Reviews the autobiography of Fritz Heider and discusses it in light of current knowledge about creativity and adult development. Suggests that the field of human development and life-span psychology should study the poetics of human development. (Author/BE)

Herbert Simon's work on bounded rationality has had little impact on researchers studying older adults' decision making. This omission is surprising, as human constraints on computation and memory are exacerbated in older adults. The study of older adults' decision-making processes could benefit from employing a bounded rationality perspective,…

In this paper, we consider how the life story develops through the creation of self-event connections in narrating experiences. We first outline the ways in which such connections have been implied by existing work on the life story, and then consider the varieties of such connections that we see in our own work. That work suggests that self-event…

Describes three unique characteristics of adult thought: (1) an understanding of the relativistic nature of knowledge, (2) an acceptance of contradiction as a part of reality, and (3) an integrative approach to thinking. Analysis of the philosophical foundations of these characteristics is followed by critical examination of current studies of…

Outlines a life-span model which extends Piaget's theory of cognitive development to adulthood. (SS)

Presents several reconceptualizations of adult cognitive development and its relation to everyday problem solving. Argues that investigation of relations between adult cognitive development and everyday problem solving may be facilitated through causal modeling that includes task characteristics, social context, and personality and motivational…

Proposes a three-level model of cognitive processing to account for complex monitoring when individuals are faced with ill-structured problems (i.e., problems on which opposing or contradictory evidence and opinion exists). (Author/RH)

Riegel's dialectic view of human development is used to sketch a model of instruction and to delineate some implications for teaching adults. This approach is compared and constrasted with contemporary humanistic and cognitive views on teaching. (Author/SS)

Uses Rousseau's "Emile" to explicate Kohlberg's characterization of moral development and to illuminate several theoretical problems in Kohlberg's cognitive-developmental account. Analysis supports contentions that Kohlberg's concept of morality is unduly narrow and suggests that his one-sidedly rationalistic approach exaggerates the…

Proposes a phase model describing the course of first pregnancy, while outlining an extended view of pregnancy as both a biological and psychosocial process. Four ideal phase types are distinguished: a disruption phase of radical change, an adaptation phase of readjustment, a centering phase focused on production, and a final phase of anticipation…

Reviews relativity theory in physics to derive a relativistic metatheory applicable to life span developmental psychology. The discussion points out ways in which relativistic thinking might enhance understanding of life span development and epistemology. (Author/DB)

Agrees with Levenson and Crumpler's critique of ontogenetic theories as overly stressing biological determinism. Disagrees with their proposal, in discussing sociogenic and liberative models, that social influences be confined to a weak determinism. Suggests that a problem for developmental theories is to understand ways of increasing individuals'…

Sees Levenson and Crumpler's liberative model as idealistic, and critiques apparently anti-materialistic implications of the model. Maintains that Levenson and Crumpler's suggestion that the goal of adult development is to free the individual from environmental and biological influences is bad science but constitutes a valuable sermon. (BC)

Highlights a changing, rather than static view, of the story of "Snow White" by interpreting the story's symbol of the mirror in three roles: guide, trap, and tool of wholeness. Suggests that these interpretations illustrate that developmental processes that entrap individuals may constitute necessary developmental steps and that gains…