Editing Psychology (section)

=== Development psychology ===
{{Main|Developmental psychology}}[[File:Baby with book.jpg|thumb|Developmental psychologists engage a child with a book and then make observations based on how the child interacts with the object.]]
Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why the thought processes, emotions, and behaviors of humans change over the course of their lives.<ref name = "Crain"/> Some credit Charles Darwin with conducting the first systematic study within the rubric of developmental psychology, having published in 1877 a short paper detailing the development of innate forms of communication based on his observations of his infant son.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Developmental Psychology {{!}} Simply Psychology|url=https://www.simplypsychology.org/developmental-psychology.html|access-date=15 October 2021|website=www.simplypsychology.org|archive-date=29 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029174447/https://www.simplypsychology.org/developmental-psychology.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The main origins of the discipline, however, are found in the work of [[Jean Piaget]]. Like Piaget, developmental psychologists originally focused primarily on the development of cognition from infancy to adolescence. Later, developmental psychology extended itself to the study cognition over the life span. In addition to studying cognition, developmental psychologists have also come to focus on affective, behavioral, moral, social, and neural development.

Developmental psychologists who study children use a number of research methods. For example, they make observations of children in natural settings such as preschools<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2019 |title=Supplemental Material for Observer-Rated Environmental Sensitivity Moderates Children's Response to Parenting Quality in Early Childhood |url=https://supp.apa.org/psycarticles/supplemental/dev0000795/dev0000795_supp.html |journal=Developmental Psychology |language=en |doi=10.1037/dev0000795.supp |issn=0012-1649}}</ref> and engage them in experimental tasks.<ref>Schonfeld, I. S. (1986). The Genevan and Cattell-Horn conceptions of intelligence compared: The early implementation of numerical solution aids. ''Developmental Psychology, 22'', 204–212. {{doi|10.1037/0012-1649.22.2.204}} [https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1278&context=gc_pubs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414161914/https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1278&context=gc_pubs|date=14 April 2021}}</ref> Such tasks often resemble specially designed games and activities that are both enjoyable for the child and scientifically useful. Developmental researchers have even devised clever methods to study the mental processes of infants.<ref>Hunnius, S., & Bekkering, H. (2010). The early development of object knowledge: A study of infants' visual anticipations during action observation. ''Developmental Psychology, 46'', 446–454. {{doi|10.1037/a0016543}}</ref> In addition to studying children, developmental psychologists also study aging and processes throughout the life span, including old age.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Finkel |first1=Deborah |last2=Reynolds |first2=Chandra A. |last3=McArdle |first3=John J. |last4=Gatz |first4=Margaret |last5=Pedersen |first5=Nancy L. |date=2003 |title=Latent growth curve analyses of accelerating decline in cognitive abilities in late adulthood. |url=https://doi.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0012-1649.39.3.535 |journal=Developmental Psychology |language=en |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=535–550 |doi=10.1037/0012-1649.39.3.535 |pmid=12760521 |issn=1939-0599}}</ref> These psychologists draw on the full range of psychological theories to inform their research.<ref name = "Crain">Crain, W. (2014). ''Theories of development: Concepts and applications. 6th ed.'' Edinburgh: Pearson. {{ISBN|978-0205810468}}</ref>