Developmental psychology is a scientific approach which aims to explain growth, change and consistency though the lifespan. Developmental psychology looks at how thinking, feeling, and behavior change throughout a person’s life.<br /><br />A significant proportion of theories within this discipline focus upon development during childhood, as this is the period during an individual's lifespan when the most change occurs.<br /><br />Developmental psychologists study a wide range of theoretical areas, such as biological, social, emotion, and cognitive processes. Empirical research in this area tends to be dominated by psychologists from Western cultures such as North American and Europe, although during the 1980s Japanese researchers began making a valid contribution to the field.<br /><br />The three goals of developmental psychology are to describe, explain, and to optimize development (Baltes, Reese, & Lipsitt, 1980). To describe development it is necessary to focus both on typical patterns of change (normative development) and individual variations in patterns of change (i.e. idiographic development). Although there are typical pathways of development that most people will follow, no two persons are exactly alike.<br />Keywords:developmental ,psychology, emotion<br />Prof Dr. Mazin Hadi Kzar<br />[email protected]