development [Fr, developper, to unfold] , 1. the gradual process of change and differentiation from a simple to a more advanced level of complexity. In humans the physical, mental, and emotional capacities that allow complex adaptation to the environment and function within society are acquired through growth, maturation, and learning. Kinds include arrested development, mosaic development, psychomotor development, psychosocial development, regulative development, psychosexual development. 2. (in biology) the series of events that occur within an organism from the time of fertilization of the ovum to the adult stage. −developmental, adj.
