One of the issues central to both classic and contemporary theories of cognitive development is children's goal-directed behavior, which is typically investigated in terms of strategies. This book brings together in one volume the latest research and theory regarding the development of children's strategies for a variety of cognitive tasks. Opening with a history of strategy development research and concluding with a chapter that integrates the diversity of ideas expressed by the contributors, Children's Strategies offers intervening chapters that examine strategy development for attention, analogical reasoning, mathematics, memory, reading, and problem solving in infancy. Although there is much common ground shared by the various contributors to this volume, there is no consensus concerning what exactly a strategy is. This mixture of consensus and disagreement reflects both the explosion of research in this area since the late 1960's and the complexity of the issues involved. It also reflects the fact that this is a topic that is very much alive in cognitive circles, one that will continue to stimulate research for years to come. The papers in this volume describe current research and theory concerning the development of children's strategies for handling a variety of cognitive tasks. After providing a historical view of the concept of strategies in cognitive development, the book highlights many of the issues of concern to contemporary developmental psychologists interested in strategies. The issues discussed include problem solving in infancy, memory, selective attention, mathematics, analogical reasoning, and reading.

Infants and children are the often-ignored heroes when it comes to understanding human evolution. Evolutionary pressures acted upon the young of our ancestors more powerfully than on adults, and changes over the course of development in our ancestors were primarily responsible for the species and the people we have become. This book takes an evolutionary developmental perspective, emphasizing that developmental plasticity—the ability to change our physical and psychological selves early in life—is the creative force in evolution, with natural selection serving as a filter, eliminating novel developmental outcomes that did not benefit survival. This book is about becoming—of becoming human and of becoming mature adults. Bjorklund asks, "How can an understanding of human development help us better understand human evolution?" Then, turning the relation between evolution and development on its head, Bjorklund demonstrates how an understanding of our species' evolution can help us better understand current development and how to better rear successful and emotionally healthy children.

As one of the most hotly debated topics of the past decade, false memory has attracted the interest of researchers and practitioners in many of psychology's subdisciplines. Real-world issues surrounding the credibility of memories (particularly memories of traumatic events, such as sexual abuse) reported by both children and adults have been at the center of this debate. Were the adults actually retrieving repressed memories under the careful direction of psychotherapists, or were the memories being "created" by repeated suggestion? Were children telling investigators about events that actually happened, or were the interviewing techniques used to get at unpleasant experiences serving to implant memories that eventually became their own? There is evidence in the psychological research literature to support both sides, and the potential impact on individuals, families, and society as a whole has been profound.
This book is an attempt to cut through the undergrowth and get at the truth of the "recovered memory/false-memory creation" puzzle. The contributors review seminal work from their own research programs and provide theory and critical evaluation of existing research that is necessary to translate theory into practice. The book will be of great value to basic and applied memory researchers, clinical and social psychologists, and other professionals working within the helping and legal professions.

Children's Thinking: Cognitive Development and Individual Differences, Seventh Edition by David Bjorklund remains the most comprehensive and current topical textbook available in cognitive development. The text presents up-to-date, thorough research studies and data throughout. Bjorklund expertly introduce readers to the concept of developmental function, which explains that healthy children can individually vary in their cognition as they develop. This concept is discussed throughout the text within the context of the typical progression of cognitive development through infancy and childhood. In addition, the text includes framework showing that, although some traits are established at birth, children's cognitive development is also shaped by the physical and social environments that surround them throughout their formative years. The seventh edition has been updated to include current and extensive research, sociocultural coverage, evolutionary coverage of memory development, children's development of prosocial cognition, moral development, and the concept of overimitation.

This book provides an understanding of memory development through an examination of the scientific contributions of eminent developmental scientist Peter A. Ornstein. His fifty-year career not only coincided with but also contributed to a period of extraordinary progress in the understanding of children's memory. The volume describes this historical context, constructs a theoretical structure for understanding memory development, and emphasizes research applications for educational and forensic practice. Organized around Ornstein's four influential research programs in children's memory strategies, children's event memory, family socialization of memory, and classroom socialization of memory, the chapters examine contemporary directions in each area, with commentaries addressing each program provided by internationally renowned developmental psychologists. The book presents a comprehensive overview of memory development for psychologists and educators at all levels of training and practice, and also provides a model of a generative life in science.

As one of the most hotly debated topics of the past decade, false memory has attracted the interest of researchers and practitioners in many of psychology's subdisciplines. Real-world issues surrounding the credibility of memories (particularly memories of traumatic events, such as sexual abuse) reported by both children and adults have been at the center of this debate. Were the adults actually retrieving repressed memories under the careful direction of psychotherapists, or were the memories being "created" by repeated suggestion? Were children telling investigators about events that actually happened, or were the interviewing techniques used to get at unpleasant experiences serving to implant memories that eventually became their own? There is evidence in the psychological research literature to support both sides, and the potential impact on individuals, families, and society as a whole has been profound. This book is an attempt to cut through the undergrowth and get at the truth of the "recovered memory/false-memory creation" puzzle. The contributors review seminal work from their own research programs and provide theory and critical evaluation of existing research that is necessary to translate theory into practice. The book will be of great value to basic and applied memory researchers, clinical and social psychologists, and other professionals working within the helping and legal professions.

This book provides an understanding of memory development through an examination of the scientific contributions of eminent developmental scientist Peter A. Ornstein. His fifty-year career not only coincided with but also contributed to a period of extraordinary progress in the understanding of children's memory. The volume describes this historical context, constructs a theoretical structure for understanding memory development, and emphasizes research applications for educational and forensic practice. Organized around Ornstein's four influential research programs in children's memory strategies, children's event memory, family socialization of memory, and classroom socialization of memory, the chapters examine contemporary directions in each area, with commentaries addressing each program provided by internationally renowned developmental psychologists. The book presents a comprehensive overview of memory development for psychologists and educators at all levels of training and practice, and also provides a model of a generative life in science.

Natural selection has operated as strongly or more so on the early stages of the lifespan as on adulthood. One evolved feature of human childhood is high levels of behavioral, cognitive, and neural plasticity, permitting children to adapt to a wide range of physical and social environments. Taking an evolutionary perspective on infancy and childhood provides a better understanding of contemporary human development, predicting and understanding adult behavior, and explaining how changes in the early development of our ancestors produced contemporary Homo sapiens.

Peter Gray's evolutionary perspective and emphasis on critical thinking have made his rigorous yet accessible introduction to psychology a widely respected classroom favourite, edition after edition. Now thoroughly revised, with the help of co-author David Bjorklund, Psychology invites and stimulates students to investigate the big ideas in psychological science. Psychology can also be purchased with the breakthrough online resource, LaunchPad, which offers innovative media content, curated and organised for easy assignability. LaunchPad's intuitive interface presents quizzing, flashcards, animations and much more to make learning actively engaging.

One of the issues central to both classic and contemporary theories of cognitive development is children's goal-directed behavior, which is typically investigated in terms of strategies. This book brings together in one volume the latest research and theory regarding the development of children's strategies for a variety of cognitive tasks. Opening with a history of strategy development research and concluding with a chapter that integrates the diversity of ideas expressed by the contributors, Children's Strategies offers intervening chapters that examine strategy development for attention, analogical reasoning, mathematics, memory, reading, and problem solving in infancy. Although there is much common ground shared by the various contributors to this volume, there is no consensus concerning what exactly a strategy is. This mixture of consensus and disagreement reflects both the explosion of research in this area since the late 1960's and the complexity of the issues involved. It also reflects the fact that this is a topic that is very much alive in cognitive circles, one that will continue to stimulate research for years to come. The papers in this volume describe current research and theory concerning the development of children's strategies for handling a variety of cognitive tasks. After providing a historical view of the concept of strategies in cognitive development, the book highlights many of the issues of concern to contemporary developmental psychologists interested in strategies. The issues discussed include problem solving in infancy, memory, selective attention, mathematics, analogical reasoning, and reading.

This unique volume is one of the first of its kind to examine infancy through an evolutionary lens, identifying infancy as a discrete stage during which particular types of adaptations arose as a consequence of certain environmental pressures. Infancy is a crucial time period in psychological development, and evolutionary psychologists are increasingly recognizing that natural selection has operated on all stages of development, not just adulthood. The volume addresses this crucial change in perspective by highlighting research across diverse disciplines including developmental psychology, evolutionary developmental psychology, anthropology, sociology, nutrition, and primatology. Chapters are grouped into four sections: Theoretical Underpinnings Brain and Cognitive Development Social/Emotional Development Life and Death Evolutionary Perspectives on Infancy sheds new light on our understanding of the human brain and the environments responsible for shaping the brain during early stages of development. This book will be of interest to evolutionary psychologists and developmental psychologists, biologists, and anthropologists, as well as scholars more broadly interested in infancy.

This unique volume is one of the first of its kind to examine infancy through an evolutionary lens, identifying infancy as a discrete stage during which particular types of adaptations arose as a consequence of certain environmental pressures. Infancy is a crucial time period in psychological development, and evolutionary psychologists are increasingly recognizing that natural selection has operated on all stages of development, not just adulthood. The volume addresses this crucial change in perspective by highlighting research across diverse disciplines including developmental psychology, evolutionary developmental psychology, anthropology, sociology, nutrition, and primatology. Chapters are grouped into four sections: Theoretical Underpinnings Brain and Cognitive Development Social/Emotional Development Life and Death Evolutionary Perspectives on Infancy sheds new light on our understanding of the human brain and the environments responsible for shaping the brain during early stages of development. This book will be of interest to evolutionary psychologists and developmental psychologists, biologists, and anthropologists, as well as scholars more broadly interested in infancy.

Child study is a very complex field. Human beings, and children, specifically, are very complex beings. Consequently, simple answers and solutions to problems are very often just that: too simple. This text presents principles and methods for studying children in the varied contexts in which they live and function. These theories and methods can be used as a kind of "tool kit" for application in a variety of situations by the people who work with children such as researchers, parents, educators, pediatricians, nurses, social workers, and child psychologists, to name but a few. In short, the book is written for people interested in how to examine and describe children as well as those interested in creating educational environments for children.