What are the processes, from conception to adulthood, that enable a single cell to grow into a sentient adult? The processes that occur along the way are so complex that any attempt to understand development necessitates a multi-disciplinary approach, integrating data from cognitive studies, computational work, and neuroimaging - an approach till now seldom taken in the study of child development. Neuroconstructivism is a major new 2 volume publication that seeks to redress this balance, presenting an integrative new framework for considering development. In the first volume, the authors review up-to-to date findings from neurobiology, brain imaging, child development, computer and robotic modelling to consider why children's thinking develops the way it does. They propose a new synthesis of development that is based on 5 key principles found to operate at many levels of descriptions. They use these principles to explain what causes a number of key developmental phenomena, including infants' interacting with objects, early social cognitive interactions, and the causes of dyslexia. The "neuroconstructivist" framework also shows how developmental disorders do not arise from selective damage to normal cognitive systems, but instead arise from developmental processes that operate under atypical constraints. How these principles work is illustrated in several case studies ranging from perceptual to social and reading development. Finally, the authors use neuroimaging, behavioural analyses, computational simulations and robotic models to provide a way of understanding the mechanisms and processes that cause development to occur. Computer and robotic models provide concrete tools for investigating the processes and mechanisms involved in learning and development. Volume 2 illustrates the principles of 'Neuroconstructivist' development, with contributions from 9 different labs across the world. Each of the contributions illustrates how models play a central role in understanding development. The models presented include standard connectionist neural network models as well as multi-agent models. Also included are robotic models emphasizing the need to take embodiment and brain-system interactions seriously. A model of Autism and one of Specific Language Impairment also illustrate how atypical development can be understood in terms of the typical processes of development but operating under restricted conditions. This volume complements Volume 1 by providing concrete examples of how the 'Neuroconstructivist' principles can be grounded within a diverse range of domains, thereby shaping the research agenda in those domains.

The world has a causal structure, in the sense that some events make other events happen. Although understanding causal structure is essential for predicting and controlling the environment, causal structure is, at least usually, not obvious from superficial, perceptual cues. How then do our minds infer this structure? In the last few years, questions about causal inference and learning have become an important focus of investigation in many different disciplines - developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, ethology, philosophy, and computer science. As is common in scientific research, there has been relatively little interaction on the topic between these disciplines. However, in spite of the minimal interaction, a general review of the research shows the beginning of a formal way of determining how, in principle, the problem of causal inference and learning can be solved, and a wealth of methods for determining how it is, in fact, solved by children, adults, and animals. This volume brings together this research and provides a more sophisticated understanding of causal inference and learning.

International Review of Research in Developmental Disabilities, Volume 57 in the series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters written by an international board of authors who discuss Peer mentoring and the development of friendships between individuals with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities, Health issues across adulthood in Down Syndrome: a view from multiple databases, Mindfulness interventions in developmental disabilities: issues and possibilities, Reading Interventions for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities: a review, Communication system identification for individuals with complex communication needs, and much more.

This book examines the complex impact of prenatal stress and the mechanism of its transmission on children's development and well-being, including prenatal programming, epigenetics, infl ammatory processes, and the brain-gut microbiome. It analyzes current findings on prenatal stressors affecting pregnancy, including preconception stress, prenatal maternal depression, anxiety, and pregnancy-specific anxieties. Chapters explore how prenatal stress affects cognitive, affective, behavioral, and neurobiological development in children while pinpointing core processes of adaptation, resilience, and interventions that may reduce negative behaviors and promote optimal outcomes in children. Th is complex perspective on mechanisms by which early environmental influences interact with prenatal programming of susceptibility aims to inform clinical strategies and future research targeting prenatal stress and its cyclical impact on subsequent generations. Key areas of coverage include: The developmental effects of prenatal maternal stress on children. Epigenetic effects of prenatal stress. Intergenerational transmission of parental early life stress. The microbiome-gut-brain axis and the effects of prenatal stress on early neurodevelopment. The effect of prenatal stress on parenting. Gestational stress and resilience. Prenatal stress and children's sleeping behavior. Prenatal, perinatal, and population-based interventions to prevent psychopathology. Prenatal Stress and Child Development is an essential resource for researchers, professors and graduate students as well as clinicians, therapists, and related professionals in infancy and early childhood development, maternal and child health, developmental psychology, pediatrics, social work, child and adolescent psychiatry, developmental neuroscience, and related behavioral and social sciences and medical disciplines. Excerpt from the foreword: "I would make the plea that in addition to anyone with an interest in child development, this book should be essential reading for researchers pursuing "pre-clinical, basic science models of neurodevelopment and brain health".... This book provides what in my mind is the most advanced compilation of existing knowledge and state-of-the-art science in the field of prenatal psychiatry/psychology (and perhaps in the entire field of prenatal medicine). This volume can brilliantly serve to focus future directions in our understanding of the perinatal determinants of brain health."Michael J Meaney James McGill Professor of Medicine Translational Neuroscience Programme Adjunct Professor of Paediatrics

This handbook presents an overview of research on test anxiety and related forms of students' stress and anxiety at schools and other academic environments, and also brings together a series of psychological interventions to prevent and treat anxiety disorders related to academic assessments. Its aim is to inform about strategies that help promote more adaptive behaviors towards academic assessment, as well as discuss other variables (e.g., bullying) that influence test anxiety, a typical stressor at the school and academic environment. These stressors can impair the students' socio-cognitive development, impairing their ability to study and posing a risk to their mental health. The volume is organized in three parts. The first part brings together chapters discussing different variables and processes associated with academic anxiety, such as test anxiety and social influence, academic motivation, bullying, and procrastination. The second part is completely dedicated to psychological interventions with students designed to promote adaptive coping strategies to deal with academic anxiety and to prevent the development of psychopathologies associated with it. These interventions are based on different approaches, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, analytic behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, and mindfulness, among others. Finally, the third part presents strategies that teachers can adopt to manage academic anxiety. The Handbook of Stress and Academic Anxiety: Psychological Processes and Interventions with Students and Teachers will be a valuable resource for school and clinical psychologists, teachers, school managers and policy makers by providing information based on the best scientific evidences to help students cope with academic anxiety, prevent the development of psychopathologies associated with it and promote mental health at schools and other academic environments.

Like a treasure chest, this resource overflows with valuable resources - information, ideas and techniques to inspire and support those working with children who have experienced relational and developmental trauma. Drawing on a range of therapeutic models including systemic, psychodynamic, trauma, sensory, neurobiological, neurocognitive, attachment, cognitive behavioural, and creative ideas, Dr Karen Treisman explains how we understand trauma and its impact on children, teens and their families. She details how it can be seen in symptoms such as nightmares, sleeping difficulties, emotional dysregulation, rage, and outbursts. Theory and strategies are accompanied by a treasure trove of practical, creative, and ready-to-use resources including over 100 illustrated worksheets and handouts, top tips, recommended sample questions, and photographed examples.

This book examines the many roles of families in their members' food access, preferences, and consumption. It provides an overview of factors - from micro- to macro-levels - that have been linked to food insecurity and discusses policy approaches to reducing food insecurity and hunger. In addition, it addresses the links between food insecurity and overweight and obesity. The book describes changes in the U.S. food environment that may explain increases in obesity during recent decades. It explores relationships between parenting practices and the development of eating behaviors in children, highlighting the importance of family mealtimes in healthful eating. The volume provides an overview of efforts to prevent or reduce obesity in children, with attention to minority populations and discusses research findings on targets for obesity prevention, including a focus on fathers as change agents who play a crucial, yet understudied, role in food parenting. The book acknowledges that with the current obesigenic environment in the United States and elsewhere around the world, additional and innovative efforts are needed to foster healthful eating behavior and orientations toward food in childhood and in families. This book is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, clinicians, professionals, and graduate students in developmental psychology, family studies, public health as well as numerous interrelated disciplines, including sociology, demography, social work, prevention science, educational policy, political science, and economics.

Autism 360 uses a hybrid and transdisciplinary methodology to identify mechanisms on how autism is prevented, diagnosed, treated and managed within personal and social constructs around the world. Adopting a lifespan approach, the book discusses lifestyle challenges and emphasizes issues relating to neurodiversity, individuality, best practices, and support of both people on the spectrum and their families. This book will help change population and individual attitudes and behaviors regarding autism. Its ultimate goal is to empower readers to become both agents of change and an integral part of the solution.

Bayley 4 Clinical Use and Interpretation provides clinicians with a guide for use, administration, scoring and interpretation of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Fourth Edition. The book begins with why and how the Bayley 4 was revised. Separate chapters discuss the clinical use and interpretation of the cognitive, language, motor, social-emotional and adaptive scales, each with illustrative clinical cases. Recommendations are provided to aid clinicians in the efficiency of test administration, as well as how to interpret and integrate results within a diagnostic assessment format and in planning intervention. The clinical validity of the Bayley 4 is demonstrated for eight clinical groups. There is an overview of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) with the Bayley 4 ASD Checklist, accommodations, and red flags indicative of abnormality. Additional chapters discuss digital administration and how to present feedback to caregivers.

What are the processes, from conception to adulthood, that enable a single cell to grow into a sentient adult? They are so complex that any attempt to understand development necessitates a multi-disciplinary approach, integrating data from cognitive studies, computational modeling, and neuroimagingan approach until now seldom taken when considering child development. Neuroconstructivism is a major two-volume work that seeks to redress this balance, presenting an integrative new framework for considering development. In Volume One, the authors review up-to-date findings from neurobiology, brain imaging, child development, as well computer and robotic modeling to consider why children's thinking develops the way it does, and propose a new synthesis of development that is based on five key principles found to operate at many different levels of description. Their Neuroconstructivist framework also shows how developmental disorders, such as dyslexia, can arise from typical developmental processes operating under atypical constraints. Of central importance to Neuroconstructivism is the idea that computer and robotic models are vital tools for investigating the processes and mechanisms involved in learning and development. Volume Two illustrates the principles of Neuroconstructivist development through contributions from nine different labs across the world. This volume complements Volume One by providing concrete examples of how the Neuroconstructivist principles can be grounded in a diverse range of domains, and thereby shape the research agenda in each.

This book brings together strategies and innovations that educators from diverse educational contexts have conceptualized and implemented to cater to differences in academic ability, as well as in other domains such as psychosocial contexts and developmental needs. The emergence of IT and new technologies have altered the educational landscape and opened a multitude of opportunities for diverse modes of instruction catering to diverse student populations. The book addresses the gap in the literature with evidence-based reports of innovative strategies and approaches that are grounded in educational research. It identifies student differences in terms of academic ability and also, with regard to their cultural and social background, their developmental and psycho-emotional needs. It examines how new technologies are used in instructional approaches and how these innovative strategies diversify learner experiences. The book is a valuable resource to practitioners, researchers and educational administrators.

Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood is an innovative and exciting European adaptation of Jeffrey Arnett's hugely successful and groundbreaking US text of the same title. The book combines the most significant approaches and ideas in developmental, social and behavioural psychology to produce a comprehensive picture of what it means to experience adolescence today. Drawing upon European research, data and examples, the text takes a fresh approach to understanding adolescent development from a broad range of perspectives including: a focus on the cultural basis of development consideration of the concept of 'emerging adulthood' an emphasis on the historical context of adolescence an interdisciplinary approach to theory and research Packed full of illustrations and features including a focus on youth in the media, professional practice and thinking critically, this is an essential resource for anyone studying or working in the field of childhood, youth and adolescence.

This book is an exploration of science in the making. It offers readers the opportunity to critically reflect on the process of development of Vygotsky's research program from the perspective of dialectics, focusing on the dramatic process of building and rebuilding cultural historical theory. Vygotsky's creative and dramatic journey is no less important than the concrete results of his research. An epistemological and historical investigation of the formulation of cultural historical theory sheds light on the process of knowledge production and reveals hidden dimensions of creativity in science.

This book adopts an interdisciplinary approach to investigate the development of mathematical reasoning in both children and adults and to show how understanding the learner's cognitive processes can help teachers develop better strategies to teach mathematics. This contributed volume departs from the interdisciplinary field of psychology of mathematics education and brings together contributions by researchers from different fields and disciplines, such as cognitive psychology, neuroscience and mathematics education. The chapters are presented in the light of the three instances that permeate the entire book: the learner, the teacher, and the teaching and learning process. Some of the chapters analyse the didactic challenges that teachers face in the classroom, such as how to interpret students' reasoning, the use of digital technologies, and their knowledge about mathematics. Other chapters examine students' opinions about mathematics, and others analyse the ways in which students solve situations that involve basic and complex mathematical concepts. The approaches adopted in the description and interpretation of the data obtained in the studies documented in this book point out the limits, the development, and the possibilities of students' thinking, and present didactic and cognitive perspectives to the learning scenarios in different school settings. Mathematical Reasoning of Children and Adults: Teaching and Learning from an Interdisciplinary Perspective will be a valuable resource for both mathematics teachers and researchers studying the development of mathematical reasoning in different fields, such as mathematics education, educational psychology, cognitive psychology, and developmental psychology.

This expansive reference examines the many types of Family Life Education (FLE) programs being offered around the world, reflecting a myriad of cultures and contexts. Coverage identifies core FLE content areas including parenting education, human sexuality, and interpersonal relationships, and details their programming in various countries over six continents, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Contributors discuss complex challenges of program design, implementation, and evaluation, as well as connections between FLE and family prevention and intervention services. This knowledge is of great theoretical and practical utility across various fields, and is of particular interest to those developing programs for diverse populations. This unique volume: Presents in-depth information on Family Life Education programs from different countries around the world. Discusses how the socio-historic, political, and economic context of a country impacts its families and family services and programs. Covers current topics including poverty, domestic violence, and immigration. Encourages best practices and thorough understanding of the country/region. Offers recommendations for family service providers. Global Perspectives on Family Life Education is a trove of vital knowledge benefitting scholars and researchers as well as professors, postgraduates, graduate and undergraduate students, and practitioners in the family sciences, family life education, family therapy, social work, child and family studies, psychology, sociology, social work, cultural studies, and urban studies.

The Clinician's Guide to Oppositional Defiant Disorder: Symptoms, Assessment, and Treatment uniquely focuses on practical strategies for assessing and treating Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) in youth. After briefly reviewing clinical characteristics of ODD and known causal factors, the book reviews brief and easily administered assessment measures of ODD. It further describes efficacious treatment elements across different treatment protocols that can be personalized for young children, older children, and/or adolescents that are based on unique clinical and family characteristics. Assessment and treatment tips for addressing commonly co-occurring problems, such as difficulties with toilet training, lying, problems with peers, and aggression are included. Finally, the book includes practical tools, such as therapeutic handouts, sample rating forms, and psychoeducational materials for parents and clinicians, along with links to online materials for ease of use in applied clinical settings.

In common with Therapeutic Practice in Schools: Working with the Child Within (Routledge 2012), this second volume serves as a practical handbook for school-based counsellors, psychotherapists, arts therapists and play therapists working with young people. Written in accessible language, it is eminently applicable to the practice of both qualified and trainee therapists. Therapeutic Practice in Schools: The Contemporary Adolescent begins with an overview of key psychoanalytic ideas informing our understanding of adolescence before moving on to focus on life circumstances and issues which commonly bring young people to the therapist's consulting room in the school. Dedicated chapters on key themes including identity, relationships, sex and sexuality, anger issues, self-harm, bereavement and bullying aim to deepen our understanding of the adolescent experience while also providing the therapist with invaluable insights into what one might say in the 'here and now' of the session. Chapter authors, all with considerable experience in the field, discuss approaches to sustaining the therapeutic relationship in the face of ambivalence or defiant resistance as well as thinking about the impact of social media on all aspects of adolescent development. The advantages and limitations of working with adolescents in the educational setting where school staff will have their own reasons for referring students for therapy, while the young people themselves might come with a very different agenda, are also covered. It is widely acknowledged that engaging troubled or troublesome adolescents in therapy can make an enormous difference to their lives. This book ensures that both trainee and qualified therapists are supported in the often daunting yet ever stimulating and enlivening task of working with young people in the school setting.

Functional Analysis: A Practitioner's Guide to Implementation and Training provides practitioners with the most updated information about applying the wide span of current functional analysis (FA) methodologies geared specifically to applied service settings. The book serves as a self-instructional implementation to a broad-base of trainees and care-providers within schools, clinics, centers and human services organizations. Adopting a Behavioral Skills Training and competency-based training outcomes approach, the learning materials and activities featured in the book include suggested slideshow presentations, role-play exercises, pre- and post-training quizzes, natural setting evaluation methods, data recording forms, instructional scripts and reproducible handouts.

This book argues that robots are enchanting humans (as potential intimate partners), because humans are enchanting robots (by performing magical thinking), and that these processes are a part of a significant re-enchantment of the "modern" world. As a foundation, the author examines arguments for and against intimate relationships with robots, particularly sex robots and care robots. Moreover, the book provides a consideration of human-robot interactions and philosophical reflections about robots through the lens of magic and magical thinking as well as theoretical and practical re-evaluations of their status and presence. Furthermore, the author discusses the abovementioned issues in the context of disenchantment and re-enchantment of the world, characterizing modernity as a coexistence of these two processes. The book closes with a consideration of future scenarios regarding the meaning of life in the age of rampant automation and the possibility that designing robots becomes a sort of new eugenics as a consequence of recognizing robots as persons.

This is the first book in English to show how the work of Lev Vygotsky gave rise to a prolific and original school of cultural-historical psychology in Latin America. In recent decades, Latin American researchers have expanded Vygotskyan conceptualizations and applied practical theory to psychological and educational research and practice, but until now this production remained virtually unknown for English speaking audiences since it has been mainly published in Spanish and Portuguese. This timely volume contributes to change this situation by presenting a panoramic picture of the state of the art of cultural-historical psychology in Latin America. The book is divided in two parts. The first part shows how Latin American researchers used Vygotsky's work to develop new theoretical elaborations and empirical advances to deal with different political, social and cultural problems in the region. The second part presents an overview of the current state of cultural-historical psychology in Latin America. Throughout its 15 chapters, the book shows how Latin American researchers contributed to the studies of different aspects of the cultural-historical theoretical conception of the development of higher psychological functions, such as concept formation, inner speech, zone of proximal development and imagination, and how these theoretical elaborations have been applied to research and practice in fields such as sociocultural psychology, developmental psychology, psychotherapy and education in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru and Puerto Rico. Latin American Advances in Subjectivity and Development - Through the Vygotsky Route will be an invaluable resource to researchers, students and practitioners in the fields of psychology, education and other social sciences interested in discovering or learning more about the original Latin American school of cultural-historical psychology.

Erotic transference and countertransference is a core psychoanalytic topic, but very rarely discussed for underage patients * Offers key theory and clinical guidance to managing sexuality in child and adolescent work * Contains contributions from key figures in the international psychoanalytic community

Despite their rich fossil history, there are only four surviving species of sirenians or sea cows, the only fully aquatic herbivorous mammals. The three species of manatees and the dugong live in the coastal waters rivers and lakes of more than 80 tropical and subtropical countries and are all on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This book examines sirenian conservation biology through the lens of their behavioral ecology and ethology. Sirenian feeding, diving, movement, social and reproductive behaviors are reviewed by an international team of scientists from eight countries, with an emphasis on data gathered in the past 15 years.

This book explores the answers to fundamental questions about the human mind and human behaviour with the help of two ancient texts. The first is Oedipus Rex (Oedipus Tyrannus) by Sophocles, written in the 5th century BCE. The second is human DNA, with its origins around 4 billion years ago, and continuously revised by chance and evolution. With Sophocles as a guide, the authors take a journey into the Genomic era, an age marked by ever-expanding insights into the human genome. Over the course of this journey, the book explores themes of free will, fate, and chance; prediction, misinterpretation, and the burden that comes with knowledge of the future; self-fulfilling and self-defeating prophecies; the forces that contribute to similarities and differences among people; roots and lineage; and the judgement of oneself and others. Using Oedipus Rex as its lens, this novel work provides an engaging overview of behavioural genetics that demonstrates its relevance across the humanities and the social and life sciences. It will appeal in particular to students and scholars of genetics, education, psychology, sociology, and law.

This handbook synthesizes and integrates the science of internalizing and externalizing childhood disorders with the diagnostic structure of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual - 5th Edition (DSM-5) of the American Psychiatric Association. It offers a comprehensive overview of DSM-5 disorders in childhood, covering etiology, symptom presentation, assessment methods, diagnostic criteria, and psychotherapeutic and pharmacological approaches to treatment, prognosis, and outcomes. Clinical vignettes and empirical insights illustrate key concepts and diagnostic and treatment issues such as developmental, cultural, gender, and other considerations that may influence diagnosis and case formulation. In addition, chapters on psychosocial therapies offer robust guidelines for working with children and adolescents with DSM-5 disorders. The Handbook also addresses the shift from categorical to dimensional, diagnostic, and treatment systems, particularly focusing on the current shift in funded research in childhood disorders. Topics featured in this Handbook include: Intellectual disabilities and global developmental delay. Depressive disorders in youth. Posttraumatic and acute stress disorders in childhood and adolescence. Autism spectrum and social pragmatic language disorders. Alcohol-related disorders and other substance abuse disorders. Parent-child and sibling relationships. Cognitive-behavioral interventions and their role in improving social skills. The Handbook of DSM-5 Disorders in Children and Adolescents is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, and graduate students as well as clinicians, professionals, and scientist-practitioners in clinical child and school psychology, pediatrics, social work, and educational psychology.