• A representative and authoritative 'state of the art' account of human development from conception to adolescence. 
• Written at an easy-to-comprehend level by an international team of respected researchers, conveying their knowledge with enthusiasm and skill.
• Full supporting materials - chapter overviews, discussion questions, suggestions for further reading, and glossary.
• Chapters covering applied issues in developmental psychology

Alan Slater is Associate Professor in Developmental Psychology at the University of Exeter, UK. He is the co-editor of several books including The Blackwell Reader in Developmental Psychology, Introduction to Infant Development, Theories of Infant Development, and the six-volume set Psychology of Infancy.

Gavin Bremner is Professor of Developmental Psychology at Lancaster University, UK. He is the author and editor of many books, including the popular textbook Infancy, The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Infant Development, Theories of Infant Development, and the six-volume set Psychology of Infancy.

List of Contributors xxi

Preface to Third Edition xxiii

Part I Introduction 1

1 The Scope and Methods of Developmental Psychology 3
Alan Slater, Scott P. Johnson and Darwin Muir

2 Theories and Issues in Child Development 41
Scott P. Johnson, Alan Slater and Ian Hocking

3 The Nature–Nurture Debate 79
Alan Slater

Part II Infancy 107

4 Prenatal Development 109
Christine Moon and William P. Fifer

5 Perception, Knowledge and Action in Infancy 143
J. Gavin Bremner, Kirsty Dunn and Diana S.Y. Tham

6 Emotional Development and Attachment Relationships 183
Elizabeth Meins

7 Early Social Interactions with People and Objects 213
Cintia Rodríguez, Julia Benassi, Luisa Estrada, and Nicolás Alessandroni

8 The Development of Self and Gender 259
Wendy Lawrenson

Part III Childhood 303

9 Cognitive Development 305
Margaret Anne Defeyter

10 The Development of Language 341
Heather M. Hill and Stan A. Kuczaj II

11 Acquiring a Theory of Mind 381
Peter Mitchell

12 Reading and Mathematics in Developmental Psychology 407
Peter Bryant

13 Memory Development and Eyewitness Testimony 439
Stephen J. Ceci, Stanka A. Fitneva, Cagla Aydin and Nadia Chernyak

14 Play and the Beginnings of Peer Relationships 477
Peter K. Smith

15 Prosocial Tendencies, Antisocial Behaviour and Moral Development in Childhood 511
Daniel Hart, Neeta Goel and Robert Atkins

Part Iv adolescence      541

16 Cognitive Development in Adolescence 543
Kang Lee, Gizelle Anzures and Alejo Freire

17 Social Development 577
Tirza H.J. Van Noorden and William M. Bukowski

Part V Practic al Issues          611

18 Educational Implications 613
Alyson Davis and Naomi Winstone

19 Risk and Resilience in Development 645
Leslie Morrison Gutman and Eirini Flouri

20 Social Problems in Schools 683
Peter K. Smith and Julian Elliott

21 Atypical Development 715
Sarah Norgate

Glossary 751

Names Index 785

Subject Index 805