12: Goals of Developmental Science Last updated Save as PDF Page ID9335 Contributed by Ellen A. Skinner, Thomas A. Kindermann, Robert W. Roeser, Cathleen L Smith, Andrew Mashburn & Joel SteelePortland State UniversityPublished by Portland State University Library 12.1: What are the goals of developmental science?12.2: Description of Human Development- What does it mean to describe human development?12.3: What does it mean to describe qualitative changes in development?12.4: How can the description of stability be part of the goals of developmental science?12.5: Explanation of Human Development- How is the explanation of development different from its description?12.6: Why do developmentalists need to explain stability?12.7: What is meant by explanations of differential patterns of stability and change?12.8: Optimization of Human Development- How does optimization of human development differ from explanation?12.9: Conclusion- How do these three goals of developmental science fit together?12.10: References
