Purpose: Developmental functional modules (DFMs) are biological modules that are defined by their structural (morphological), functional, or developmental elements, and, in some cases, all three of these. This review article considers the hypothesis that vocal development in the first year of life can be understood in large part with respect to…

Youth in Western countries are exposed to many messages that sexualize women. We selectively review the literature on sexualization with the goal of clarifying and integrating theories, constructs, and models of the pathways and mechanisms via which exposure to such messages may affect youth. In the first section of the article, we define…

In this article, we review the most important findings to have emerged during the past 10 years in the study of judgment and decision making (JDM) in adolescence and look ahead to possible new directions in this burgeoning area of research. Three inter-related shifts in research emphasis are of particular importance and serve to organize this…

Sexual orientation is an integral part of identity affecting every stage of an individual's development. This literature review examines women's cultural experiences based on sexual orientation and their effect on midlife experience. A developmental model is offered that incorporates sexual orientation as a contextual factor in this developmental…

A review of the literature on the application of Piagetian theory to the understanding of mental retardation suggests that functioning of mentally retarded children parallels the developmental sequence proposed for the nonretarded child. The behavior of retarded individuals can be interpreted as typical of selected Piagetian stages. (Author/CL)

This article reviews recent literature highlighting the challenges associated with the college-to-work transition and proposes a model for understanding the experience of workplace entry for new graduates. This model outlines three stages of development in the transition process, namely (a) anticipation, (b) adjustment, and (c) achievement, and…

The review analyzes critically the research and promotional literature on J. Guilford's Structure of Intellect (SOI) model as it relates to cognitive functioning of gifted students and evaluates the implications for programing. It is concluded that the SOI model promises far more than it has delivered and that it neglects developmental…

A discussion of models of intellectual development and their application to education identifies the two major groups of such models and examines recent attempts to combine them. The two types of theories are described as the psychometric models, which see intellectual growth as the incremental amassing and associating of discrete ideas, and the…

A growing body of literature documents the frequency and magnitude of adolescent suicide. Because of the difficulties inherent to the nature of suicide, ascertaining the actual frequency of suicidal completions, attempts, and ideation is extremely difficult. Although there have been many attempts to isolate the correlates and causal factors of…

The primary aim of this book is to integrate findings on health and illness in adolescence. The book is geared towards those in the health psychology field as well as others concerned with the issues of adolescent health. It argues the value of following a developmental approach to the study of health or illness in general, and especially for…

Examines Allport's concept of unity and why his ideas have not been translated into clinical practice. Discusses how Dabrowski's concept of multilevelness organizes levels of development. The application of multilevelness to unity provides a model in which Allport's ideas are clarified and differentiates personality characteristics potentially…

An examination of current definitions of creativity, the characteristics of creative individuals, and an overview of J. Piaget's theory of development are presented. (PHR)

Argues that dynamic systems approaches may provide an explanatory framework based on general scientific principles for developmental psychology, using principles of self-organization to explain how novel forms emerge without predetermination and become increasingly complex with development. Contends that self-organization provides a single…

Theories concerning dimensions and dynamics of college student development and theories about how colleges exert influence on student change are reviewed. The models deal principally with growth among traditional undergraduate students. The theories of Chickering, Perry, Kohlberg, and Loevinger address the nature, structure, and processes the…

The paper reviews the developmental perspective in interventions with behaviorally disordered youth and considers developmentally based models (such as the engineered classroom, the conceptual level model, and the developmental task instructional system). The Intervention by Prescription (IBP) model, an integrated problem solving system, is…