Following upon the Handbook of Japan-United States Environment-Behavior Research, published by Plenum in 1997, leading experts review the interrelationships among theory, problem, and method in environment-behavior research. The chapters focus on the philosophical and theoretical assumptions underlying current research and practice in the area and link those assumptions to specific substantive questions and methodologies

This volume is an outgrowth ofcontemporary research on development over the adult lifespan, which by now has burgeoned and developed both nationally and internationally. However, for us, the impetus to be involved in this area was spawned and nurtured by our initial association with the Society for Research in Adult Development (SRAD) with its origins some 15 years ago by Michael Commonsand his associates inCambridge, Massachusetts. Throughthegood will and support of this society, we also became, and are still, heavily involved with the Journal of Adult Development and the Kluwer-Plenum Monograph Series on Adult Development and Aging, ofwhich this volume is a companion. Many ofthe contributions in the volume are from SRAD members, who con sistently adhere to a focus on positive adult development. Their chapters have been complemented by pieces from other researchers, who have adopted more mainstream approaches to adult development and/oraging. Regardless ofthe par ticular approach and/or focus of the chapter, all the work reported herein sup ports the relatively recent idea that development is not restricted to children and adolescents but continues throughout the adult lifespan in ways that we never envisionedsome 20 years ago. Thus, the volume represents state-of-the-arttheory, research, and practice on adult development, which has the potential to occupy us all for some time to come."

This volume seeks to identify and define the parameters of a relatively new problem area -- parental development. Drawing on the grand developmental theories of Sigmund Freud, Lawrence Kohlberg, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, Heinz Werner, and their descendants, this book has the potential to generate an area of common concern for those interested in either child/adolescent or adult development through the novel application of developmental principles and considerations to the ecological context of parenting. To that end, this volume brings together theory and research from the subfields of adult and child/adolescent development.
Chapter authors place the problem area of parental development in theoretical context and examine selected psychological part-processes implicated by focusing on cognitive and psychosocial development. The authors then deal with a range of issues that are perhaps less traditional and/or more in line with the complex character of everyday life. That is, they utilize either relatively novel comparison groups or treat parents at later stages of development rather than those in young adulthood as is often the case. Finally, the authors uncover both similarities and differences among their theoretical perspectives with an eye toward delineating some possible future research directions.

Originally presented at the Sixth Adult Development Symposium, the papers in this volume examine possible relationships between the fields of organizational and (adult) developmental psychology with particular emphasis given to the grand developmental theories of Lawrence Kohlberg, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, Heinz Werner, and their descendants. On the most general level, the papers on development in the workplace are organized on the basis of the authors' chosen units of analysis -- the individual, the dyad and group, and the organizational culture. The editors conclude by uncovering similarities and differences among the contributors' theoretical approaches to development in the workplace and their own. From a recent extension of Werner's organismic-developmental theory, they focus their suggestions for future research on such issues as: * unit of analysis * the holistic and systemic nature of human behavior and experience * broader conceptualizations of the person, of the environment, and of development * the need for methodological eclecticism * the complimentarity of basic and applied research. Through this lens, they shed light on underlying reasons why the majority of authors have focused on the individual worker as a unit of analysis and then propose that future researchers more broadly define the basic concept of development in the workplace.

The papers presented in this volume seek to illuminate relationships among the cognitive style of field dependence- independence and biological, psychological, and sociocultural aspects of human functioning across the life span. The book begins by addressing fundamental issues concerning the role of cognitive style in human development. The remainder of the text treats cognitive style in relation to biological, psychological, and sociocultural functioning. Also included is a summary of directions for future research.

Originally presented at the Sixth Adult Development Symposium, the papers in this volume examine possible relationships between the fields of organizational and (adult) developmental psychology with particular emphasis given to the grand developmental theories of Lawrence Kohlberg, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, Heinz Werner, and their descendants. On the most general level, the papers on development in the workplace are organized on the basis of the authors' chosen units of analysis -- the individual, the dyad and group, and the organizational culture. The editors conclude by uncovering similarities and differences among the contributors' theoretical approaches to development in the workplace and their own. From a recent extension of Werner's organismic-developmental theory, they focus their suggestions for future research on such issues as: * unit of analysis * the holistic and systemic nature of human behavior and experience * broader conceptualizations of the person, of the environment, and of development * the need for methodological eclecticism * the complimentarity of basic and applied research. Through this lens, they shed light on underlying reasons why the majority of authors have focused on the individual worker as a unit of analysis and then propose that future researchers more broadly define the basic concept of development in the workplace.

This volume seeks to identify and define the parameters of a relatively new problem area -- parental development. Drawing on the grand developmental theories of Sigmund Freud, Lawrence Kohlberg, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, Heinz Werner, and their descendants, this book has the potential to generate an area of common concern for those interested in either child/adolescent or adult development through the novel application of developmental principles and considerations to the ecological context of parenting. To that end, this volume brings together theory and research from the subfields of adult and child/adolescent development. Chapter authors place the problem area of parental development in theoretical context and examine selected psychological part-processes implicated by focusing on cognitive and psychosocial development. The authors then deal with a range of issues that are perhaps less traditional and/or more in line with the complex character of everyday life. That is, they utilize either relatively novel comparison groups or treat parents at later stages of development rather than those in young adulthood as is often the case. Finally, the authors uncover both similarities and differences among their theoretical perspectives with an eye toward delineating some possible future research directions.

The papers presented in this volume seek to illuminate relationships among the cognitive style of field dependence- independence and biological, psychological, and sociocultural aspects of human functioning across the life span. The book begins by addressing fundamental issues concerning the role of cognitive style in human development. The remainder of the text treats cognitive style in relation to biological, psychological, and sociocultural functioning. Also included is a summary of directions for future research.

This volume is one of the first to concentrate on positive growth and development in a clinical arena, rather than loss and pathology. In contrast to the general theories and cross-sectional studies of existing adult developmental research, much of this volume looks at the whole-life level of development of adults through case studies. The book unites three compatible approaches to the study of adult development. The first considers the development of whole life. The second approach examines behavior during certain periods in adults' lives by combining clinical and developmental stage perspectives. The third approach examines periods of life following the work of Erikson, Levinson, and Vaillant. The editors of this volume believe that these three approaches form, in their synergy, a comprehensive and multifaceted approach to uniquely difficult problems of late adolescence and early adulthood. It is the unification of these three approches that makes this book unique in its field.

This volume is one of the first to concentrate on positive growth and development in a clinical arena, rather than loss and pathology. In contrast to the general theories and cross-sectional studies of existing adult developmental research, much of this volume looks at the whole-life level of development of adults through case studies. The book unites three compatible approaches to the study of adult development. The first considers the development of whole life. The second approach examines behavior during certain periods in adults' lives by combining clinical and developmental stage perspectives. The third approach examines periods of life following the work of Erikson, Levinson, and Vaillant. The editors of this volume believe that these three approaches form, in their synergy, a comprehensive and multifaceted approach to uniquely difficult problems of late adolescence and early adulthood. It is the unification of these three approches that makes this book unique in its field.

Following upon the Handbook of Japan-United States Environment-Behavior Research, published by Plenum in 1997, leading experts review the interrelationships among theory, problem, and method in environment-behavior research. The chapters focus on the philosophical and theoretical assumptions underlying current research and practice in the area and link those assumptions to specific substantive questions and methodologies

This volume is an outgrowth ofcontemporary research on development over the adult lifespan, which by now has burgeoned and developed both nationally and internationally. However, for us, the impetus to be involved in this area was spawned and nurtured by our initial association with the Society for Research in Adult Development (SRAD) with its origins some 15 years ago by Michael Commonsand his associates inCambridge, Massachusetts. Throughthegood will and support of this society, we also became, and are still, heavily involved with the Journal of Adult Development and the Kluwer-Plenum Monograph Series on Adult Development and Aging, ofwhich this volume is a companion. Many ofthe contributions in the volume are from SRAD members, who con sistently adhere to a focus on positive adult development. Their chapters have been complemented by pieces from other researchers, who have adopted more mainstream approaches to adult development and/oraging. Regardless ofthe par ticular approach and/or focus of the chapter, all the work reported herein sup ports the relatively recent idea that development is not restricted to children and adolescents but continues throughout the adult lifespan in ways that we never envisionedsome 20 years ago. Thus, the volume represents state-of-the-arttheory, research, and practice on adult development, which has the potential to occupy us all for some time to come."

This volume is an outgrowth of research on the relations between human beings and their environments, which has developed internationally. This development is evident in environment-behavior research studies conducted in countries other than the United States. See Stokols and Altman (1987) for examples of such work in Australia, Japan, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United King dom, the former Soviet Union, and Latin and North America. The international development of this research area is also evident in the establishment of profes sional organizations in different countries such as the Environment-Behavior De sign Research Association (EDRA) in the United States, the Man-Environment Research Association (MERA) in Japan, the International Association for People-En vironment Studies (lAPS) in Great Britain, and the People and Physical Environ ment Research Association (PAPER) in Australia. This volume focuses on environment-behavior research within Japan and the United States as well as cross-cultural studies involving both countries. As we note in detail in Chapter 1, the conference on which the work presented herein is based was preceded by three Japan-United States conferences on environment-behavior research, the first of which took place in Tokyo in 1980. As currently conceived, the present volume stands alone as a compendium of a Significant proportion of cross-cultural research on environment-behavior relations in Japan and the United States that has been developing over the last 15 years. As such, we envision the volume as a basic interdisciplinary reference for anthropolgists, archi tects, psychologists, SOCiologists, urban planners, and environmental geographers.