Continuities and Discontinuities in Socioemotional Development

Abstract

The general question of the extent to which psychological development is continuous or discontinuous remains one that excites both interest and controversy. In view of the vast body of developmental research that has been undertaken over the last half century, one might suppose that it is high time that a satisfactory answer was obtained in order to settle the issue one way or the other. But no such answer is available and, still, investigators disagree vigorously on the conclusions to be drawn. For example, Lipsitt (1983, p. 182) claims, "The assumption that the cumulation of early life experiences, beginningin infancy, is critical for and determinative of later development and behavior has been almost universally embraced by human development scholars." He accepts that intervening conditions can disrupt anticipated events but points out that that does not negate continuity in development: "Apparent non-continuities may be instances of continuities not yet fully revealed" or of "continuities not yet sufficiently investigated."