Developing in a Dynamic World

Abstract

Abstract. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and other social dynamics created a myriad of challenges and changes for individuals, groups, and societies. The impacts on youth are particularly noteworthy given developmental processes of adolescence and emerging adulthood. As psychologists, we have much to offer in studying how 2020 influenced their development and in shaping effective supports. To be useful, the work must be nuanced, iterative, and attentive to their lived realities. We argue for a dynamic research framework to study these developmental processes. Through such an approach, psychological science can provide insight into diverse young people’s experiences of COVID-19 with a focus on addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, 4, and 16 on increasing a sense of well-being, making education more equitable, and developing more peaceful societies. This paper lays out three theoretical frameworks – Synthetic, Augmentative, Generative, and Experiential, Meanings, Observations, Viewpoints, and Experiences, and the Developmental Peacebuilding Model – that can be used to capture the dynamism of meaning-making and development within changing contexts. We then provide examples from our research with young people in the United States and Ireland. This paper ends with a call for psychologists across the globe to understand and address COVID-19’s impacts on youth through iterative and integrative research methods with a focus on meaning-making. In coordination with macro-level metrics, such work can help understand lived psychosocial impacts on diverse groups of young people, while highlighting opportunities to support SDGs 3, 4, and 16.

International Psychology and the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…They also describe new strategies that clinical psychologists in these countries use to provide greater equal access to mental health services and promote individuals' well-being. The fourth article in this Special Section was written by Velez et al (2022). These authors highlight the challenges experienced by youth and emerging adults, particularly in the United States and Ireland, in response to COVID-19 given the developmental processes encountered by these groups.…”

Manywheres: In Pursuit of Social Justice in Developmental Science

“…This work was built over time through multiple methods to engage with the complexity and influence that macrosystemic events (e.g., renewed fighting; peace processes) held on localized meaningmaking (see manywheres principle 4). More broadly, numerous scholars have argued for using integrated methods over time and attending to meaning-making in psychology and development (Maynard & Chaudhary, 2020;Power et al, 2018;Power & Velez, 2020;Velez et al, 2022;Weisner, 2020). Here, we build on these frameworks by operationalizing manywheres in research and providing examples.…”

The Evolving Classroom: How Learning Analytics Is Shaping the Future of Education and Feedback Mechanisms

“…In today's world, defined by the rapid growth of information and advancements in technology, the traditional educational environment, which typically consists of stationary arrangements of desks, a chalkboard, and an instructor considering a position of authority, has undergone a significant transformation [1]. The rise of the digital age has precipitated a transformative process that has generated many opportunities, from the early days of virtual classrooms [2] to the growth of AI-powered personal tutors [3].…”