developmental psychology

American  

noun

1. a branch of psychology that studies changes in human behavior from early life to death.

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developmental psychology Cultural  

1. The branch of psychology that studies the psychological growth of individuals. It deals with the psychological responses and changes in behavior that characterize such stages of life as infancy, adolescence, and old age.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• developmental psychologist
  noun

Example Sentences

Thalia R. Goldstein, associate professor and director of applied developmental psychology at George Mason University, said storytelling could be a healthy way to introduce kids to painful truths.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

Now she wants to enroll in a master’s degree program to study developmental psychology.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026

She imagined herself as the canine-behavior equivalent of the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, who used his own children as subjects in formulating his theories of developmental psychology.

From New York Times • Sep. 18, 2022

In the developmental psychology classes I teach, I talk about different theories of aging.

From Salon • Jan. 30, 2022

Cathy Creswell, professor of clinical developmental psychology at Oxford University and co-leader of the study, said the findings showed parents were particularly vulnerable to distress during the first lockdown.

From BBC • Jan. 18, 2021