Lifespan Developmental Systems: Meta-theory, Methodology and the Study of Applied Problems

This textbook provides an overview of lifespan developmental science,meta-theories,methods,and interventions,and aims to help students appreciate the generative value and methodological challenges of a lifespan developmental systems perspective. It is designed to help researchers and students create a cooperative learning community that can facilitate their own internal paradigm shifts, and is valuable for students in developmental psychology, other psychological subdisciplines, and applied professions.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 390 pages
Publication date: 20 May 2019
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Everything you always wanted to know about theories, meta-theories, methods, and interventions but didn't realize you needed to ask. This innovative textbook takes advanced undergraduate and graduate students behind the curtain of standard developmental science, so they can begin to appreciate the generative value and methodological challenges of a lifespan developmental systems perspective. It envisions applied developmental science as focused on ways to use knowledge about human development to help solve societal problems in real-life contexts, and considers applied developmental research to be purpose driven, field-based, community engaged, and oriented toward efforts to optimize development. Based on the authors' more than 25 years of teaching, this text is designed to help researchers and their students intentionally create a cooperative learning community, full of arguments, doubts, and insights, that can facilitate their own internal paradigm shifts, one student at a time. With the aid of extensive online supplementary materials, students of developmental psychology as well as students in other psychological subdisciplines (such as industrial-organizational, social, and community psychology) and applied professions that rely on developmental training (such as education, social work, counseling, nursing, health care, and business) will find this to be an invaluable guidebook and toolbox for conceptualizing and studying applied problems from a lifespan developmental systems perspective.

The authors of this textbook, with their extensive experience in teaching, have crafted a comprehensive guide that aims to empower advanced undergraduate and graduate students with a deeper understanding of developmental science. By taking them behind the scenes of standard developmental science, the book fosters a newfound appreciation for the generative value and methodological complexities of a lifespan developmental systems perspective. This perspective, the authors argue, offers a valuable lens through which to analyze and understand human development, enabling researchers and practitioners to address societal problems effectively.

The textbook envisions applied developmental science as a field that leverages knowledge about human development to solve real-life societal challenges. It emphasizes the importance of purpose-driven, field-based, community-engaged, and optimization-oriented research, recognizing the potential of developmental science to make a positive impact on individuals and communities.

To facilitate this learning journey, the textbook is designed to create a cooperative learning community. It encourages students to engage in arguments, doubts, and insights, fostering their own internal paradigm shifts. Through this process, students develop a deeper understanding of developmental science and its applications to real-world problems.

The authors have extensively supplemented the text with online supplementary materials, making it an invaluable resource for students of developmental psychology, as well as students in other psychological subdisciplines such as industrial-organizational, social, and community psychology, and applied professions that rely on developmental training, including education, social work, counseling, nursing, health care, and business. These supplementary materials provide additional insights, examples, and exercises to reinforce the concepts presented in the textbook and enhance the learning experience.

In conclusion, this innovative textbook offers a transformative learning experience for advanced undergraduate and graduate students interested in developmental science. By providing a comprehensive overview of theories, meta-theories, methods, and interventions, it equips students with the knowledge and skills necessary to become effective researchers and practitioners who can make a positive impact on society. With its emphasis on applied developmental science, field-based research, and community engagement, the textbook is a valuable guidebook and toolbox for students and professionals seeking to understand and address applied problems from a lifespan developmental systems perspective.

Weight: 760g
Dimension: 254 x 177 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781138316652