Child Psychology

Increasingly sophisticated and varied research methods now make it possible to examine the highly complex interactions among the many interrelated factors that contribute to children's cognitive, emotional, and social development. It is with these considerations in mind that we undertook our second edition of Child Psychology: A handbook of contemporary issues. To begin, chapters that appeared in the previous edition have been updated. Second, contributions from a number of outstanding researchers who did not appear in the previous edition have been introduced in various sections of this book. Third, a new section on adolescence has been introduced, which constitutes a major change that increases this volume's value as a comprehensive and practical course-related resource. Fourth, the section on ecological influences offers enhanced and extended coverage on contextual factors. This edition builds on the four cornerstones that formed the basis of the chapters appearing in the earlier edition. These include: (1) describing the nature of development and individual variation in developmental trajectories across multiple domains (social, emotional, cognitive and language development), (2) attending to the multiple contexts or settings within which development unfolds -- including family, school, neighborhood and culture, (3) identifying the processes/mechanisms that underlie developmental and contextual change, and (4) applying cutting-edge research designs, methodologies and analytic approaches to models of development and contextual change. These are covered in five sections: Infancy, Preschool Years, Childhood, Adolescence, and Ecological Influences.