HUMAN DEVELOPMENT OVERVIEW College of Public and Community Service University of Massachusetts at Boston Boston, MA 02115 ©2009 William Holmes
DEVELOPMENTAL ASSIGNMENTS Challenges of a life stage Application of two theories Consequences of not meeting challenge Assessment of theory applicability
VIEWS OF DEVELOPMENT Progress along a fixed course Transition between different stages Biological aging Psychological maturity Social organization Economic achievement
VIEWS OF LIFE SPAN Prenatal Childhood Adolescence Adulthood Maturity/Death
GENERAL ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT Nature versus Nurture Reversibility Inevitability Role of stereotypes
RESEARCH ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT Experiments Longitudinal studies Comparability of samples Persistence of findings Ethical and legal constraints