The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be used in the same way. In literature,
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...
used the term in ''
The Sun Also Rises
''The Sun Also Rises'' is a 1926 novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, his first, that portrays American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and the bu ...
'', published in 1926: On page 51, Harvey tells Cohn, "I misjudged you
..You're not a moron. You're only a case of arrested development."
In contrast, the UK's
Mental Health Act 1983
The Mental Health Act 1983 (c.20) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It covers the reception, care and treatment of mentally disordered people, the management of their property and other related matters, forming part of the men ...
used the term "arrested development" to characterize a form of mental disorder comprising
severe mental impairment
Severe mental impairment is a term used in the law of the United Kingdom to define intellectual disability for various purposes.
The Mental Health Act 1983 used the term for the purpose of authorizing detention in hospital or guardianship.
The ...
, resulting in a lack of intelligence. However, some researchers have objected to the notion that mental development can be "arrested" or stopped, preferring to consider mental status as developing in other ways in psychological terminology. Consequently, the term "arrested development" is no longer used when referring to a
developmental disorder
Developmental disorders comprise a group of psychiatric conditions originating in childhood that involve serious impairment in different areas. There are several ways of using this term. The most narrow concept is used in the category "Specific Di ...
in mental health.
In
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
and
archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsc ...
, the term "arrested development" means that a plateau of development in some sphere has been reached. Often it is a technological plateau such as the development of high temperature ceramics, but without glaze because of a lack of materials, or copper smelting without development of bronze because of a lack of tin.
Arrested development is key in the insight of
self-domestication in the evolution of hominidae where it involves being in an environment that favors reduction in aggression, including interspecific and
intraspecific antagonism, for survival, in favor of attitudes that favor living together in a group, social behavior, traits that favor the group as a whole to come to the front stage, elimination of bullies - individuals with an
antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD or infrequently APD) is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of disregard of, or violation of, the rights of others as well as a difficulty sustaining long-term relationships. Lack ...
.
References
Developmental neuroscience
Developmental psychology
Medical terminology
{{developmental-psych-stub