Understanding Children's Development 6e

Understanding Children's Development is the UK's best-selling developmental psychology textbook and has been widely acclaimed for its international coverage and rigorous research-based approach. 

This dynamic text emphasizes the practical and applied implications of developmental research.  It begins by introducing the ways in which psychologists study developmental processes before going on to consider all major aspects of development from conception through to adolescence.

 New to the 6th Edition:

• Increased coverage in many areas, including ethics; children’s rights; participatory research methods; three models of human plasticity; breastfeeding and cognitive development; fostering; non-resident or absent fathers; parenting styles in China; effects of domestic violence on children; physical punishment, and child maltreatment; the development and fostering of emotional intelligence; homophobic bullying and cyberbullying; and developing intercultural competence through education.

• There are entirely new sections on immigration, acculturation, and friendships in multicultural settings; disruptive behaviour and oppositional defiant disorder; sexting; and adolescent bedtimes.

• The Adolescence chapter has been extensively revised, covering work on the social brain, insights from neuroscience, evolutionary perspectives on risk-taking and peer relationships, romantic development, and use of mobile phones and the internet.

Peter K. Smith is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Helen Cowie is Research Professor and Director of the UK Observatory for the Promotion of Non-Violence at the University of Surrey.

Mark Blades is Senior Lecturer and Director of Post Graduate Studies at the University of Sheffield.

Preface to Sixth Edition xxi

Acknowledgements xxv

PART I THEORIES AND METHODS 1

Chapter 1 Studying Development 3

Chapter 2 Biological and Cultural Theories of Development 31

PART II PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT AND BIRTH 77

Chapter 3 Prenatal Development and Birth 79

PART III T HE SOCIAL WORLD OF THE CHILD 105

Chapter 4 Parents and Families 107

Chapter 5 Siblings and the Peer Group 161

Chapter 6 Developing Emotional Intelligence and Social Awareness 199

Chapter 7 Play 233

Chapter 8 Children and Media 265

Chapter 9 Helping Others and Moral Development 297

Chapter 10 Social Dominance, Aggression and Bullying 339

PART IV CHILDREN’S DEVELOPING MINDS 377

Chapter 11 Perception 379

Chapter 12 Language 405

Chapter 13 Cognition: Piaget’s Theory 443

Chapter 14 Cognition: The Information Processing Approach 471

Chapter 15 Children’s Understanding of Mind 513

Chapter 16 Learning in a Social Context 545

Chapter 17 Intelligence and Attainment 579

Chapter 18 Deprivation and Enrichment: Risk and Resilience 605

PART V ADOLESCENCE 643

Chapter 19 Adolescence 645

References (Visit the website to download the references - www.wiley.com/college/smith)

Index 693

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