Developmental Psychology For Beginners

People are born and die. The entire process between these two important times falls within the scope of Developmental psychology. If you study psychology or not, you might find important points in this field. Let's get started.

What is Developmental Psychology

Developmental psychology studies how people grow and change throughout their lives. It looks at physical, mental, and social development from before birth (prenatal) all the way to old age.

Here are the main things developmental psychologists are interested in:

• How people think, feel, and behave at different ages
• Why these changes happen
• Whether these changes are similar for everyone or different from person to person
• How culture affects development

While developmental psychology covers the whole lifespan, many researchers focus on childhood. This is because there's a lot of rapid development happening during this time. Psychologists look at things like:

• How children learn to socialize and make friends
• How their emotions and thinking skills develop
• How their physical growth affects them

As children become teenagers (adolescents), psychologists study how their relationships with family and friends change. They also look at how teenagers develop their emotions and sense of identity.

Finally, developmental psychologists who study adulthood look at how people grow and change throughout their adult lives, including things like parenting, work, and retirement.