Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This edition focuses on actively engaging the student. It provides a synthesis of the field's major theories, examining traditional concepts and the latest trends within developmental psychology.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• To the Student (p. xxiii)
• To the Instructor (p. xxv)
• Part 1 Introduction (p. 1)
• Chapter 1 Basic Questions (p. 1)
• Nature and Nurture: An Ancient Debate (p. 2)
• Interactions of Nature and Nurture (p. 13)
• The Nature of Developmental Change (p. 16)
• Theories of Development (p. 17)
• Finding the Answers: Research on Development (p. 23)
• Research Design (p. 24)
• Research Methods (p. 30)
• Research Analysis (p. 32)
• A Final Word (p. 33)
• Summary (p. 34)
• Research Report: How Do Behavior Geneticists Identify Genetic Effects? (p. 6)
• Research Report: Resilience Among Children Growing Up in Poverty (p. 14)
• Cultures and Contexts: An Example of a Cross-Cultural Comparison Study (p. 29)
• Research Report: Ethical Issues in Research on Development (p. 32)
• Part 2 The Beginnings of Life (p. 38)
• Chapter 2 Prenatal Development (p. 38)
• Conception (p. 39)
• The Basic Genetics of Conception (p. 39)
• Patterns of Genetic Inheritance (p. 41)
• Twins and Siblings (p. 44)
• Genotypes and Phenotypes (p. 45)
• Development from Conception to Birth (p. 45)
• An Overview of Prenatal Development (p. 50)
• Genetic Errors (p. 51)
• Teratogens: Diseases and Drugs (p. 54)
• Other Influences on Prenatal Development (p. 61)
• An Overview of Risks and Long-Term Consequences of Prenatal Problems (p. 64)
• Sex Differences in Prenatal Development (p. 66)
• Social Class Differences (p. 67)
• Summary (p. 68)
• The Real World: Prenatal Diagnosis of Genetic Errors (p. 53)
• Research Report: Rh Factor: Another Type of Genetic Problem (p. 55)
• Research Report: Streissguth's Study of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure (p. 59)
• Chapter 3 Birth and the Newborn Child (p. 71)
• Birth (p. 72)
• Adapting to the Newborn (p. 82)
• The Newborn: What Can He Do? (p. 82)
• The Daily Life of Infants (p. 90)
• Individual Differences Among Babies (p. 96)
• Summary (p. 99)
• The Real World: Postpartum Depression (p. 83)
• Cultures and Contexts: Sleeping Arrangements for Infants (p. 92)
• Research Report: Variations in Children's Cries (p. 93)
• Cultures and Contexts: Cultural and Social Class Differences in Patterns of Breast-Feeding, and Their Consequences (p. 95)
• Part 3 The Physical Child (p. 102)
• Chapter 4 Physical Development (p. 102)
• Four Reasons for Studying Physical Development (p. 103)
• Basic Sequences and Common Patterns (p. 104)
• Development of Sexual Maturity (p. 112)
• Using the Body: Motor Development (p. 119)
• Variations in Rate of Development (p. 119)
• Health and Illness (p. 122)
• Determinants of Growth: Explanations of Physical Development (p. 132)
• Summary (p. 135)
• Research Report: Homosexuality Among Adolescents (p. 117)
• The Real World: Which Teenagers Get Pregnant? (p. 118)
• The Real World: Sports for Children (p. 121)
• Research Report: Child Abuse and Neglect (p. 125)
• Chapter 5 Perceptual Development (p. 138)
• Ways of Studying Early Perceptual Skills (p. 139)
• Basic Sensory Skills (p. 140)
• Complex Perceptual Skills: Preferences, Discriminations, and Patterns (p. 143)
• Ignoring Perceptual Information: The Perceptual Constancies (p. 151)
• The Object Concept (p. 152)
• Perception of Social Signals (p. 155)
• Individual Differences in Perception: Speed and Efficiency (p. 157)
• Explanations of Perceptual Development (p. 158)
• Perceptual Development: A Summing-Up (p. 160)
• Summary (p. 160)
• Research Report: Langlois' Studies of Babies' Preferences for Attractive Faces (p. 146)
• Research Report: Babies Even Learn Sound Patterns in Utero (p. 149)
• Cultures and Contexts: Object Permanence in Zambian Infants (p. 155)
• Part 4 The Thinking Child (p. 162)
• Chapter 6 Cognitive Development I: Structure and Process (p. 162)
• Three Views of Intelligence (p. 163)
• Piaget's Perspective (p. 164)
• Infancy (p. 167)
• The Preschool Years (p. 172)
• The School-Age Child (p. 180)
• Cognitive Development in Adolescence (p. 187)
• Preliminary Conclusions and Questions (p. 191)
• Information Processing in Children (p. 192)
• Summary (p. 195)
• Research Report: Piaget's Clever Research (p. 165)
• The Real World: Young Children's Play (p. 173)
• Cultures and Contexts: Understanding of Appearance and Reality in Other Cultures (p. 177)
• Research Report: Memory and the Child as Witness (p. 184)
• Chapter 7 Cognitive Development II: Individual Differences in Cognitive Abilities (p. 198)
• Measuring Intellectual Power: IQ Tests and Other Measures (p. 199)
• Stability and Predictive Value of IQ Tests (p. 203)
• An Alternative View: Sternberg's Triarchic Theory of Intelligence (p. 207)
• Explaining Differences in IQ Scores (p. 208)
• Interaction of Heredity and Environment (p. 217)
• Group Differences in IQ Scores (p. 217)
• The Measurement of Intelligence: A Last Look (p. 222)
• Individual Differences in Information Processing (p. 222)
• Cognitive Development: Putting the Three Approaches Together (p. 223)
• Summary (p. 225)
• The Real World: Performance Tests: A New Way to Measure School Achievement (p. 204)
• Cultures and Contexts: Maternal "Responsiveness" in Different Cultures (p. 212)
• Research Report: Later Schooling and IQ Scores (p. 216)
• Research Report: Stereotype Threat: Another Possible Factor in Poorer Minority Performance (p. 218)
• Cultures and Contexts: How Asian Teachers Teach Math and Science So Effectively (p. 220)
• Chapter 8 The Development of Language (p. 227)
• What Is Language Anyway? (p. 228)
• Before the First Word: The Prelinguistic Phase (p. 229)
• The First Words (p. 231)
• Speaking in Sentences: The Development of Grammar (p. 235)
• The Development of Word Meaning (p. 239)
• Using Language: Communication and Self-direction (p. 243)
• Explaining Language Development (p. 244)
• Innateness Theories (p. 247)
• Individual Differences in Language Development (p. 251)
• An Application of the Basic Knowledge: Learning to Read (p. 254)
• Summary (p. 255)
• Research Report: Early Gestural "Language" in the Children of Deaf Parents (p. 231)
• Cultures and Contexts: Early Words by Children in Many Cultures (p. 234)
• The Real World: Bilingual Children (p. 240)
• Research Report: The Importance of Reading To the Child (p. 247)
• Cultures and Contexts: Universals and Variations in Early Language (p. 248)
• Part 5 The Social Child (p. 258)
• Chapter 9 Personality Development: Alternative Views (p. 258)
• Defining Personality in Adults (p. 260)
• Defining Personality in Children (p. 261)
• Genetic and Biological Explanations (p. 264)
• Learning Explanations (p. 269)
• Psychoanalytic Explanations (p. 274)
• A Possible Synthesis (p. 283)
• Summary (p. 285)
• Cultures and Contexts: Cultural Differences in Infant Temperament (p. 264)
• Research Report: The Inheritance of Personality Patterns: Evidence from Adults (p. 266)
• Research Report: Temperament and Behavior Problems (p. 268)
• The Real World: Applying Learning Principles at Home (p. 271)
• The Real World: The Effects of Divorce: One Test of Psychoanalytic Theory (p. 282)
• Chapter 10 The Concept of Self in Children (p. 287)
• The Development of the Concept of Self (p. 288)
• Self-esteem (p. 299)
• The Self-concept: A Summing-Up (p. 303)
• The Development of Gender and Sex-Role Concepts (p. 303)
• Summary (p. 314)
• Cultures and Contexts: Adolescent Initiation Rituals (p. 297)
• Cultures and Contexts: Sex-Role Stereotypes Around the World (p. 306)
• The Real World: Sex Stereotyping on TV and in Children's Books (p. 310)
• Chapter 11 The Development of Social Relationships (p. 317)
• Attachment Theory: Concepts and Terminology (p. 318)
• The Parents' Bond to the Child (p. 320)
• The Baby's Attachment to the Parent (p. 322)
• Variations in the Quality of Infants' Attachments (p. 328)
• Relationships with Peers: Playmates and Friends (p. 334)
• Behavior with Peers: Prosocial Behavior and Aggression (p. 342)
• Individual Differences in Peer Relationships (p. 345)
• Summary (p. 349)
• The Real World: Failure of Parental Bonding: Causes and Consequences (p. 322)
• Cultures and Contexts: Attachment in a Very Different Cultural System (p. 323)
• Cultures and Contexts: Secure and Insecure Attachments in Different Cultures (p. 330)
• Research Report: Intergenerational Transmission of Secure and Insecure Attachment (p. 331)
• The Real World: Sibling Relationships (p. 335)
• Research Report: Are African-American Adolescents More Susceptible to Peer Influence? (p. 340)
• The Real World: Rearing Helpful and Altruistic Children (p. 344)
• Research Report: Bullies and Victims (p. 346)
• Chapter 12 Thinking About Relationships: The Development of Social Cognition (p. 352)
• Some General Principles and Issues (p. 353)
• Reading Others' Feelings (p. 354)
• Describing Other People (p. 358)
• Describing Friendships (p. 359)
• Making Moral Judgments (p. 360)
• Social Cognition and Behavior (p. 369)
• Social Cognition and General Cognitive Development (p. 372)
• Summary (p. 374)
• Research Report: An Intervention to Increase Children's Emotional Competence (p. 356)
• The Real World: Application of Kohlberg's Theory to Education (p. 373)
• Part 6 The Whole Child (p. 376)
• Chapter 13 The Ecology of Development: The Child Within the Family System (p. 376)
• Theoretical Approaches (p. 377)
• Dimensions of Family Interaction (p. 379)
• Patterns or Styles of Child Rearing (p. 385)
• Other Aspects of Family Dynamics (p. 390)
• Some Exosystem Effects: Parents' Work and Social Support (p. 401)
• Summary (p. 404)
• The Real World: To Spank or Not to Spank (p. 383)
• Cultures and Contexts: China's One-Child Policy (p. 392)
• Cultures and Contexts: The Benefits of Extended Families (p. 396)
• Cultures and Contexts: Explaining the High Rate of Single Parenthood Among African Americans (p. 397)
• The Real World: Softening the Effects of Divorce (p. 400)
• Chapter 14 Beyond the Family: The Impact of the Broader Culture (p. 406)
• Child Care (p. 407)
• The Impact of Schools (p. 414)
• Joining the Work World: The Impact of Jobs on Teenagers (p. 420)
• The Impact of the Mass Media (p. 423)
• Macrosystem Effects: The Impact of the Larger Culture (p. 427)
• Summary (p. 440)
• The Real World: Latchkey Children (p. 413)
• Research Report: Family Viewing Patterns (p. 424)
• The Real World: Children in Danger (p. 431)
• Cultures and Contexts: Child Rearing and Family Values in West Africa (p. 434)
• Research Report: Asian and U.S. Teenagers and Their Parents Define a "Bad Kid" (p. 438)
• Chapter 15 Atypical Development (p. 442)
• Frequency of Problems (p. 443)
• Developmental Psychopathology: A New Approach (p. 444)
• The Psychopathologies of Childhood (p. 446)
• Intellectually Atypical Development (p. 457)
• Schooling for Atypical Children (p. 462)
• Sex Differences in Atypical Development (p. 465)
• A Final Point (p. 466)
• Summary (p. 467)
• Cultures and Contexts: Problem Behaviors Among Children in Kenya and Thailand (p. 444)
• Research Report: Delinquency Among Girls (p. 449)
• The Real World: Adolescent Suicide and Its Prevention (p. 451)
• The Real World: The Impact of the Atypical Child on the Family (p. 464)
• Chapter 16 Putting It All Together: The Developing Child (p. 469)
• Transitions, Consolidations, and Systems (p. 470)
• From Birth to 18 Months (p. 470)
• The Preschool Years (p. 475)
• The Elementary School Years (p. 477)
• Adolescence (p. 480)
• Returning to Some Basic Questions (p. 485)
• Individual Differences (p. 491)
• A Final Point: The Joy of Development (p. 492)
• Summary (p. 493)
• Glossary (p. 495)
• References (p. 503)
• Credits (p. 547)
• Name Index (p. 549)
• Subject Index (p. 565)