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Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology pp 404–410Cite as

Developmental Psychology, Overview

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Introduction

The field of developmental psychology has experienced much growth and change over the last century. Expanding from the study of individual psyche and perception, research in this area now includes the study of all aspects of the developing organism from cellular development of gametes to the last breath of the elderly. Developmental psychologists explore social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development for individuals as well as collectives across the life span. Heated debates of how individuals and groups develop have emerged over the years, however, few developmental psychologists embrace the extremes of these discourses. While the field has not reached consensus on definitive explanations of development, findings from developmental psychology research have significant implications for parenting, education, and policy.

Definition

There have been many definitions of developmental psychology over the years. However different, they all concur that developmental...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA

    Stephanie M. Reich & Alejandra S. Albarran

Authors
  1. Stephanie M. Reich
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  2. Alejandra S. Albarran
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephanie M. Reich .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Thomas Teo

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Reich, S.M., Albarran, A.S. (2014). Developmental Psychology, Overview. In: Teo, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5583-7_453

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5583-7_453

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-5582-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-5583-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Sciences

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