A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action presents a comprehensive and detailed theory of early human development based on the principles of dynamic systems theory. Beginning with their own research in motor, perceptual, and cognitive development, Thelen and Smith raise fundamental questions about prevailing assumptions in the field. They propose a new theory of the development of cognition and action, unifying recent advances in dynamic systems theory with current research in neuroscience and neural development. In particular, they show how by processes of exploration and selection, multimodal experiences form the bases for self-organizing perception-action categories. Thelen and Smith offer a radical alternative to current cognitive theory, both in their emphasis on dynamic representation and in their focus on processes of change. Among the first attempt to apply complexity theory to psychology, they suggest reinterpretations of several classic issues in early cognitive development. The book is divided into three sections. The first discusses the nature of developmental processes in general terms, the second covers dynamic principles in process and mechanism, and the third looks at how a dynamic theory can be applied to enduring puzzles of development. Cognitive Psychology series

The dynamic systems approach is a rapidly expanding advancement in the study of developmental research, particularly in the domain of adolescent development. It provides a unique way of examining the subject, and this innovative study of developmental processes helps social scientists to translate dynamic systems conceptualizations into clear empirical research that readers will be able to implement themselves. The first part of this edited book discusses techniques that describe and assess specific process characteristics such as variability, sudden jumps and attractor states. The second part explores the different techniques for building a dynamic systems model, which can simulate the behaviour of a system to investigate the mechanisms behind the processes. Each chapter describes one technique and is based on a specific practical example of its application in adolescent development. Step-by-step instructions for model-building and examples of ready-made models are provided on the website that belongs to the book: www.psypress.com/dynamic-systems-approach. This book provides a clear step-by-step description of theories and techniques that are designed for the study of developmental processes, and is therefore ideal for researchers of developmental psychology who do not specialise in statistics or research methods.

The third edition of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience presents a thorough updating and enhancement of the classic text that introduced the rapidly expanding field of developmental cognitive neuroscience. Includes the addition of two new chapters that provide further introductory material on new methodologies and the application of genetic methods in cognitive development Includes several key discussion points at the end of each chapter Features a greater focus on mid-childhood and adolescence, to complement the previous edition?s emphasis on early childhood Brings the science closer to real-world applications via a greater focus on fieldwork Includes a greater emphasis on structural and functional brain imaging

"Developmental cognitive neuroscience is an interdisciplinary scientific field devoted to understanding psychological processes and their neurological bases during development, which has grown into a main discipline since its beginnings in the late 1980s. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience: An Introduction, has been the leading textbook over this time, and has evolved with the field over its previous four editions. The latest fourth edition was published in 2015. Since then, there has been major advancements in methods and analysis, application of the approach to clinical, educational and global health settings, and increasing longitudinal research focusing on understanding the mechanisms of development across the prenatal to early adulthood period. There is now a dire need for an updated edition to reflect these developments. The scope of this book is to provide an accessible introduction to the main methods, theories and empirical findings within developmental cognitive neuroscience in typical development from prenatal to early adulthood, focusing on human development, but including other comparative work that highlight relevant processes. The new edition will also cover research in clinical/medical populations, educational applications, and global health"--

This book puts cognition back at the heart of the language learning process and challenges the idea that language acquisition can be meaningfully understood as a purely linguistic phenomenon. For each domain placed under the spotlight - memory, attention, inhibition, categorisation, analogy and social cognition - the book examines how they shape the development of sounds, words and grammar. The unfolding cognitive and social world of the child interacts with, constrains, and predicts language use at its deepest levels. The conclusion is that language is special, not because it is an encapsulated module separate from the rest of cognition, but because of the forms it can take rather than the parts it is made of, and because it could be nature’s finest example of cognitive recycling and reuse.

Cognitive Developmental Change makes a fascinating contribution to the fields of developmental, cognitive and educational science by bringing together a uniquely diverse range of perspectives for analysing the dynamics of change. Connecting traditional Piagetian, information processing, and psychometric approaches with newer frameworks for the analysis of developmental change it provides the reader with an account of the latest theory and research at the time of publication. The contributors to the volume, all internationally respected experts, were asked when writing to consider three main aspects of cognitive change. Its object (what changes in the mind during development), its nature (how does change occur?) and its causes (why does change occur? Or, what are the internal and external factors responsible for cognitive change?). As a result chapters cover key theories of cognitive change, the factors that affect change including neurological, emotional and socio-cultural factors and methods for measuring and modelling change.

This new text consists of parts of Bornstein and Lamb’s Developmental Science, 6th edition along with new introductory material that as a whole provides a cutting edge and comprehensive overview of cognitive development. Each of the world-renowned contributors masterfully introduces the history and systems, methodologies, and measurement and analytic techniques used to understand human cognitive development. The relevance of cognition is illustrated through engaging applications. Each chapter reflects the current state of the field in cognitive development and features an introduction, an overview of the field, a chapter summary, and numerous classical and contemporary references. As a whole, this highly anticipated text illuminates substantive phenomena in cognitive developmental science and its relevance to everyday life. Students and instructors will also appreciate the book’s online resources. For each chapter, the website features: chapter outlines; a student reading guide; a glossary of key terms and concepts; and suggested readings with hotlinks to journal articles. Only instructors are granted access to the test bank with multiple-choice, short-answer, and essay questions; PowerPoints with all of the text’s figures and tables; and suggestions for classroom discussion/assignments. The book opens with an introduction to cognitive development as well as an overview of developmental science in general—its history and theory, the cultural orientation to thinking about human development, and the manner in which empirical research is designed, conducted, and analyzed. Part 2 focuses on the field’s major substantive areas: neuroscience and genetics, physical and motor development, perception, and cognitive and language development. Intended for advanced undergraduate and/or beginning graduate courses on cognitive development taught in departments of psychology, human development and family studies, and education, researchers in these areas will appreciate this book’s cutting-edge coverage.

The second edition of an essential resource to the evolving field of developmental cognitive neuroscience, completely revised, with expanded emphasis on social neuroscience, clinical disorders, and imaging genomics. The publication of the second edition of this handbook testifies to the rapid evolution of developmental cognitive neuroscience as a distinct field. Brain imaging and recording technologies, along with well-defined behavioral tasks—the essential methodological tools of cognitive neuroscience—are now being used to study development. Technological advances have yielded methods that can be safely used to study structure-function relations and their development in children's brains. These new techniques combined with more refined cognitive models account for the progress and heightened activity in developmental cognitive neuroscience research. The Handbook covers basic aspects of neural development, sensory and sensorimotor systems, language, cognition, emotion, and the implications of lifelong neural plasticity for brain and behavioral development. The second edition reflects the dramatic expansion of the field in the seven years since the publication of the first edition. This new Handbook has grown from forty-one chapters to fifty-four, all original to this edition. It places greater emphasis on affective and social neuroscience—an offshoot of cognitive neuroscience that is now influencing the developmental literature. The second edition also places a greater emphasis on clinical disorders, primarily because such research is inherently translational in nature. Finally, the book's new discussions of recent breakthroughs in imaging genomics include one entire chapter devoted to the subject. The intersection of brain, behavior, and genetics represents an exciting new area of inquiry, and the second edition of this essential reference work will be a valuable resource for researchers interested in the development of brain-behavior relations in the context of both typical and atypical development.

Part of the authoritative four-volume reference that spans the entire field of child development and has set the standard against which all other scholarly references are compared. Updated and revised to reflect the new developments in the field, the Handbook of Child Psychology, Sixth Edition contains new chapters on such topics as spirituality, social understanding, and non-verbal communication. Volume 1: Theoretical Models of Human Development, edited by Richard M. Lerner, Tufts University, explores a variety of theoretical approaches, including life-span/life-course theories, socio-culture theories, structural theories, object-relations theories, and diversity and development theories. New chapters cover phenomenology and ecological systems theory, positive youth development, and religious and spiritual development.

Research in developmental psychology--which examines the history, origins, and causes of behavior and age-related changes in behavior--seeks to construct a complex, multi-level characterization of behavior as it unfolds in time across a range of time scales, from the milliseconds of reaction time to the days and weeks of childhood, the decades of the human lifespan, and even beyond, to multiple generations. Behavior, in this view, is embedded within what is essentially a dynamic system of relations extending deep within individuals. Thorough and engaging, this handbook explores the impact of this research on what is now known about psychological development, from birth to biological maturity, and it highlights the extent to which the most cutting-edge developmental science reflects a new kind of intellectual synthesis: one that reveals how cultural, social, cognitive, neural, and molecular processes work together to yield human behavior and changes in human behavior. With insightful contributions from more than 50 of the world's leading developmental scientists, these two volumes will serve as an influential and informed text for students and as an authoritative desk reference for years to come.