Adult development is a branch of developmental psychology that deals specifically with how adults age through physical, emotional, and cognitive means. One simple breakdown of the field is to look at its three dimensions.
- Dimension 1: change: loss, stasis, positive adult development
- Dimension 2: types of change: maturation, learning, developmental stage
- Dimension 3: psychological processes in adult development.
For example, positive adult developmental may be divided into at least six parts: hierarchical complexity, (orders, stages), knowledge, experience, expertise, wisdom, and spirituality.
Nondevelopmental forms include adulthood and adult human behavior.
While adult development has long been a subject reserved for academia and medical professions, in recent years, adult development has become an integral part of leadership and executive development.
Read more about Adult Development: Studies, Four Adult Development Theories
Famous quotes containing the words adult and/or development:
“I would hope that parents and grown children could be friends. When a friend confides in you that she’s going to do something that you think is most inappropriate, foolhardy or even dangerous, wouldn’t you as a friend say so—in a calm, supportive way? Yet I have to be so careful what I say to my children. I have to walk on eggs to be sure I’m not hurting their feelings or interfering with their lives.”
—Anonymous Parent of Adult Children. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 5 (1978)
“Ultimately, it is the receiving of the child and hearing what he or she has to say that develops the child’s mind and personhood.... Parents who enter into a dialogue with their children, who draw out and respect their opinions, are more likely to have children whose intellectual and ethical development proceeds rapidly and surely.”
—Mary Field Belenky (20th century)