Human Development

by Craig, Grace J.; Baucum, Don

• ISBN13: 9780130334411
• ISBN10: 0130334413
• Edition: 9th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: Pearson College Div

Summary

Drawing from many disciplines to provide an up-to-date presentation of the key questions, topics and controversies in life span development, this book takes a chronological approach to human development. It focuses on context and culture while illustrating that the status of human development is inextricably embedded in a study of complex and changing cultures. Maintaining an open-ended perspective throughout, the volume encompasses many different and opposing views and encourages readers to develop an informed point of view. This volume presents perspectives and research methods and examines approaches to understanding human development, heredity and environment. It reviews the physical, cognitive, and language development, as well as personality development and sociocultural development in infancy, toddlerhood, early and middle childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood and older adulthood. For those interested in human physical, cognitive and sociocultural development.

Table of Contents

Perspectives and Research Methods	2	(34)
Approaches to Understanding Human Development	36	(34)
Heredity and Environment	70	(44)
Prenatal Development and Childbirth	114	(42)
Infancy and Toddlerhood: Physical, Cognitive, and Language Development	156	(46)
Infants and Toddlers: Personality and Sociocultural Development	202	(36)
Early Childhood: Physical, Cognitive, and Language Development	238	(36)
Early Childhood: Personality and Sociocultural Development	274	(40)
Middle Childhood: Physical and Cognitive Development	314	(36)
Middle Childhood: Personality and Sociocultural Development	350	(28)
Adolescence: Physical and Cognitive Development	378	(26)
Adolescence: Personality and Sociocultural Development	404	(32)
Young Adulthood: Physical and Cognitive Development	436	(34)
Young Adulthood: Personality and Sociocultural Development	470	(36)
Middle Adulthood: Physical and Cognitive Development	506	(30)
Middle Adulthood: Personality and Sociocultural Development	536	(32)
Older Adulthood: Physical and Cognitive Development	568	(32)
Older Adulthood: Personality and Sociocultural Development	600	(28)
Death and Dying	628

Excerpts

The story of a human life--in any cultural context--is a rich and compelling drama. The systematic study of human development in context is a challenge for students and researchers alike.Human Development,Ninth Edition, draws from many fields (psychology, biology, sociology, anthropology, history, nursing, medicine, and public health, to name a few), to provide an up-to-date presentation of the key topics, issues, and controversies in the study of lifespan development. In this edition ofHuman Development,I continue to be joined by Don Baucum, an experimental psychologist with clinical training, who draws on his own observations, his eclectic teaching experience, and an engaging writing style to help breathe life and voice into the narrative. We discovered in writing the previous edition that his expertise and mine as an applied developmental psychologist also with extensive teaching experience augment each other well, so Don is now my full co-author. Together, we attempt to provide a sound, often thought-provoking survey of contemporary developmental research and theory as well as applications to everyday life. Because this field is so broad, challenging, open-ended, and controversial, ample opportunities are included for students to consider a wide variety of perspectives and kinds of evidence. Students are encouraged to weigh the evidence against personal experience, and to develop an informed, critical perspective on how we come to be who and what we are as human beings and what each of us can expect in our years to come. Student Diversity Today's college students are more diverse than ever. A given classroom may have a cross-section of students who vary widely in age, ethnicity, personal experiences, and outlook. Today's students also vary in academic background, degree of exposure to the social sciences in particular, and career interests. Each of these factors, and more, create "filters" through which each individual perceives human development and life in general. Many students of human development will pursue a future in fields related to human service, including social work, education, nursing, counseling, various areas of psychology, and program administration. Some are already parents, many will become parents in the future; considerable practical advice about parenting is also included for this reason. We believe that most students by far have a unique and potentially irresistible curiosity about how childhood, adolescence, and adulthood work. This text encourages that curiosity through its emphasis on diversity.Human Developmentpresents people as they are in the context of culture and subculture, both within the United States and beyond. Rather than generalize from any one group of people, it makes a special effort to explain how developmental phenomena apply or relate to a wide range of peoples. The contemporary case studies and research efforts incorporated in the text reflect this variety. Hopefully, students will find themselves in the pages of this text, regardless of background, and yet at the same time escape the confines of ethnocentrism. Chronological Organization In the field of human development there is always the question of whether to organize developmental research and theory by topical chapters, such as bio-, logical, cognitive, language, social, and personality development, or to present child and adult development as it happens chronologically, emphasizing the holistic interrelationships.Human Developmenttakes the latter approach and presents child and adult development primarily in chapters devoted to each of the traditional age divisions: the prenatal period, infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, and young, middle, and older adulthood. The text opens with two chapters on perspectives on human development and its study, one on the interaction of heredity and environment, and one on prenatal