This article introduces a special section on moral development. We claim that the field is now undergoing a resurgence of theoretical and methodological innovation after the eclipse of paradigmatic moral stage theory. Although research on prosocial development, moral emotions, and social domain theory has sustained interest in moral development,…

Zimmerman (2014) suggested that our reanalysis adds little to the scientific literature. We disagree. We clarify our motivations and explain how further analyses based on his suggestion for age do not change our conclusions. Moreover, we believe the nascent experimental literature is more in line with our interpretations than Zimmerman's. We…

Considerable evidence suggests that personality traits may be changeable, raising the possibility that personality traits most linked to health problems can be modified with intervention. A growing body of research suggests that problematic personality traits may be altered with behavioral intervention using a bottom-up approach. That is, by…

In this commentary, the common themes from the interesting articles in this special section of "Developmental Psychology" are considered as they illuminate the potential ontogenetic sources of the conscientiousness-well-being-longevity interconnections that have emerged in recent research. In particular, consideration is given to the…

This commentary on the special section on conscientiousness and healthy aging focuses on several topics brought up in this collection of articles. One is the promise of personality interventions. Despite skepticism on the part of some, such interventions may ultimately prove successful. This is in part because of similarities between personality…

The articles in this special section bolster the already strong evidence base that personality differences in the trait of conscientiousness predict health. What is now needed is a research agenda for translating documented risk associations between low conscientiousness and poor health into policies and interventions that improve health outcomes…

The articles appearing in this special section discuss the role that conscientiousness may play in healthy aging. Growing evidence suggests that conscientious individuals live longer and healthier lives. However, the question remains whether this personality trait can be leveraged to improve long-term health outcomes. We argue that even though it…

Language difference among speakers of African American English (AAE) has often been considered language deficit, based on a lack of understanding about the AAE variety. Following Labov (1972), Wolfram (1969), Green (2002, 2011), and others, we define AAE as a complex rule-governed linguistic system and briefly discuss language structures that it…

On average, children from low socioeconomic status (SES) homes and children from homes in which a language other than English is spoken have language development trajectories that are different from those of children from middle-class, monolingual English-speaking homes. Children from low-SES and language minority homes have unique linguistic…

Developmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder and specific language impairment, are biologically based disorders that currently rely on behaviorally defined criteria for diagnosis and treatment. Specific behaviors that are included in diagnostic frameworks and the point at which individual differences in behavior constitute abnormality…

Children may be biased toward accepting information as true, but the fact remains that children are exposed to misinformation from many sources, and mastering the intricacies of doubt is necessary. The current article examines this issue, focusing on understanding developmental changes and consistencies in children's ability to take a critical…

Childhood hearing loss presents challenges to language development, especially spoken language. In this article, we review existing literature on deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children's patterns and trajectories of language as well as development of theory of mind and literacy. Individual trajectories vary significantly, reflecting access to…

The transition from general education (e.g., high school) to vocational and tertiary education (e.g., college, vocational school) or to the labor market presents a number of developmental challenges. These challenges include making career choices and, more broadly, managing the transition. Coping with these challenges depends on the individual,…

This article discusses 3 ways in which adaptive developmental mechanisms may produce maladaptive outcomes. First, natural selection may favor risky strategies that enhance fitness on average but which have detrimental consequences for a subset of individuals. Second, mismatch may result when organisms experience environmental change during…

Reviewing the studies on differential susceptibility presented in this section, we argue that the time is ripe to go beyond correlational designs to differential susceptibility experiments. In such experiments, randomization prevents hidden moderator effects on the environment and guarantees the independence of moderator and outcome, while the…