Child Development - Text Only - 6th edition

Berk, Laura E. : Illinois State University

I. THEORY AND RESEARCH IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT.

1. History, Theory, and Applied Directions.
Child Development as a Scientific, Applied, and Interdisciplinary Field.
Basic Issues.
Historical Foundations.
Mid-Twentieth-Century Theories.
Recent Theoretical Perspectives.
Comparing Child Development Theories.
Applied Directions: Child Development and Social Policy.

2. Research Strategies.
From Theory to Hypothesis.
Common Methods Used to Study Children.
Reliability and Validity: Keys to Scientifically Sound Research.
General Research Designs.
Designs for Studying Development.
Ethics in Research on Children.

II. FOUNDATIONS OF DEVELOPMENT.

3. Biological Foundations, Prenatal Development, and Birth.
Genetic Foundations.
Reproductive Choices.
Prenatal Development.
Prenatal Environmental Influences.
Childbirth.
Approaches to Childbirth.
Birth Complications.
Heredity, Environment, and Behavior: A Look Ahead.

4. Infancy: Early Learning, Motor Skills, and Perceptual Capacities.
The Organized Newborn.
Motor Development in Infancy.
Perceptual Development in Infancy.
Early Deprivation and Enrichment: Is Infancy a Sensitive Period of Development?

5. Physical Growth.
The Course of Physical Growth.
Development of the Brain.
Factors Affecting Physical Growth.
Puberty: The Physical Transition to Adulthood.
The Psychological Impact of Pubertal Events.
Puberty and Adolescent Health.

III. COGNITIVE AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT.

6. Cognitive Development: Piagetian, Core Knowlege, and Vygotskian Perspectives.
Piaget's Cognitive-Developmental Theory.
The Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to 2 Years).
The Preoperational Stage (2 to 7 Years).
The Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 11 Years).
The Formal Operational Stage (11 Years and Older).
Piaget and Education.
Overall Evaluation of Piaget's Theory.
The Core Knowledge Perspective.
Evaluation of the Core Knowledge Perspective.
Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory.
Vygotsky and Education.
Evaluation of Vygotsky's Theory.

7. Cognitive Development: An Information-Processing Perspective.
The Information-Processing Approach.
General Models of Information Processing.
Developmental Theories of Information Processing.
Attention.
Memory.
Metacognition.
Applications of Information Processing to Academic Learning.
Evaluation of the Information-Processing Approach.

8. Intelligence.
Definitions of Intelligence.
Recent Advances in Defining Intelligence.
Representative Intelligence Tests for Children.
The Computation and Distribution of IQ Scores.
What and How Well Do Intelligence Tests Predict?
Ethnic and Socioeconomic Variations in IQ.
Explaining Individual and Group Differences in IQ.
Early Intervention and Intellectual Development.
Development of Creativity.

9. Language Development.
Components of Language.
Theories of Language Development.
Prelinguistic Development: Getting Ready to Talk.
Phonological Development.
Semantic Development.
Grammatical Development.
Pragmatic Development.
Development of Metalinguistic Awareness.
Bilingualism: Learning Two Languages in Childhood.

IV. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT.

10. Emotional Development.
The Functions of Emotions.
Development of Emotional Expression.
Understanding and Responding to the Emotions of Others.
Temperament and Development.
Development of Attachment.
Attachment, Parental Employment, and Child Care.

11. Self and Social Understanding.
Emergence of Self and Development of Self-Concept.
Self-Esteem: The Evaluative Side of Self-Concept.
Constructing an Identity: Who Should I Become?
Thinking About Other People.
Thinking About Relationss Between People: Understanding COnflict.

12. Moral Development.
Morality as Rooted in Human Nature.
Morality as the Adoption of Societal Norms.
Morality as Social Understanding.
Moral Reasoning of Young Children.
Development of Self-Control.
The Other Side of Self-Control: Development of Aggression.

13. Development of Sex Differences and Gender Roles.
Gender Stereotypes and Gender Roles.
Influences on Gender Stereotyping and Gender-Role Adoption.
Gender Identity.
To What Extent Do Boys and Girls Really Differ in Gender-Stereotyped Attributes?
Developing Non-Gender-Stereotyped Children.

V. CONTEXTS FOR DEVELOPMENT.

14. The Family.
Evolutionary Origins.
Functions of the Family.
The Family as a Social System.
Socialization Within the Family.
Family Lifestyles and Transitions.
Vulnerable Families: Child Maltreatment.

15. Peers, Media, and Schooling.
The Importance of Peer Relations.
Development of Peer Sociability.
Friendship.
Peer Acceptance.
Peer Groups.
Peer Relations and Socialization.
Television.
Computers.
Schooling.
How Well Educated Are American Young People?