This is the 33rd volume in the Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology held in October 2002. The symposium was held to honor the scientific and mentoring contributions of Anne Danielson Pick and Herbert L. Pick, Jr.--two longtime and beloved professors of the Institute of Child Development. It focused on "Action as an Organizer of Learning and Development" and integrated the best and most innovative research on the role of action in perceiving and understanding. Taken together, the book captures the intellectual excitement that characterized the 33rd symposium and appeals to developmental psychologists, particularly those interested in perceptual development.

This is a book about the development of action and skill in the first years of life. But it differs in an important way from most past treatments of the subject. The present volume explores how the development of ac tion is related to the contexts, especially the social ones, in which actions function. In past work, little attention has focused on this relationship. The prevailing view has been that infants develop skills on their own, independent of contributions from other individuals or the surrounding culture. The present volume is a challenge to that view. It is based on the premise that many early skills are embedded in interpersonal activities or are influenced by the activities of other individuals. It assumes further that by examining how skills function in interpersonal contexts, insights will be gained into their acquisition and structuring. In effect, this vol ume suggests that the development of cognitive, perceptual, and motor skills needs to be reexamined in relation to the goals and contexts that are inherently associated with these skills. The contributors to the vol ume have all adopted this general perspective. They seek to understand the development of early action by considering the functioning of action in context. Our motivation for addressing these issues stemmed in part from a growing sense of dissatisfaction as we surveyed the literature on skill development in early childhood."

Advances in Child Development and Behavior, Volume 65, the latest release in this classic resource on the field of developmental psychology, includes a variety of timely updates, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters written by an international board of authors.

This is a book about the development of action and skill in the first years of life. But it differs in an important way from most past treatments of the subject. The present volume explores how the development of ac tion is related to the contexts, especially the social ones, in which actions function. In past work, little attention has focused on this relationship. The prevailing view has been that infants develop skills on their own, independent of contributions from other individuals or the surrounding culture. The present volume is a challenge to that view. It is based on the premise that many early skills are embedded in interpersonal activities or are influenced by the activities of other individuals. It assumes further that by examining how skills function in interpersonal contexts, insights will be gained into their acquisition and structuring. In effect, this vol ume suggests that the development of cognitive, perceptual, and motor skills needs to be reexamined in relation to the goals and contexts that are inherently associated with these skills. The contributors to the vol ume have all adopted this general perspective. They seek to understand the development of early action by considering the functioning of action in context. Our motivation for addressing these issues stemmed in part from a growing sense of dissatisfaction as we surveyed the literature on skill development in early childhood."

New Methods and Approaches for Studying Child Development, Volume 62 in the Advances in Child Development and Behavior series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters written by an international board of authors.

Developmental Cascades, Volume 64 in the Advances in Child Development and Behavior, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on a variety of timely topics. Each chapter is written by an international board of authors.

Advances in Child Development and Behavior, Volume 63 highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters written by an international board of authors.

Advances in Child Development and Behavior, Volume 61, the latest release in this classic resource on the field of developmental psychology, includes a variety of timely updates, with this release presenting chapters on The Development of Mental Rotation Ability Across the First Year After Birth, Groups as Moral Boundaries: A Developmental Perspective, The Development of Time Concepts, Mother-child Physiological Synchrony, Children's Social Reasoning About Others: Dispositional and Contextual Influences, Mindful Thinking: Does it Really Help Children?, On the Emergence of Differential Responding to Social Categories, Trust in Early Childhood, Infant Imitation, Social-Cognition and Brain Development, and more.

This is the 33rd volume in the Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology held in October 2002. The symposium was held to honor the scientific and mentoring contributions of Anne Danielson Pick and Herbert L. Pick, Jr.--two longtime and beloved professors of the Institute of Child Development. It focused on "Action as an Organizer of Learning and Development" and integrated the best and most innovative research on the role of action in perceiving and understanding. Taken together, the book captures the intellectual excitement that characterized the 33rd symposium and appeals to developmental psychologists, particularly those interested in perceptual development.