The developmental pathways that children and adolescents follow can be typical or atypical, and our understanding of each is changing. This unique textbook provides an engaging and comprehensive overview of the major themes and perspectives within developmental psychology.

Chapter 1: Developmental psychologyChapter 2: Theoretical perspectivesChapter 3: Methods of gaining knowledge about childrenChapter 4: Child and adolescent disorders Chapter 5: Genes, evolution, heredity and environmentChapter 6: Stimulation and activity during fetal developmentChapter 7: Brain developmentChapter 8: Perceptual developmentChapter 9: Motor developmentChapter 10: Theories of cognitive developmentChapter 11: Attention, memory and executive functionChapter 12: Conceptual development and reasoningChapter 13: Mind understandingChapter 14: IntelligenceChapter 15: Learning and instructionChapter 16: The development of communication and languageChapter 17: Emotions and emotion regulationChapter 18: Temperament and personalityChapter 19: AttachmentChapter 20: Sibling and peer relationsChapter 21: Self and identityChapter 22: Moral developmentChapter 23 Prosocial and antisocial developmentChapter 24: Gender developmentChapter 25: PlayChapter 26: Media and understanding of societyChapter 27: Toward adulthoodGlossaryBibliography Index

‘A hugely impressive achievement, offering a broad panoply of understandings of development from a wide diversity of perspectives and disciplines, spanning all the key areas, and forming a comprehensive, detailed and extremely useful text for students and practitioners alike.’ Dr. Graham Music, Consultant Psychotherapist, Tavistock Clinic London, UKThis book provides an extensive overview of the field of developmental psychology. It illustrates how knowledge about typical and atypical development can be integrated and used to highlight fundamental processes of human growth and maturation. The author has written an accessible text which will be of value to undergraduates and postgraduates alike. I can strongly recommend it to all who are keen to learn about this fascinating and rapidly changing field. Dr. John Coleman, PhD, OBE, UK‘This book is magnificent. It is an extraordinary blend of depth of scholarship with a lucid, and engaging, writing style. Its coverage is impressive: both thorough and timely. An admirable feature of the book is its skillful presentation of typical and atypical development in each chapter. The book is comprehensive, instructive and inviting. Both new and advanced students will love the coverage of this text, will appreciate its use of headers and enjoy its illustrations.’ Professor Joseph Campos, University of California, USAAn amazing achievement. Stephen von Tetzchner's volume has an encyclopedic breadth combined with an unerring eye for the central research across developmental psychology, particularly for the period of its explosive growth since the 1960s. It is remarkable for its even-handed representation of the American and European literatures. Both a text and a reference work, this will be the go-to resource for any teacher, researcher or student of the discipline for the foreseeable future. Professor Andy Lock, University of Lisbon, Portugal