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

"There is no robust evidence or convincing studies to suggest there is any causal relationship," said Monique Botha, a professor in social and developmental psychology at Durham University.

From BBC • Sep. 22, 2025

Niobe Way, a professor of developmental psychology, often explains that American society has “privileged the hard over the soft,” referring to hard and soft characteristics of humanity.

From Salon • Aug. 10, 2024

The section comes as part of a unit on developmental psychology, spanning childhood and adolescence to older adulthood, with themes on “moral development” as well as on gender and sexual orientation.

From New York Times • Aug. 3, 2023