The goal of this paper is to contribute to the revival of Heinz Werner's organismic-developmental theory by considering some of its key claims in relation to contemporary developmental theory and research. The organismic-developmental definition of development in terms of differentiation and integration is first discussed in relation to…

Studying human development involves describing, explaining, and optimizing intraindividual change and interindividual differences in such change and, as such, requires longitudinal research. The selection of the appropriate type of longitudinal design requires selecting the option that best addresses the theoretical questions asked about…

Developmental psychologists have a long history of using triangle metaphors to conceptualise the social constitution of psychological development. In this paper, we present a genealogy of triadic theories, to clarify their origins, distinctions between them, and to identify key themes for theoretical development. The analysis identifies three core…

In this article, we discuss a qualitative study carried out in a cultural contact zone. Irish nationals, immigrants, and asylum seekers in Cork, Ireland, were interviewed about their cultural identities and future trajectories. Cultural Continuity theory was used as a model to offer an insight into the processes and strategies of the Dialogical…

The dynamic systems perspective has been touted as an integrative metatheoretical framework for the study of stability and change in development. However, two dynamic systems camps exist with respect to the role higher-order form, once emergent, plays in the process of development. This paper evaluates these two camps in terms of the overarching…

This article focuses on the common and unique contributions of three major life-span theories in addressing improvement/maintenance and reorientation, which represent central processes of coping with major life change and loss. For this purpose, we review and compare the dual-process model of assimilative and accommodative coping, the model of…

The philosophies underlying the learning and structural theories used in psychology are described in this article. It is argued that a dialectical view provides some ways to breach the chasm between learning theory and the study of human development. (Author/DB)

Focusing on volitional, purposeful goal-oriented activity, this article explores the relationships between distancing strategies, representational competence, and action theory. (RH)

Examines formal problems in developmental theory of continuity and change, including the question of contradiction in transformation, the fate of early experience in subsequent growth, the distinction between contradiction and ambivalence, and the psychic reality of regression and reorganization. (Author/RH)

Discusses decision problems relating to developmental goals. It is argued that developmental planning and intervention should be based on scientifically founded programmatic models of human development. (MS)

Suggests that Greenberg's challenge to the centrality of object permanence in developmental thinking reveals that developmentalists' theories about childhood speak about their own self-images. Notes that developmentalists have been guilty of not only the object permanence fallacy but also the genetic fallacy, or the mistaken belief that describing…

Maintains that Muller and Overton (1998) misrepresent her theory of infant concept formation in infancy, makes corrections to their representation, and notes that her theory was developed in part because of the lack of detailed mechanisms in Piaget's theory to account for concept formation. Argues that Muller and Overton's proposed alternative…

Several different conceptions of the relationship between learning and development are considered in this article. It is argued that dialectical and ecological developmental orientations might provide a useful basis for synthesizing the contrasting frameworks of the operant, information processing, learning theory, and knowledge acquisition…

The metaphysical character of psychological memory research, which emphasizes static elements and quantitative relationships, is contrasted with a dialectical approach to the development of memory in which contradictions lead to qualitative changes. Some relations of metaphysical memory research to ideology and technology are discussed. (JMB)

Describes Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development as a liberal ideology. Critiques Kohlberg's theory and liberal social science ideologies in general. (BD)