This book has already proved itself as a course adoption leader in Childhood Studies. All of the strengths of the First Edition have been retained. The book is comprehensive and judged with the needs of students in mind. It is a model of clarity and precision and has been acknowledged as such in reviews and course feedback. The new edition thoroughly revises old entries and adds new ones. The book is the most accessible, relevant student introduction to this expanding, interdisciplinary field. It is an indispensable teaching text and an ideal prompt for researchers.

Developmental Psychology

Developmental psychology

The branch of psychology that has sought to define the staged and linear progression of children's cognitive and moral development in relation to their chronological age.

It is arguable that developmental psychology has, since the early 20th century, had a greater influence over our views and understanding of and attitudes towards children and childhood than any other single discipline. This might be explained by several factors. Developmental psychology emerged in the context of the historical development of positivism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This saw the social sciences attempting to emulate the scientific methods of the natural sciences in classifying, ordering, theorising and predicting the behaviour of natural phenomena. It also emerged, however, at a point in social history when children ...

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