Summary
Developmentalism, or developmental explanation, has been identified and subjected to critique within psychology by a number of writers over recent years (for example, Bradley, 1989; Broughton, 1987; Burman, 1994; Morss, 1996; Stainton Rogers and Stainton Rogers 1992). The intention of this chapter is to overview this area of the literature, but also to extend the range of issues and resources in potentially significant ways. In order to do so, some materials from literature beyond psychology — from education and from sociology — will be discussed, as well as literature in critical psychology. Consideration is given to the implications of the writings of sociologists Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens on the “Risk Society”, the impacts of globalisation on personal life, and related concerns. The arguments of Beck and Giddens, and their claims concerning personal life and family dynamics, raise urgent questions about psychology’s senses of “developmental” change and possibly help to delineate some of the characteristics of an alternative formulation. Berking’s notion of “lifestyle” is considered in this context.
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Morss, J.R. (2001). From Law to Lifestyle: “Developmental” Change in the Risk Society. In: Morss, J.R., Stephenson, N., van Rappard, H. (eds) Theoretical Issues in Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6817-6_26
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6817-6_26
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