An Introduction to Theories of Human Development

Neil J. Salkind received his PhD in human development from the University of Maryland, and after teaching for 35 years at the University of Kansas, he was Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychology and Research in Education, where he collaborated with colleagues and work with students. His early interests were in the area of children’s cognitive development, and after research in the areas of cognitive style and (what was then known as) hyperactivity, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of North Carolina’s Bush Center for Child and Family Policy. His work then changed direction to focus on child and family policy, specifically the impact of alternative forms of public support on various child and family outcomes. He delivered more than 150 professional papers and presentations; written more than 100 trade and textbooks; and is the author of Statistics for People Who (Think They) Hate Statistics (SAGE), Theories of Human Development (SAGE), and Exploring Research (Prentice Hall). He has edited several encyclopedias, including the Encyclopedia of Human Development, the Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics, and the Encyclopedia of Research Design. He was editor of Child Development Abstracts and Bibliography for 13 years. He lived in Lawrence, Kansas, where he liked to read, swim with the River City Sharks, work as the proprietor and sole employee of big boy press, bake brownies (see www.statisticsforpeople.com for the recipe), and poke around old Volvos and old houses.

• PART ONE. AN INTRODUCTION & IMPORTANT IDEAS1. An Introduction to the Study of Human Development2. Trends & Issues in Human DevelopmentPART TWO. THE MATURATIONAL & BIOLOGICAL APPROACHESArnold Gesell and the Maturational Model4. The Importance of Biology: Sociobiology & EthologyPART THREE. THE PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH5. Sigmund Freud′s Psychosexual Theory6. Erik Erikson′s Focus on Psychosocial DevelopmentPART FOUR. THE BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVE7. The Behavioral Models of Development8. Social Learning TheoryPART FIVE. THE COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL VIEW9. Jean Piaget′s Cognitive Model10. Lev Vygotsky′s Sociocultural Theory of DevelopmentPART SIX. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS11. Comparing Theories of Human Development

“The book is well written and the theorists and their respective work are well-presented and clearly explained. . . . As a text dealing with the historical overview of major theorists and their work in human development over the last century or so, it is extremely strong and could be widely used in a variety of both undergraduate and graduate courses.”