Child Development

by Robert S. Feldman

Written in a direct, conversational voice as a dialogue between author and reader, this book provides a balanced, chronologically-organized overview of the field of child and adolescent development--theories, research, and applications. Illustrating both the commonalties and diversities of our contemporary multicultural society, it shows the immediate relevance of the subject matter to everyday life. Each chapter is filled with frequent vignettes (and photos) of real children and adults--drawn from current news items, timely world events, and contemporary uses of child development. Links to sources on the World Wide Web are interspersed throughout. Covers the full range of childhood and adolescence--from the prenatal period, through infancy and toddlerhood, the preschool years, middle childhood, and adolescence. Within these periods, the focus is on physical, cognitive, and social and personality development. Each chapter features special boxes and sections, such as, From Research to Practice; Developmental Diversity; Speaking of Development (an interview with a person working in a field that uses the findings of child and adolescent development); Informed Consumer of Development (with practical, hands-on information readers can use in their everyday lives.) Highlights contemporary, in-the-news topics such as behavioral genetics, cloning, evolutionary approaches, and Vygotsky; ethnography, gene therapy, new breast-feeding guidelines, automaticity in information processing, the NICHD study on infant care, memory and eyewitness testimony of children, use of Prozac and childhood depression, emotional intelligence, adolescent Web surfing, the downside of self esteem, racial and ethnic identity formation. For anyone interested in Child and Adolescent Development or Developmental Psychology.

Genres: Psychology, Textbooks, Nonfiction

574 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Robert S. Feldman is Dean in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Feldman, who is winner of the College Distinguished Teacher award, has also taught courses at Mount Holyoke College, Wesleyan University, and Virginia Commonwealth University.

A Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society, Feldman received a B.A. with High Honors from Wesleyan University and an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is winner of a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar and Lecturer award and has written more than 100 books, book chapters, and scientific articles. In addition, he is on the Board of Directors of the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (FABBS).

His books, which have been translated into languages ranging from Spanish and French to Chinese and Japanese, include The Liar in Your Life, Understanding Psychology, Essentials of Understanding Psychology, Fundamentals of Nonverbal Behavior, Development of Nonverbal Behavior in Children, Social Psychology, Development Across the Life Span, and P.O.W.E.R. Learning: Strategies for Success in College and Life. His research interests include honesty and deception and impression management. His research has been supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Disabilities and Rehabilitation Research.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was frustrating on a number of levels. While it provides a wealth of general knowledge, this is one of the text books that breaks the rules of numbered classes. What I mean is, we take 100 level courses in psychology to learn the basics so that when we move up to 200 or 300 level classes, they don't have to reteach all that stuff over and over . . . but, that's exactly what this book does, only it broke it down into the years. I felt like, "Yeah, I already knew all the theories. I was hoping for something a little more specific." There was probably only 25-30% new information in this book to build on top of books designed for less specific, more general types of psychology.

Another frustration was writing style; self-imposing a structure that doesn't work in every chapter makes it 1.) boring, and 2.) repetitive. Inevitably, there will be things that overlap. This is my least favorite writing style for text books, because it becomes reading a book instead of having what feels like a great, thorough, and meaningful conversation with an expert of the field backed up by research.

Finally, the research that Feldman used was not critically viewed at all; he took it at face value, even when there are glaring confoudning variables that even someone of my experience can see. Ahem. Feldman, your BIAS is SHOWING! Although his bias only makes a small appearance in a few places, it's enough to make me question his credibility overall. Along the lines of this topic, the hopeful assumption made throughout the book that adults are complete at the end of adolescence doesn't make any sense at all. Development is a life-long process, and having a fully developed brain does not equate to having a fully developed cognitive, social, or physiological status. Duh? Why break it down and then talk about it like reaching the 20's is the end-all of development? Flawed logic and too much generalization, that's why.

If it weren't for the few tidbits of new knowledge and good research, this would've gotten 1 star.

[Katie Butler]

College textbook, it isn't like I had a choice

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book for the class. It was not torturous to read such as the the other books I read for college

[Nana Seryz]

if u wanna find a good understanding about your child, this book is what u searching for... it's good for your home collection......