Summary
Contents
Subject index
`This is an impressive work... and will provide the advanced reader with a rich source of theory and evidence. There is a huge amount to be got from the book and I suspect it will become a key work' - J Gavin Bremner, Department of Psychology, Lancaster University The Handbook of Developmental Psychology is a comprehensive, authoritative yet frontier-pushing overview of the study of human development presented in a single-volume format. It is ideal for experienced individuals wishing for an up-to-date survey of the central themes prevalent to developmental psychology, both past and present, and for those seeking a reference work to help appreciate the subject for the first time. The insightful contributions from world-leading developmental psychologists successfully and usefully integrate different perspectives to studying the subject, following a systematic life-span structure, from pre-natal development through to old age in human beings. The Handbook then concludes with a substantive section on the methodological approaches to the study of development, focusing on both qualitative and quantitative techniques. This unique reference work will be hugely influential for anyone needing or wishing for a broad, yet enriched understanding of this fascinating subject. It will be a particularly invaluable resource for academics and researchers in the fields of developmental psychology, education, parenting, cultural and biological psychology and anthropology.
Developmental Psychology and the Neurosciences
Developmental Psychology and the Neurosciences
Introduction
During much of the twentieth century, students of child development had an ambivalent attitude towards the neurosciences, which is reflected in the contrast between the processes of learning and maturation. Learning is a process that influences changes in behavior through interactions with the environment (and therefore focuses on a purely behavioral approach), while maturation is traditionally seen as an unfolding of an at least partially predetermined growth plan (and therefore invokes a biological basis). The former emphasis is, of course, consistent with traditional associationist ideas while the latter reflects a nativist stance. This dichotomy has been the source of many debates within our field. During the last decades, however, we have learned ...
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