A Place of Value for Applied and Policy Studies

Abstract

After more than 6 decades of advancing science as a means to expand our understanding of human development, the Society for Research in Child Development has welcomed into its major journal research that uses this knowledge on children's behalf. The acceptance of applied and social policy work within the field of psychology has been gradual, urged along by trends that are discussed in context: the reconciliation of basic and applied research, the call for social responsibility by prominent developmentalists, and efforts by individual and groups of psychologists to serve the public good. SRCDs decision to open these journal pages more widely to the practical and policy implications of research bolsters the legitimacy and status of such efforts. The society's leadership, coupled with changes in professional training and expectations, will expedite the discipline's maturation into a positive social force.

Extracurricular involvement among affluent youth: A scapegoat for "ubiquitous achievement pressures"?

“…Psychologists are often urged to bring to public awareness their research discoveries on what promotes well-being (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999;Lerner, Fisher, & Weinberg, 2000;McCall & Groark, 2000;Zigler, 1998), in part to circumvent "unwarranted or irresponsible assertions. .…”

Historical and Theoretical Bases of Applied Developmental Science

“…This point underscores the need to conduct research in real-world settings (Bronfenbrenner, 1974;Zigler, 1998) and highlights the ideas that (a) policies and programs constitute natural experiments, that is, planned interventions for people and institutions, and (b) the evaluation of such activities becomes a central focus in the developmental systems research agenda we have described (Cairns, Bergman, & Kagan, 1998;Lerner, 1995;.…”

“…Using the latter field as a sample case, we may note that several extensive histories of developmental psychology have been published and most include references to the ebb and flow of interest and priority for what might be termed the applied, practical, or societally oriented issues central to ADS. Especially relevant are discussions offered by Bronfenbrenner, Kessel, Kessen, and White (1986); ; Davidson and Benjamin (1987); Hetherington (1998);McCall (1996); McCall and Groark (2000); Sears (1975); Siegel and White (1982); Parke, Ornstein, Reiser, and Zahn-Waxler (1994), Zigler (1998);andFinn-Stevenson (1992, 1999). Hetherington (1998) frames her analysis by accenting her use of the term "developmental science .…”

“…Quite to the contrary, policy development and implementation and program design and delivery become integral components of the ADS approach to research; the evaluation component of such policy and intervention work provides critical feedback about the adequacy of the conceptual frame from which this research agenda should derive (Zigler, 1998;Zigler & Finn-Stevenson, 1992).…”

“…In essence, then, a developmental systems perspective leads us to recognize that if we are to have an adequate and sufficient science of human development, we must integratively study individual and contextual levels of organization in a relational and temporal manner (Bronfenbrenner, 1974;Zigler, 1998). We may also seek to serve America's citizens and families through our science and help develop successful policies and programs through our scholarly efforts that result in the promotion of positive human development.…”