Adult development
Encyclopedia
Adult Development is a branch of developmental psychology
that deals specifically with how adults age through physical, emotional, and cognitive means. One simple breakdown of the field is to look at its three dimensions.
For example, positive adult developmental may be divided into at least six parts: hierarchical complexity
, (orders, stages), knowledge
, experience
, expertise, wisdom
, and spirituality.
Nondevelopmental forms include adult
hood and adult human behavior
.
While adult development has long been a subject reserved for academia and medical professions, in recent years, adult development has become an integral part of leadership and executive development
.
at The Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital
and Harvard Medical School
. Professor Robert J. Waldinger, from Boston
Massachusetts
, is studying a group of men who have been a part of an elaborate study for 67 years. The intention is to examine early life predictors of healthy or unhealthy aging and relationships late in life. George E. Vaillant, who has been the Director of the Study of Adult Development at the Harvard University Health Service for the last thirty five years has published is work in his books Adaptation to Life, 1977, The Wisdom of The Ego, 1993, and The Natural History of Alcoholism-Revisited, 1995. . He charted adult development in 824 men and women their recovery process of schizophrenia
, heroin addiction, alcoholism
, and personality disorder
. .
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Developmental psychology
Developmental psychology, also known as human development, is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes, emotional changes, and perception changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life span. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to...
that deals specifically with how adults age through physical, emotional, and cognitive means. One simple breakdown of the field is to look at its three dimensions.
- Dimension 1: change: lossGriefGrief is a multi-faceted response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or something to which a bond was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, and philosophical dimensions...
, stasisStasisThe term stasis may refer to* A state of stability, in which all forces are equal and opposing, therefore they cancel out each other....
, positive adult development - Dimension 2: types of change: maturationMaturationMaturation could refer to any of the following:* Fetal development* Developmental biology* Emotional development* Or physical maturation of any biological life form - see individual articles for maturation of different life forms....
, learningLearningLearning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...
, developmental stageDevelopmental stageOne of the major controversies in developmental psychology centres around whether development is continuous or discontinuous. Stage theories of development rest on the assumption that development is a discontinuous process involving distinct stages which are characterised by qualitative differences... - Dimension 3: psychological processes in adult development.
For example, positive adult developmental may be divided into at least six parts: hierarchical complexity
Model of hierarchical complexity
The model of hierarchical complexity is a framework for scoring how complex a behavior is. It quantifies the order of hierarchical complexity of a task based on mathematical principles of how the information is organized and of information science...
, (orders, stages), knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
, experience
Experience
Experience as a general concept comprises knowledge of or skill in or observation of some thing or some event gained through involvement in or exposure to that thing or event....
, expertise, wisdom
Wisdom
Wisdom is a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgements and actions in keeping with this understanding. It often requires control of one's emotional reactions so that universal principles, reason and...
, and spirituality.
Nondevelopmental forms include adult
Adult
An adult is a human being or living organism that is of relatively mature age, typically associated with sexual maturity and the attainment of reproductive age....
hood and adult human behavior
Human behavior
Human behavior refers to the range of behaviors exhibited by humans and which are influenced by culture, attitudes, emotions, values, ethics, authority, rapport, hypnosis, persuasion, coercion and/or genetics....
.
While adult development has long been a subject reserved for academia and medical professions, in recent years, adult development has become an integral part of leadership and executive development
Executive development
Executive development is the whole of activities aimed at developing the skills and competencies of those that have executive positions in organisations. While "executive" and "manager" and "leader" are often used interchangeably, "executive" is commonly used to signify the top 5% to 10% of the...
.
Studies
Studies are currently underway concerning adult development by Robert J. Waldinger and George Eman VaillantGeorge Eman Vaillant
George Eman Vaillant, M.D. is an American psychiatrist and Professor at Harvard Medical School and Director of Research for the Department of Psychiatry, . Dr. Vaillant has spent his research career charting adult development and the recovery process of schizophrenia, heroin addiction,...
at The Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital is the largest hospital of the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, Massachusetts. It is directly adjacent to Harvard Medical School of which it is the second largest teaching affiliate with 793 beds...
and Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
. Professor Robert J. Waldinger, from Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, is studying a group of men who have been a part of an elaborate study for 67 years. The intention is to examine early life predictors of healthy or unhealthy aging and relationships late in life. George E. Vaillant, who has been the Director of the Study of Adult Development at the Harvard University Health Service for the last thirty five years has published is work in his books Adaptation to Life, 1977, The Wisdom of The Ego, 1993, and The Natural History of Alcoholism-Revisited, 1995. . He charted adult development in 824 men and women their recovery process of schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
, heroin addiction, alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, and personality disorder
Personality disorder
Personality disorders, formerly referred to as character disorders, are a class of personality types and behaviors. Personality disorders are noted on Axis II of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM-IV-TR of the American Psychiatric Association.Personality disorders are...
. .
Four Adult Development Theories
- The Behavioral/ Mechanistic Approach
- The Psychological/ Cognitive Approach
- Contextual/ Sociocultural Approach
- Integrated Approach
External links
- Laboratory of Adult Development http://adultdev.bwh.harvard.edu/vaillant.html
- Journal of Adult Development http://www.springer.com/west/home/psychology?SGWID=4-10126-70-35756546-detailsPage=journal%7Cdescription
- Psychology and Aging http://www.apa.org/journals/pag/homepage.html
- Talent Development Resources! http://talentdevelop.com/
- National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
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