognitive-developmental theory refers to the stage theory that holds that the child's abilities to mentally represent the world and solve problems unfold as a result of the interaction of experience and the maturation of neurological . . .
• Contexts of development: Contexts of development refers to the interrelated conditions in which development occurs. Culture, family, and ethnic group are three (3) of the major contexts that have an effect on development
• Continuity Development: Continuity in development refers to the idea that development is a gradual, continuous process without sudden changes or leaps. In psychology, this concept is often contrasted with the notion of discontinuity, which suggests that . . .
• Continuity of development: Continuity of development: Continuity of development refers to a theoretical position for explaining Development which proposes that normal and abnormal developmental changes are gradual and quantitative
• Continuity versus discontinuity of development: Continuity versus discontinuity of development : Continuity versus discontinuity of development refers to the scientific debate over whether developmental change- is gradual (continuous) or relatively abrupt (discontinuous)
• Cross-sectional developmental research design: Cross-sectional developmental research design: Cross-sectional developmental research design refers to a developmental design comparing different groups of individuals, each group representing a different age
• Developmental approach: Developmental approach refers to the approach to research on language development that attempts to answer the question, "What is the course of language development, and how can we explain it?" Please see also Learnability approach
• Developmental appropriateness: Developmental appropriateness is a term used that involves knowledge of children’s normal growth patterns and individual differences.
• Developmental cognitive neuroscience: Developmental cognitive neuroscience: Developmental cognitive neuroscience : Developmental Cognitive neuroscience is the perspective that takes data from a variety of sources- molecular biology, cell biology, artificial intelligence, . . .
• Developmental contextual model: Developmental contextual model . Pease see Developmental systems approach.
• Developmental coordination disorder: Developmental Coordination Disorder refers to a disorder characterized by marked motor incoordination (examples are clumsiness and delays in achieving motor milestones)
• Developmental Delay: Developmental Delay is where a child does not reach the same level of functioning in one or more major life activities such as self-care, language, learning, mobility, self-direction, indepe ndent living, and economic self-sufficiency
• Developmental disorders: Developmental disorders which is also known as Autism spectrum disorders or ASDs include Autism, Asperger's syndrome, Rett's disorder, and Childhood disintegrative disorder which are- characterized by impairment in communication skills, . . .
• Developmental dyslexia: Developmental dyslexia refers to the Condition in which a child's reading ability is lower than would be expected on the basis of his or her IQ.
• Developmental dysphasia: Developmental dysphasia refers to a delay in Language Development in the absence of any clear Sensory or cognitive disorder. Developmental dysphasia is also referred to as Specific langu age impairment
• Developmental dysplasia of the hip: Developmental dysplasia of the hip or DDH refers to a congenital condition of the hip joint. The hip joint is created as a ball-and-socket joint. In Developmental dysplasia of the hip, the hip socket may be shallow, letting the "ball" of . . .
• Developmental eras in childhood: Developmental eras in childhood refers to infancy, toddlerhood, early childhood whic is also called the Play age or Preschool period, and middle childhood which is also called the School age or Latency period
• Developmental eras in older adulthood: Developmental eras in older adulthood is defined most often, as older adults- the elderly persons, golden-agers, senior citizens or "the old" are treated as if they were a single developmental cohort
• Developmental History: Developmental History refers to the information obtained from the parents of a specific client (child/patient) regarding potentially significant historical milestones and events that might have a bearing on the child’s current . . .
• Developmental Interaction Curriculum: Developmental Interaction Curriculum: Developmental Interaction Curriculum refers to a curriculum which is individualized in relation to each child"s stage of development, while providing many opportunities for children to inte ract and . . .
• Developmental invariance: Developmental invariance refers to developmental pattern such that a cognitive skill does not improve steadily over childhood but reaches adult Competence early in life and remains stable th ereafter
• Developmental level: Developmental level refers to an individual's current state of physical, emotional, and intellectual development.
• Developmental lines: Developmental lines refers to a concept introduced by Anna Freud describing the major adjustments that typify the transition between childhood and Adolescence and young adulthood
• Developmental models: Developmental models refer to models that address ethical dilemmas and suggest that clinicians at lower developmental levels are dualistic and likely to adhere rigidly to ethical code while clinicians at higher levels are apt to use such . . .
• Developmental pathway: Developmental pathway refers to a concept to describe the sequence and timing of particular behaviors, and to highlight the known and suspected relationships of behaviors over time
• Developmental psychologists: Developmental psychologists Cognitive psychologists refer to kind/type of psychologists who seek to understand, describe, and explore how Behavior and mental processes change over the course of a lifetime
• Developmental psychology: Developmental psychology refers to the branch of psychology that studies the changes in behavioural, perceptual and cognitive capacities of organisms as a function of age and experience
• Developmental psychopathology: Developmental psychopathology refers to an approach to describing and studying disorders of childhood and Adolescence in a manner that emphasizes the importance of developmental processes and tasks
• Developmental quotient: The Developmental quotient (DQ) refers to a numerical measure of an infant"s performance on a developmental schedule relative to the performance of other infants of the same age
• Developmental research designs: Developmental research designs : Developmental Research designs refer to non-experimental Research designs used to examine the relationship between age and other v ariables
• Developmental stage: Developmental stage refers to a distinct phase within a larger sequence of development - a period characterized by a particular set of abilities, motives, behaviors, or emotions that occur together and form a coherent pattern- period of . . .
• Developmental systems approach (Developmental contextual model): Developmental systems approach (Developmental contextual model) : Developmental systems approach (Developmental contextual model ) refers to perspective that views development as the result of bi-directional interaction between all . . .
• Developmental systems theory: Developmental systems theory : Developmental systems Theory- This perspective emphasizes the ongoing interaction and integration across many levels of the human organism from the genetic to the behavioral level, within- the nested . . .
• Developmental tasks: Developmental tasks refers to psychosocial tasks of childhood that reflect broad domains of Competence and tell how children typically progress within each of these domains as they grow
• Developmental tasks in late adulthood: Developmental tasks in late adulthood is a term conceptualized by Erikson as involving a tension between "ego integrity” versus "despair”- successfully resolving this polarity is said to lea d to the virtues of "renunciation and wisdom? . . .
• Developmental Tests: Developmental Tests refer to tests which are used to assess infants and young children that are generally carried out for the purposes of screening, diagnosis, and evaluation of early- development
• Developmental Trajectory: Developmental Trajectory in the psychology context refers to the path or progression of an individual's development over time. It encompasses the changes and stages that occur from infancy through adulthood in various domains such as . . .
• Developmental-versus-Difference controversy: Developmental-versus-Difference controversy is a debate regarding the developmental progression of children with mental impairments. The developmental position argues that all children, reg- ardless of intellectual impairments, progress . . .
• Developmental-versus-difference controversy: Developmental-versus-difference controversy: developmental-versus-difference controversy refers to a debate regarding the developmental progression of children with mental impairments
• Developmentalist: Developmentalist refers to any scholar, regardless of discipline, who seeks to understand the developmental process (eg. psychologists, biologists, sociologists, anthropologists, educators )
• Discontinuity of development: Discontinuity of development refers to a theoretical position for explaining Development proposing that normal and abnormal developmental changes are abrupt and qualitative
• Ego development: Ego development is defined as the fundamental changes in the ways in which our thoughts, values, morals, and goals are organized. Transitions from one stage to another depend on both internal biological changes and external social changes . . .
• Emotional Development: Emotional development in psychology refers to the process through which individuals acquire the ability to recognize, express, understand, and regulate their emotions from infancy through adulthood
• General genetic law of cultural development: General genetic law of cultural development refers to the idea that cognition occurs on two (2) planes, first the social, between individuals, and later the psychological, as it is internalized by the child
• Graphmotor Development: Graphmotor Development refers to fine motor skills associated with handwriting and drawing
• Group development: Group development: Group development refer to patterns of growth and change that emerge across the group's life span
• Historical development approach: Historical development approach refers to the approach to history that concentrates on an element of a field or discipline and describes how the understanding or approach to studying that element has changed over time
• Human development: Human development refers to the multidisciplinary study of how people change and how they remain the same over time. Human development is the study of the psychological, social, and physical changes that occur throughout the lifespan
• Identity Development: Identity development in the psychology context refers to the process through which individuals come to understand and define themselves across the lifespan
• Ideographic development: Ideographic development refers to individual variations in the rate, extent, or direction of development. In psychology, the term "ideographic development" refers to the unique and individualized development and change that occurs in a . . .
• Invariant developmental sequence: Invariant developmental sequence refers to a series of developments that occur in one particular order because each development in the sequence is a prerequisite for the next
• Life-Span Development: Life-Span Development is defined as the study of the continuities, stabilities, and changes in psychological and physical processes that characterize human functioning, from conception through the final phases of life
• Longitudinal developmental research design: Longitudinal developmental research design is defined as a developmental research design that examines development by making a series of observations or measurements over time
• Microgenetic development: Microgenetic development: Microgenetic
• Moral development: Moral development is definea as the development of values, beliefs, and thinking abilities that act as a guide regarding what is acceptable behavior- the acquisition of the principles or rules of right conduct and the distinction between . . .
• Neuro-developmental: Neuro-developmental refers to the development relating to the brain.
• Normative development: Normative development: Normative
• Normative developmental task of older adulthood: Normative developmental task of older adulthood is the achievement of ego integrity versus despair or disgust- according to Erikson- self-actualization (Maslow) reconciliation (Birren)
• Ontogenetic development: Ontogenetic development: Ontogenetic
• Optimal level of development: Optimal level of development refers to the highest level of information-processing of which a person is capable. Moreover, in the reflective judgment framework, the highest level of information-processing capacity that a person is capable . . .
• Organization of development: Organization of development refers to the assumption that early patterns of Adaptation evolve over time and transform into higher-order functions in a structured manner
• Particularistic development: Particularistic development: Particularistic
• Personal Development: In the psychology context, personal development refers to the process of self-improvement and growth in various aspects of one's life, including emotional, physical, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions
• Pervasive developmental disorder: Pervasive developmental disorder refers to a psychiatric disorder characterised by social, communicative and behavioural deficits. Other /More definition: pervasive developmental disorder refers to one of several wide-ranging, significant, . . .
• Pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS): Pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) : Pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) refers to a disorder in which the child displays social, communication, and behavioral impairments . . .
• Pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs): Pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) : pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) is a category of disorders characterized by severe and extensive impairments in social interaction and communication skills, along with stereotyped . . .
• Phylogenetic development: Phylogenetic development: Phylogenetic
• Piaget's Theory of cognitive development: Piaget's Theory of cognitive development: Piaget's Theory of cognitive development : Piaget's Theory of Cognitive development refers to the perspective proposed by Jean Piaget (1896 to 1980) that thinking develops in a sequence of stages
• Pragmatic development: Pragmatic development: Pragmatic
• Principle toward the development of opposites: Principle toward the development of opposites is a principle which according to Wundt is the tendency for prolonged experience of one type to create a mental desire for the opposite type of experience
• Professional Development: In the context of psychology, Professional Development refers to the ongoing process of acquiring new skills, knowledge, and experience that contribute to a psychologist's ability to provide high-quality psychological services
• Psychosexual stages of development: Psychosexual stages of development : psychosexual stages of development refers to Psychoanalytic concept of the sequence of phases a person passes through during development
• Talent development: Talent development refers to the process of nurturing and enhancing an individual's natural abilities and skills to reach their full potential. In psychology, this concept is concerned with identifying, cultivating, and optimizing a . . .
• Training and development: In the psychology context, Training and Development refers to the systematic process of enhancing an individual's skills, knowledge, and competencies, enabling them to perform effectively in their personal and professional roles
• Typical Development: Typical Development: Typical development refers to the natural progression through which most children acquire physical, cognitive, emotional, and social skills in a predictable sequence
• Universal versus Context-specific development controversy: Universal versus Context-specific development controversy refers to a debate over whether there is a single pathway of development, or several paths
• Universal versus Context-specific development issue: Universal versus Context-specific development issue refers to an issue whether there is just one path or several paths of development. Universal versus Context-specific development issue is also called Universal versus Context-specific . . .
• Zone of proximal development (ZPD): Zone of proximal development (ZPD): Zone of proximal development: Zone of proximal Development (ZPD) refers to Lev Semionovich Vygotsky's concept. It is the difference between the developmental level a child has reached and the level she . . .

Summary

Development in psychology encompasses the lifelong process of cognitive, emotional, and social changes influenced by biological and environmental factors. Theories by Piaget, Erikson, Vygotsky, and others provide valuable insights into how individuals evolve throughout different life stages. Understanding psychological development is crucial for fields like education, healthcare, and mental health, as it helps address developmental challenges and promote well-being.

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