1. Reflections on Two Major Developmental Issues
Any survey of developmental psychology must consider three points
How development is controlled though interactions of genes and experiences
Whether development is a gradual continuous process or a series of distinct stages
Whether development is characterized more by stability over time or by change

2. Continuity and Stages
Researchers who emphasize experience and learning see development as one slow, continuous process
Those who emphasize biological maturation tend to see development as a series of distinct steps
Caterpillar -> Chrysalis -> Butterfly
Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg, Erik Erikson propose that such stages do exist
However there are speculations that these stages do not exist
Some children have been found or attributed with characteristics not found in their own respective stages but of older stages

3. Stability and Change
Another point theorizing on development psychology is: Stability or change
Evidence have been found on both causes
Personalities are usually constant and stabilizes over time
And
Life is a process of change and of becoming

4. Researcher’s Agreement
Researchers have though come to an agreement to the following points:
The first two years provide a poor basis in predicting a person’s eventual traits.
Delinquent children have been found to turn out to be successful adults regardless of their past habits
As time goes on, personalities stabilize
Characteristics such as temperament are more stable than others such as social attitudes
Research on 1000 New Zealanders from age 3 to 26; have found out that there is a consistency of temperament and emotionality across time. Thus coming to a conclusion that there is stability within temperament and emotionality alike
In ways more than one, all people change with age
Shy, fearful babies begin opening up at the age of 4
People become calmer, more self-disciplined, understandable, and confident after adolescence
20 year old goof offs have turned into 40 year old business leaders or cultural leaders
A hard driving teenager’s determination may weaken as time goes by, yet later still be a relatively hard driven elder