The Specificity Principle provides a framework for understanding the diversity of human experience in ways that are essential to forwarding developmental science. This special issue exemplifies just some of the ways in which the Specificity Principle can be applied to improve our theory, method, measurement, and application of developmental science to improve human lives. This commentary situates the Specificity Principle within the philosophy of science as it relates to developmental science. Applying the Specificity Principle and embracing the diversity of human experience and individual developmental pathways require that the field of developmental science conduct large scale normative, longitudinal, developmental studies on diverse populations, including ethnic minority subpopulations and those residing in the Global South. Furthermore, with the emerging opportunities for individualized prevention and intervention programs, it is essential that developmental science move away from means and averages and describe human development in all of its specificity.

特殊性原则提供了一个框架，用于以对发展科学至关重要的方式理解人类经验的多样性。这个特刊仅举例说明了特异性原理可用于改善我们的理论，方法，测量和发展科学以改善人类生活的方法。这篇评论将特异性原理置于与发展科学相关的科学哲学之内。要应用特殊性原则并包含人类经验和个人发展途径的多样性，就要求发展科学领域对包括亚族和南半球在内的不同人口进行大规模的规范性，纵向，发展性研究。此外，