Three major issues are addressed by psychologists in the study of human development. Identify and state how all three might explain how children's traits and abilities develop.

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There are three major debates in the field of developmental psychology: (1) nature vs. nurture, (2) continuity vs. stages, and (3) stability vs. change. As we will see, there are no clear winners in these debates, because research findings are mixed.

(1) The nature vs. nurture debate revolves around the relative importance of biology and experience in shaping behavior and personality. Though it is perhaps the oldest and most contentious debate in science, developmental psychologists agree on a few key tenets:

--Shared genetics explain similarities in development across cultures, including the general sequence of motor, cognitive, and social maturation.

--Environment matters, but differences across cultures are smaller than differences within cultures. In other words, it matters much more whether you were raised by nurturing or detached parents than whether you were raised in Britain or Botswana.

(2) The continuity vs. stages issue turns on two competing descriptions of human development: continuous and gradual versus stepwise and rapid. How psychologists align in this debate depends largely on their research focus:

--Researchers who are focused on social and cognitive learning see behavioral development as slow and continuous. Language acquisition, for example, begins in infancy and steadily continues through adulthood.

--Those who study the interaction between biological and psychological maturation see development as proceeding in a sequence of genetically-programmed stages. Puberty, for example, is a period of rapid, hormonally-induced behavioral and physiological change.

(3) Finally, the stability vs. change debate asks whether humans remain essentially unchanged in our behavior throughout our lifespans, or whether we are capable of profound change. Researchers agree that the answer depends on what aspect of behavior is being studied:

--Behavioral traits that are highly influenced by heredity, like personality and temperament, are unlikely to radically change over a person’s lifetime.

--Behaviors that are culturally influenced, like social and political attitudes, are fluid, responding to major life events and cultural change.