“Goodness of Fit” and Development

Christine McCauley Ohannessian

The “goodness of fit” model (Lerner & Lerner, 1983; Thomas & Chess, 1977) is derived from a developmental contextual perspective of human development (Lerner, 2002). Accordingly, both characteristics of the individual (e.g., temperament, physical attractiveness) and the environment (e.g., attitudes and expectations of others, physical characteristics of the setting) are assumed to affect an individual's behavior and development. However, a key feature of this model is that characteristics of the individual and the environment depend on one another. More specifically, characteristics of the individual and the environment interactively influence behavior and development. This interplay between characteristics of the individual and the environment is of utmost importance and has been shown to be a better predictor of adjustment than either characteristics of the individual or the environment alone. It is important also to note that this interaction is circular in nature. For example, if an individual has negative or “diffi-cult” Ultimately, ...

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