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F om he child en o oday o he adul s o omo ow
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Pulkkinen, L. (2023). F om he child en o oday o he adul s o omo ow. Eu opean Jou nal o
De elopmen al Psychology, Ea ly online. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/17405629.2023.2298915
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F om he child en o oday o he adul s o
omo ow
Lea Pulkkinen
To ci e his a icle: Lea Pulkkinen (26 Dec 2023): F om he child en o oday o
he adul s o omo ow, Eu opean Jou nal o De elopmen al Psychology, DOI:
10.1080/17405629.2023.2298915
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© 2023 The Au ho (s). Published by In o ma
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Published online: 26 Dec 2023.
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F om he child en o oday o he adul s o omo ow
Lea Pulkkinen
Depa men o Psychology, Uni e si y o Jy askyla, Finland
ABSTRACT
This add ess desc ibes a p ocess o ma u a ion om h ee pe spec i es – i s ,
he ma u a ion o a esea che who has conduc ed a longi udinal s udy om
middle childhood o middle adul hood; second, he ma u a ion o he esea ch
pa icipan s; and hi d, he ma u a ion o he p esen gene a ion o child en. To
suppo he la e , knowledge on human de elopmen should be dissemina ed
in many ields. Besides publica ions, o he aims and means me i conside a-
ions. These include s eng hening he alue acco ded o esea ch-based
knowledge, espec o expe ise, social ele ance o esea ch, awa eness o
social con ex , and he channelling o in o ma ion in no el ways, such as
a scien i ically au ho ed open da a bank ha makes knowledge on human
de elopmen a ailable o e e yone.
ARTICLE HISTORY Recei ed 18 Oc obe 2023; Accep ed 12 Decembe 2023
KEYWORDS Ma u a ion; longi udinal s udy; dissemina ion o in o ma ion; knowledge on human
de elopmen
I is a g ea honou o be in i ed o add ess you on his occasion o he
Eu opean Con e ence on De elopmen al Psychology. I ha e aken my i le
‘F om he child en o oday o he adul s o omo ow’ om my biog aphical
a icle included in a book, Pilla s o De elopmen al Psychology, edi ed by
F ank Kessel (2024), bu he opic is ea ed di e en ly. He e, I app oach
he heme as a iangle whose angles ep esen he ma u a ion o he
esea che , esea ch pa icipan s, and he p esen gene a ion. To make
hese pe spec i es mo e conc e e, I i s desc ibe hem in my own li e and
hough s and encou age you o hink o hem in you s.
Ma u a ion o he esea che
Fo a gi l bo n in he beginning o he Second Wo ld Wa and wi hou an
academic amily backg ound, he likelihood o a schola ly ca ee was
CONTACT Lea Pulkkinen [email p o ec ed] Sulkapolku 6 B 37, Helsinki 00370, Finland
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/17405629.2023.2298915
© 2023 The Au ho (s). Published by In o ma UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis G oup.
This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (h p://
c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/), which pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium,
p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed. The e ms on which his a icle has been published allow he pos ing o he
Accep ed Manusc ip in a eposi o y by he au ho (s) o wi h hei consen .
small. I wen o a u al school which had wo class ooms: one o g ades
1–2 and he o he o g ades 3–6. I was a e o mo e on om he e o
seconda y educa ion, bu my pa en s, encou aged by my eache , ook
me o si he en ance exam o a seconda y school in he nea es own.
The yea was 1950. I opened a s udy pa h o me.
When, in 1958, he ime came o en e uni e si y, a ious e en s
s ee ed me o he hen Pedagogical Ins i u e o Jy äskylä, Finland. The
Ins i u e o mally became he Uni e si y o Jy äskylä a ew yea s la e . I
was he e ha I a ended an in oduc o y cou se in psychology gi en by
P o esso Ma i Takala. Fo me, his cou se opened a window on scien i ic
hinking, and he subsequen ly became my men o . In 1962, in his eading
semina , which included he book Bi h o Ma u i y by Kagan and Moss
(1962), I i s lea ned abou longi udinal esea ch. I was h illed. A school,
I had amused mysel by ying o imagine wha kind o adul s he child en
I knew would become in he u u e, and I now lea ned ha somebody had
s udied his e y opic.
My doc o al disse a ion (Pi känen, 1969), which began as a c oss-
sec ional s udy on child en’s socioemo ional beha iou , e ol ed in o he
Jy äskylä Longi udinal S udy o Pe sonali y and Social De elopmen (b ie
i le: F om Child o Adul ), in which I ollowed he de elopmen o he
same indi iduals om age 8 o age 50. A comp ehensi e summa y o he
esul s o da e was published 55 yea s la e (Pulkkinen, 2017), and he
s udy con inues unde he di ec ion o D Ka ja Kokko.
Ea ly in my educa ion I had unde s ood ha o build a pos -doc o al
academic ca ee I would need o unde ake u he s udies ab oad.
I ob ained a B i ish Council schola ship, packed my wo daugh e s in o
he ca , and headed o Sussex Uni e si y in he sou h o England o s udy
social psychology du ing he academic yea o 1972–73.
My ajec o y o in e na ional ac i i ies de eloped ia chains o
acquain ances and men o s in lea ned socie ies – in pa icula , since
1979, he In e na ional Socie y o he S udy o Beha io al De elopmen
(ISSBD). Wi hin he ISSBD, I me P o esso Paul Bal es, and soon became
in ol ed in he adminis a ion o his socie y. Subsequen ly, I chai ed he
10
h
Biennial Mee ings o he ISSBD in Jy äskylä in 1989, and became i s
P esiden o i e yea s, om 1991 o 1996.
The Eu opean Associa ion o De elopmen al Psychology, he o gani-
ze o he p esen con e ence, a ose ou o he egional con e ences o he
ISSBD held in Eu ope, i led he biennial Eu opean Con e ences on
De elopmen al Psychology. I was P esiden o he ISSBD in 1994 when
2L. PULKKINEN
he Eu opean Associa ion was ounded. I didn’ see i as posing a h ea o
he ISSBD, as some people had ea ed i migh . On he con a y,
I expec ed i o s eng hen de elopmen al psychology in Eu ope.
Ma u a ion o he esea ch pa icipan s
As I ma u ed as a esea che , he pa icipan s in my longi udinal s udy
ansi ioned om childhood o adul hood. They had been bo n in 1959,
only a couple o yea s ea lie han my own child en, whose de elopmen
I was hus able o e lec on a he same ime. So, wha hen was he co e
idea o he ollow-up s udy?
De elopmen al psychological esea ch in he 1960s ypically ocused
on p oblem beha iou s. Posi i e social beha iou s did no become
a majo a ge o s udy un il he la e 1970s. Theo e ically, i was ypical
o ha ime o see ‘sense and sensibili y’, ha is, a ional hinking and
eelings, as sepa a e en i ies.
Howe e , in wo king on my doc o al disse a ion in he 1960s, I had
specula ed ha human beings ha e a cogni i e capaci y o e lec ing on
hei in en ions, emo ions, and he consequences o hei beha iou , and
o exe cising con ol o e hese, ha is, o egula ing hei emo ional
beha iou .
I de ised a wo-dimensional impulse con ol model in which he
ho izon al axis depic ed he amoun o cogni i e con ol o e emo ion,
and he e ical axis he exp ession o inhibi ion o beha iou (o e
ac i i y e sus passi i y). Bo h ac i e and passi e beha iou s may in ol e
emo ionali y. Low cogni i e con ol o emo ion may appea as he uncon-
olled exp ession o impulses, such as agg ession and o he ex e nalizing
p oblem beha iou s, o as he uncon olled inhibi ion o impulses, such as
anxie y and o he in e nalizing p oblem beha iou s. Likewise, high cog-
ni i e con ol o e emo ion may appea in he con olled exp ession o
impulses, such as cons uc i e p oblem sol ing, o in con olled inhibi ion
o impulses, such as compliance. In he psychological li e a u e,
a unc ional app oach o he s udy o emo ion egula ion did no eme ge
un il he 1990s.
My indings wi h child en con i med he model. The longi udinal
s udy has shown ha low sel - egula ion a age 8 and 14 is associa ed
wi h a ious aspec s o social unc ioning in adul hood ha a e he
ou come o cumula i e consequences, such as lowe pos -
comp ehensi e educa ion, longe du a ion o unemploymen , hea ie
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 3

d inking, and mo e c iminal o ending. High sel - egula ion in child-
hood and adolescence is, in u n, associa ed in adul hood wi h g ea e
success a school, highe occupa ional a ainmen and income, e ain-
ing om subs ance use, and a s onge sense o one’s obliga ions o
socie y. The esul s ha e also shown ha child en’s de elopmen al
pa hs a e associa ed wi h he quali y o pa en ing.
Ma u a ion o he p esen gene a ion
Knowledge o li e-span de elopmen has inc eased immensely h ough
he wo k o esea che s om di e en disciplina y backg ounds. A he
same ime, de elopmen al psychology has s eng hened as a discipline.
The p oblem emains o how o make his knowledge abou de elop-
men al p ocesses and he ac o s a ec ing hem known in he many ields
whe e i could be used o he bene i o p esen gene a ions.
The dissemina ion o in o ma ion is, o my mind, an impo an ask o
people who ha e he equisi e knowledge, ha is, esea che s. We al eady
do his ia ex books and popula publica ions in mul iple languages, bu
we should also conside o he aims and means o dissemina ion, such as
I will u n o now.
The i s aim is s eng hening he app ecia ion o knowledge. In many
disciplines, such as in medicine, in es men s a e egula ly made o
secu ing he se iceabili y o no el ways o imp o e physical heal h.
Howe e , when decisions abou no el ways conce n people’s psycholo-
gical unc ioning, he esea ch base o en emains weak, and lay opinions
and poli ical goals ge mixed in and end o domina e. The app ecia ion o
scien i ic knowledge a ises om us in esea ch-based in o ma ion. We
should wo k owa ds inc easing such us in ele an esea ch indings
and p ess decision make s o make hei esea ch-basis public.
The second aim is suppo ing espec o expe ise. Expe ise in human
de elopmen e e s o he as knowledge ep esen ed in he esul s o
basic esea ch and unde s anding o hei applicabili y o he eal wo ld.
De elopmen al psychologis s should be well- ained o wo k in ad iso y
g oups in which scien i ic knowledge om di e en sou ces is coo di-
na ed o suppo decision making.
The hi d aim is he p oduc ion o socially ele an esea ch.
Scien i ic knowledge should be supplemen ed by socially ele an
esea ch. This means gi ing esea che s oppo uni ies o ob ain
unding o explo ing – oge he wi h ield wo ke s – he
4L. PULKKINEN
applicabili y o hei basic esea ch indings o speci ic p ac ical
issues. I ha e no iced ha esea ch o his kind is encou aged in
he Ne he lands.
The ou h aim is o ake cognizance o socie al con ex s in o
accoun . To be able o p ope ly apply esea ch indings equi es
e lec ion on he ole o de elopmen al psychological knowledge
in di e en socie al con ex s. Gi en ha he concep o li e-span
de elopmen e e s o he knowledge o indi idual de elopmen
om childhood o la e li e, he e is cu en ly a need o gi e mo e
sys ema ic conside a ion o people’s di e en li e si ua ions ha
a ec hei de elopmen . De elopmen al psychological knowledge
can be u ilized o enhance he well-being o he p esen gene a-
ions, no only in he domains o child- ea ing, educa ion, and ca e
wo k, bu also in hose o housing, wo king condi ions, and a i-
udes owa ds he ma ginaliza ion o indi iduals, wi hou o ge ing
big issues such as immig a ion, clima e change, and economic
c ises.
The i h aim is o imp o e he channelling o in o ma ion. Channels a e
any means used o he dissemina ion o knowledge on human de elop-
men , such as educa ion, publica ions, and pa icipa ion in public deba e. An
addi ion o he p esen channels migh be a scien i ically au ho ed, open
da a bank ha p o ides in o ma ion digi ally in w i en, ideo and o he
o ms, he eby making access o knowledge on human de elopmen
a esou ce o all people.
The ques ion o wha kind o adul s o omo ow he child en o oday
will become could be conside ed in a new ligh , i access o knowledge on
human de elopmen became a sha ed esou ce. Pe haps he sha ing o
knowledge would inc ease espec o indi idual di e ences, p omo e
coope a ion ins ead o compe i ion o sca ce esou ces on his plane ,
and lead us o ca e mo e o each o he .
I wish you a success ul and enjoyable con e ence!
Disclosu e s a emen
No po en ial con lic o in e es was epo ed by he au ho (s).
ORCID
Lea Pulkkinen h p://o cid.o g/0000-0002-4290-6690
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 5
Re e ences
Kagan, J., & Moss, H. A. (1962). Bi h o ma u i y. Wiley.
Kessel, F. Ed. (2024). Pilla s o de elopmen al psychology. Camb idge Uni e si y P ess.
(manusc ip in p epa a ion).
Pi känen, L. (1969). A desc ip i e model o agg ession and nonagg ession wi h applica-
ions o child en’s beha iou . Jy äskylä S udies in Educa ion, Psychology and Social
Resea ch, No. 19. Jy äskylän yliopis o. h p://u n. i/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-8239-3
Pulkkinen, L. (2017). Human de elopmen om middle childhood o middle adul hood:
G owing up o be middle-aged. Rou ledge. In collabo a ion wi h Ka ja Kokko. h ps://
doi.o g/10.4324/9781315732947
6L. PULKKINEN