Synopses & Reviews
This popular, topically organized, and thoroughly updated child and adolescent development text presents you with the best theories, research, and practical advice that developmentalists have to offer today. Authors David R. Shaffer and Katherine Kipp provide you with a current and comprehensive overview of child and adolescent development, written in clear, concise language that talks "to" you rather than "at" you. The authors also focus on application showing how theories and research apply to real-life settings. As a result, you will gain an understanding of developmental principles that will help you in your roles as parents, teachers, nurses, day-care workers, pediatricians, psychologists, or in any other capacity by which you may one day influence the lives of developing persons. Available with InfoTrac Student Collections http://gocengage.com/infotrac.
Review
"The writing is so clear and straightforward that students would not get confused. It is clear that the authors were thoughtful about how to present the material to students. The inclusion of recent research from cognitive neuroscience is another positive aspect. The wealth of resources available to students and instructors would allow me recommend this textbook to a colleague who is teaching both childhood and adolescence."
Review
"This is an excellent textbook that takes a topical rather than a chronological approach to child and adolescent development. This topical approach makes it much more effective in fitting it into a single semester, with the idea of covering one topic each week throughout the semester. The coverage is detailed and provides sufficient depth that students can really get a basic understanding of the key concepts for the course. Also, the built-in Concept Checks throughout the text help students determine whether or not they have mastered key concepts from one section before they move onto the next section of the material."
Review
"It is a well-written text that is organized similarly to most developmental psychology texts. The level of difficulty is appropriate for undergraduates. It is a very solid text."
About the Author
David R. Shaffer is a Professor and Undergraduate Coordinator of Psychology at the University of Georgia, where he focuses on the Social and Life-Span Developmental Psychology Programs. He has been teaching courses in human development to graduate and undergraduate students for nearly 30 years. His many research articles have concerned such topics as altruism, attitudes and persuasion, moral development, sex roles and social behavior, self-disclosure, and social psychology and the law. He has also served as associate editor for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and Journal of Personality. Katherine Kipp, Ph.D., is Professor of Developmental Psychology at Gainesville State University. Dr. Kipp was formerly Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Georgia, where she focused on the Life-Span Developmental and Cognitive/Experimental Psychology Programs, and where she received numerous teaching and mentoring awards and fellowships. An active researcher, her interests include cognitive inhibition in children, children's memory, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and giftedness in children. She is a member of the Society for Research in Child Development, Cognitive Development Society, American Psychological Association, American Psychological Society, Society for Teaching in Psychology, and Psychonomics Society.
Table of Contents
Part I: INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY. 1. Introduction to Developmental Psychology and Its Research Strategies. Part II: BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF DEVELOPMENT. 2. Hereditary Influences on Development. 3. Prenatal Development and Birth. 4. Infancy. 5. Physical Development: The Brain, Body, Motor Skills, and Sexual Development. Part III: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT. 6. Cognitive Development: Piaget's Theory and Vygotsky's Sociocultural Viewpoint. 7. Cognitive Development: Information-Processing Perspectives. 8. Intelligence: Measuring Mental Performance. 9. Development of Language and Communication Skills. Part IV: SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT. 10. Emotional Development, Temperament, and Attachment. 11. Development of the Self and Social Cognition. 12. Sex Differences and Gender-Role Development. 13. Aggression, Altruism, and Moral Development. Part V: THE CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT. 14. The Family. 15. Peers, School, and Media.