Other theories state that change is possible and likely if new experiences support it. There is a lot of controversy on the stability versus change issue, especially across different domains of development. On the other hand, my interpersonal or social domain has changed a lot since I was in my 20's. I went to LSU and got accustomed to being with people who were either drunk or under the influence of some unknown chemical almost every waking moment. All modern theories recognize the organismic and mechanistic viewpoints, they no longer talk about nature versus nurture but ask how they work together, they look at a person's entire life instead of the first 20 years, and in general the lifespan perspective is a more complex and thoughtful way of looking at human growth.
Development is highly plastic.
I was thrilled when I read the above list because all of my previous psychology textbooks have ignored the first and last items. Freud felt that everything important happened before age five, and almost all of the age-stage theories ignored the context surrounding the person, implying that we all charge through a sequence of changes regardless of our historical eras or uniquely personal triumphs or disasters. This course is divided into eight pieces that roughly parallel Erikson's stages. Please refer to page 18 for details. Within each of the eight periods, we will be looking at physical, cognitive, and emotional development.