Contents

Section I Introduction to developmental psychology

Chapter 1 What is developmental psychology?

The debates of developmental psychology
What is ‘normal’ development?

Chapter 2 Theoretical perspectives

What is a theory?
Theoretical perspectives
Psychoanalytical perspective of development
Biological perspectives on development
Learning perspectives on development
Cognitive perspective on development
Integrative perspectives in developmental psychology

Chapter 3 Research methods

What is research?
The importance of understanding theoretical paradigms
Methods in developmental psychology research
Working with children

Section II Cognitive and linguistic development

Chapter 4 Prenatal development and infancy

How to grow a baby: the roles of nature and nurture in early development
Prenatal physical development
Prenatal development of the brain
Prenatal abilities and behaviour
Risks to prenatal development: environmental teratogens and genetic errors
Birth
The neonate: basic states, movements and reflexes
The postnatal development of the brain
Infant vision
Infant audition
Infant touch, taste and smell abilities
Motor abilities in infancy
Cognitive abilities in infancy: general models and approaches
Infant attention
Infant learning and memory
Basic knowledge and understanding in infancy
Categorisation in infancy
Reasoning and problem-solving in infancy

Chapter 5 Language development

What is language?
What communication is there before verbal communication?
The four components of language
How do infants’ early social interactions prepare them for later language?
Theories of development
Phonological development
Semantic development
Syntactic development
The development of pragmatics

Chapter 6 Memory and intelligence

What is memory?
Memory in children
What is intelligence?
Intelligence in children

Chapter 7 The development of mathematical thinking

What is mathematical thinking?
Understanding number
The number system as a tool for thinking
Reasoning and solving problems with numbers
The step into rational numbers

Chapter 8 Theory of mind

What is theory of mind?
How does theory of mind fit into a developmental perspective?
Theories explaining theory of mind
Theory of mind and children with autism

Section III Social and emotional development

Chapter 9 Attachment and early social experiences

What is attachment?
Measuring attachment
Attachment and childcare
Attachment beyond infancy

Chapter 10 Childhood temperament and behavioural development

What is temperament?
Studying and measuring temperament
Explanations for differences in temperament
Temperament in the long term

Chapter 11 Development of self-concept and gender identity

What are self-concept and social identity?
Theories in the development of the self-concept in children
Understanding gender categories: children’s gender identity

Chapter 12 Peer interactions and relationships

The peer group and peer interactions
Children’s friendships

Chapter 13 Adolescence

Physical changes during adolescence
Cognitive development and changes in the teenage years
Social development in the teenage years
Mental health in adolescence
Sex and relationship behaviour in adolescence

Section IV Clinical/applied aspects

Chapter 14 Development psychology and education

The application of developmental theory in classrooms
Five themes of ‘developmentally appropriate provision’

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