Richard M. Lerner is the Bergstrom Chair in Applied Developmental Science and the Director of the Applied Developmental Science Institute in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts University. A developmental psychologist, Lerner received a Ph.D. in 1971 from the City University of New York. He has been a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Psychological Association, and American Psychological Society. Prior to joining Tufts University, he held administrative posts at Michigan State University, Pennsylvania State University, and Boston College, where he was the Anita L. Brennan Professor of Education and the Director of the Center for Child, Family, and Community Partnerships. In 1994-95, he held the Tyner Eminent Scholar Chair in the Human Sciences at Florida State University. He is author or editor of 55 books and more than 360 scholarly articles and chapters. He edited Volume 1 (Theoretical Models of Human Development) for the fifth edition of the Handbook of Child Psychology. He is the founding editor of the Journal of Research on Adolescence and Applied Developmental Science. He is known for his theory of, and research about, relations between life-span human development and contextual or ecological change. Lerner has done foundational studies of adolescents' relations with their peer, family, school, and community contexts and is a leader in the study of public policies and community-based programs aimed at the promotion of positive youth development. With Sage, he authored America's Youth in Crisis: Challenges and Options for Programs and Policies (1995), co-edited the four-volume Handbook of Applied Developmental Science, and is co-editing the two-volume Encyclopedia of Applied Developmental Science.

Introduction - Jochen Brandtstädter and Richard M Lerner
Development, Action and Intentionality
PART ONE: DEVELOPMENT AS A PERSONAL AND SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION
Revisiting ¿Individuals as Producers of Their Development¿ - Richard M Lerner and Ted Walls
From Dynamic Interactionism to Developmental Systems
The Self in Action and Development - Jochen Brandtstädter
Cultural, Biosocial and Ontogenetic Bases of Intentional Self-Development
Selectivity in Lifespan Development - Jutta Heckhausen and Richard Schulz
Biological and Societal Canalizations and Individuals¿ Developmental Goals
Freedom Isn¿t Free - Dale Dannefer
Power, Alienation and the Consequences of Action
The Dynamic Co-Development of Intentionality, Self and Social Relations - Michael F Mascolo, Kurt W Fischer and Robert Neimeyer
PART TWO: DESIGNING PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT GOALS: GOALS, PLANS AND FUTURE SELVES
The Pursuit of Personal Goals - Joachim C Brunstein, Oliver C Schultheiss and Günter W Maier
A Motivational Approach to Well-Being and Life Adjustment
Personal Projects and Social Ecology - Brian R Little
Themes and Variations across the Life-Span
Life Planning - Jacqui Smith
Anticipating Future Life Goals and Managing Personal Development
The Process of Meaning Construction - Ingrid E Josephs, Jaan Valsiner and Seth E Surgan
Dissecting the Flow of Semiotic Activity
A Motivational-Volitional Perspective on Identity Development - Peter M Gollwitzer et al
Free Fantasies about the Future and the Emergence of Developmental Goals - Gabriele Oettingen
PART THREE: RESILIENCE AND EFFICACY ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN
Psychological Control in Later Life - Helene H Fung, Ronald P Abeles and Laura L Carstensen
Implications for Life-Span Development
Intentional Self-Development through Adulthood and Later Life - Jochen Brandtstädter, Dirk Wentura and Klaus Rothermund
Tenacious Pursuit and Flexible Adjustment of Goals
Successful Development and Aging - Alexandra M Freund, Karen Z H Li and Paul B Baltes
The Role of Selection, Optimization and Compensation in Successful Aging
Emotional Learning and Mechanisms of Intentional Psychological Change - Karen S Quigley and Lisa Feldman Barrett
Action Regulation, Coping and Development - Ellen A Skinner