Developmental Psychology

Author: Gong Weiye and Liu Xindong, Editors
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: Developmental psychology is a science that studies the occurrence, development process, and developmental patterns of the mind. It is divided into broad and narrow definitions. Broadly, it studies the systematic development of the mind and individual development, while narrowly, it focuses only on the developmental psychology of the human individual. This book primarily focuses on the latter. To study the characteristics and patterns of psychological development throughout the human lifespan—from birth, maturity, to aging and death—one must consider age. Most published works on developmental psychology are organized by different age stages (e.g., children, adolescents, young adults, middle-aged, elderly) as separate chapters, which is certainly a valid approach. However, this textbook does not adopt this method. Instead, it organizes the content around the main psychological phenomena and functions of the human individual.
The book, excluding the introduction, basic theories, and biological development, is structured into independent chapters on cognition, language, intelligence, personality, sexual psychology, emotion, morality, and interpersonal relationships. This approach aims to highlight the central theme of psychological development, allowing readers to gain a systematic and comprehensive understanding of the emergence and development process of a particular major psychological function within a single chapter, without being divided by age stages. In other words, it shifts from a "horizontal" approach based on physiological age stages to a "vertical" approach based on main psychological phenomena and functions.
Of course, whether this writing style is appropriate is still open for discussion. Additionally, to date, research on individual psychological development has primarily focused on children, followed by adolescents, while studies on adults, especially the psychology of the elderly, are relatively scarce. Although this book strives to address this gap, it still falls short.
The book consists of 11 chapters: Introduction, Major Theories in Developmental Psychology, Biological Development, Cognitive Development, Language Development, Intellectual Development, Personality Development, Sexual Psychology Development, Emotional Development, Moral Development, and Interpersonal Relationships Development. It provides a systematic and comprehensive introduction to all aspects of developmental psychology. This book can serve as both a textbook and a resource for anyone interested in the lifelong or stage-specific mental health and well-being of themselves or others.