The book that is known for accuracy, quality, and scholarship has been reborn into a new reader-focused edition, featuring new pedagogy, a dynamic new design, and new features. It presents the facts, theories, and processes of developmental psychology in a clear, easy-to-read style. Shaffer stresses the fundamental interplay among biological, cognitive, social, and cultural influences of each aspect of development so readers don't lose sight of the whole person and the holistic character of human development. Students learn new topics as they are introduced, and then are shown how everything they've learned fits together into a coherent storyline of developmental psychology. Throughout the book, Shaffer clearly describes the major points of the major theories, compares them to other theories, shows their strengths and weaknesses, and admits when conflicts have not been resolved. The book is organized topically to focus intently on developmental processes and to provide the student with an uninterrupted view of the sequences of change that children and adolescents experience within each developmental domain. Instructors can be sure students will be exposed to many current and traditional topics confronting developmentalists today.
David Reed Shaffer Bücher
The success of this best-selling text lies in the author's belief that a good text talks with, rather than at, its readers. Shaffer does an extraordinary job of anticipating students' interests, questions, and concerns while treating them as active participants in the process of learning about social and personality development. The Sixth edition of SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT, International Edition features clearly written, current coverage of social and personality development that aids students in discovering the causes, processes, and complexities that underlie developmental change. Students learn why biological and environmental factors, contextual factors such as cross-cultural, familial, neighborhood, school, and peer-group influences cause change in children. Shaffer also explores the approaches that researchers use to test their theories and answer important questions about developing children and adolescents. This book's effective coverage of field research stands out from other texts not only for its accuracy and currency, but because Shaffer consistently juxtaposes classic research with the latest breakthroughs in a way that helps students appreciate how knowledge builds on earlier findings. This edition features a much stronger emphasis on cultural influences on development.