1. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT OVERVIEW
College of Public and Community Service
University of Massachusetts at Boston
Boston, MA 02115
©2009 William Holmes

2. DEVELOPMENTAL ASSIGNMENTS
Challenges of a life stage
Application of two theories
Consequences of not meeting challenge
Assessment of theory applicability

3. VIEWS OF DEVELOPMENT Progress along a fixed course
Transition between different stages
Biological aging
Psychological maturity
Social organization
Economic achievement

4. VIEWS OF LIFE SPAN Prenatal Childhood Adolescence Adulthood
Maturity/Death

5. GENERAL ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT
Nature versus Nurture
Reversibility
Inevitability
Role of stereotypes

6. RESEARCH ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT
Experiments
Longitudinal studies
Comparability of samples
Persistence of findings
Ethical and legal constraints