From developmental-psychology-skills
Helps determine whether a research project fits Developmental Psychology (APA) by assessing developmental change focus, and selects the appropriate length tier (brief report, larger report, multi-study/longitudinal).
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/developmental-psychology-skills:devpsych-topic-selectionThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
Developmental Psychology publishes **empirical research that significantly advances knowledge and theory
Developmental Psychology publishes empirical research that significantly advances knowledge and theory about development across the life span — infancy through aging. The decisive fit test is not "is this interesting in children/older adults?" but "is the contribution about developmental change?" — age effects, within-person change, trajectories, or the mechanisms that drive them.
A strong Developmental Psychology paper usually clears all four:
devpsych-theory-and-hypotheses).devpsych-study-design).Score a candidate against the four gates before investing. A self-regulation project, two framings:
Candidate A (off-fit): one age group (5-year-olds), effortful-control task
correlates with parent ratings; no age contrast, cross-sectional.
Developmental claim ✗ (no change) Theory advance ~ weak
Design ✓ Open-science ✓
Verdict: off-fit as written → either add ages/waves, or place at a general venue.
Candidate B (strong): three-wave longitudinal sample (ages 4, 6, 8), latent
growth in effortful control predicting later adjustment, open data.
Developmental claim ✓ (within-person change)
Theory advance ✓ (transactional model) Design ✓ Open-science ✓
Verdict: strong fit → larger or multi-study/longitudinal report.
| If the work is... | Better home | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Broad APA lifespan-development advance | Developmental Psychology | the journal's core remit |
| SRCD-flagship child-focused contribution | Child Development (SRCD) | society flagship for childhood |
| Short, mechanism-focused, often infant/cognitive | Developmental Science | faster, brief-format developmental venue |
| Personality/social process not centered on age | JPSP | not a developmental-change claim |
| One-age finding with no change story | general/topical journal | not developmental |
【Developmental question】the change/trajectory in one sentence
【Theory advance】which developmental theory it informs
【Design feasible】ages + power + change supportable? [Y/N]
【Open-science ready】data/materials shareable (or justified)? [Y/N]
【Length tier】brief / larger / multi-study-longitudinal
【Fit verdict】strong / needs reframing / off-fit (why)
【Next】devpsych-theory-and-hypotheses
../../resources/external_tools.md — preregistration, power, and developmental data archives../../resources/official-source-map.md — scope, length tiers, accepted article typesnpx claudepluginhub brycewang-stanford/awesome-journal-skills --plugin developmental-psychology-skillsAssesses educational-psychology project fit for the Journal of Educational Psychology, guiding manuscript type selection and scoring based on relevance, theory, rigor, and ecological validity.
Pressure-tests whether an empirical psychology project fits Psychological Science and selects the right manuscript type (Research Article, Registered Report, Commentary).
Pressure-tests whether a cognition project fits Cognitive Psychology (Elsevier) by evaluating theoretical advance, integrative scope, formal modeling, and reproducibility. Guides contribution shape and fit scoring.