Advancing Developmental Science
Philosophy, Theory, and Method

Developmental science is an interdisciplinary scientific field dedicated to describing, understanding, and explaining change in behavior across the lifespan and the psychological, environmental, and biological processes that co-determine this change during the organism?s development. Developmental science is thus a broad discipline that lies at the intersection of psychology, biology, sociology, anthropology and other allied disciplines. Advancing Developmental Science: Philosophy, Theory, and Method reflects this broad view of developmental science, and reviews the philosophical, theoretical, and methodological issues facing the field. It does so within the Process-Relational paradigm, as described by developmentalist Willis Overton over the course of his career. Within that framework, this book explores development in a number of specific cognitive, neurobiological, and social domains, and provides students and researchers with a comprehensive suite of conceptual and methodological tools to describe, explain, and optimize intraindividual change across the lifespan.

Foreword Richard M. Lerner 1. Integrating, Philosophy, Theory, and Method in Contemporary Developmental Science: An Overview of the Issues Anthony Steven Dick and Ulrich Müller Section I. Theoretical and Methodological Issues in Development: A Relational Perspective 2. What is Development? Ulrich Müller and Abigail Graves 3. Embodiment Peter J. Marshall 4. Dynamic Systems Theory David C. Witherington 5. Biological Processes and Psychological Development Robert Lickliter 6. The Ontogenesis of Neural Networks from a Network Science Perspective Anthony Steven Dick 7. The Contribution of Statistical Modeling to Developmental Theory Alexander Von Eye Section II: The Relational Perspective: Cognitive And Social-Emotional Development In Context 8. Moral Development in Contexts Larry Nucci and Elliot Turiel 9. Embracing Complexity in the Study of Executive Function and its Development Philip David Zelazo and Stephanie M. Carlson 10. A Contextually and Developmentally Sensitive View of Children’s Memory Development: Between the Laboratory and the Field Deirdre Brown and Michael E. Lamb 11. Language Development: Motion Verb and Spatial-Relational Term Acquisition from a Developmental Systems Perspective Shannon M. Pruden and Rosalie Odean 12. Communication as the Coordination of Activity: The Implications of Philosophical Preconceptions for Theories of the Development of Communication Jeremy I. M. Carpendale 13. Development of Deductive Reasoning Robert B. Ricco 14. Positive Youth Development: Applying Relational Developmental Systems Metatheory to Promote Thriving Lynn S. Liben and Emily F. Coyle 15. Positive Youth Development Jacqueline V. Lerner and Kristina Schmid Callina 16. Development of Relational Wisdom and Happiness in Late Adulthood Masami Takahashi 17. Environmental Context and Social Relationships: A Relational Perspective on Health Disparities Noah J. Webster, Kristine J. Ajrouch, Wylie H. Wan, and Toni C. Antonucci 18. Developing Persons and Clashing Cultures Jeanette A. Lawrence 19. The "Spaces In-Between": Applying Relational Developmental Systems to Identity and Moral Character Bryan W. Sokal, Michael J. Chandler, Stuart Hammond, Kelly McEnerney, and Peter Marle Afterword: Developmental Science, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Willis F. Overton

Anthony Steven Dick is Associate Professor of Developmental Science and Director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Program in the Department of Psychology at Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA. His research focus is on the developmental cognitive neuroscience of language and executive function.

Ulrich Müller is Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. His research focuses on cognitive and social development in early childhood.