Social development

About this book

This textbook provides a fully up-to-date account of our knowledge of children's social development. It is addressed to students of psychology and other social sciences with no or only limited knowledge of child development, and covers an age up to and including adolescence. The content is organized according to themes, but these themes follow an approximate developmental progression. The central theme of Social Development is that of socialization - how an essentially biological being becomes transformed into a highly sophisticated social being. Whilst giving full attention to older and well-established topics, the text also covers important recent research on such topics as behavioral genetics, children's theory of mind, post-infancy attachment development, and family dynamics. Throughout, Professor Schaffer sets the findings within the context of the general aims and theoretical concerns that underpin the studies carried out, as well as the methods used to obtain a particular set of results. He also gives due recognition to the many practical implications of social development research, for example in relation to day care, the development of anti-social behavior, and family conflict.