Positive adult development is a subfield of developmental psychology that studies positive development during adulthood. It is one of four major forms of adult developmental study that can be identified, according to Michael Commons; the other three forms are directionless change, stasis, and decline. Commons also further divided the concept of positive adult development into six distinct areas of study: hierarchical complexity (i.e., orders or stages), knowledge, experience, expertise, wisdom, and spirituality. The development of people has focused on children and adolescence with several theories as proposed by Freud, Piaget, and Binet. Research in positive adult development supports the theory that development occurs during adulthood. Recent studies indicate that such development is useful in predicting things such as an individual's health, life satisfaction, and degree of contribution to society. Current research supports the idea that personal adjustment and personal growth are two main themes in positive adult development research. Personal adjustment refers to how well an individual can master and adapt to their environment, while personal growth refers to having the ability to have deep insight into oneself, others, and the world around them. One other benefit is allowing for changes in social policies to create effective, efficient interventions to help optimize the aging process to as many of our aging generation as possible. In these studies, adults that were older rated higher than these categories then those that were younger, thus supporting that there is indeed a positive development that occurs in adulthood.
Development of the field
Origins of the field This field stems from several work threads within psychology. Erik Erikson proposed several adult periods. Daniel Levinson also described many "seasons of life." Abraham Maslow proposed an adult hierarchy of needs and Jean Piaget came to agree there was adult postformal stages beyond the stage of formal operations. His earlier theory had located an endpoint to the development of cognitive structures, wherein concluded the Adolescence or adolescent's acquisition of formal operations. John L. Horn found that crystallized intelligence, represented by vocabulary size, increased in adulthood. Robert Kegan combined a Piagetian and an existential-phenomenological approach to creating what he called constructive-developmental psychology. Lawrence Kohlberg found that in early adulthood, some people come to think of moral, ethical, and societal issues in multivariate terms (Systematic stage 11, the first postformal stage). They use multiple relations. During middle adulthood some become principled reasoners about moral issues; for instance, by using abstract principles to relate systems of rights to systems of duties (Meta systematic stage 12, the second postformal stage). Likewise, Cheryl Armon found that by middle adulthood, some people could reason about interpersonal relationships at an order of complexity similar to that described by Lawrence Kohlberg. Research on positive adult development has grown and expanded upon these early threads and theories in a number of directions. Summaries of some of the initial positive adult development research can be found in the works of Commons, Richards, and Armon, as well as in Alexander and Langer. Four postformal adult stages of development beyond the formal stage have been discovered in a wide variety of domains. The total number of stages across the lifespan now stands at 15. Periods and Seasons have been described. Many edited books were written on the topic of positive adult development in the 1990s and more recently. In the past decade, researchers have turned to investigating methods to foster positive development in educational as well as organizational settings, rather than by just describing it and/or measuring it. These methods are used in organizational and educational settings. Some use developmentally designed, structured public discourse to address complex public issues. Some of these methods include developing relationships, participating in skill-building opportunities, having educational and career support, participating in civic and social activities, and providing for individual needs. Developmental relationships provide opportunities to support and encourage people in surrounding areas. Participating in skill-building opportunities can promote skill growth and autonomy while providing competence and belonging. Having educational and career support helps individuals form meaningful connections. Participating in civic and social activities encourages involvement in community roles which fosters personal growth. Providing for individual needs provides support for life changes. Methods used to foster positive adult development should focus on letting individuals reach milestones in supportive environments.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
