Child Psychology

This volume provides an authoritative and up-to-date overview of research and theory in childhood social development from pre-school age to the onset of adolescence. This book is a topically organised introduction to child development from conception to adolescence. It examines child psychology from the perspectives of the there principal traditions, which characterise the discipline, today-the cognitive developmental, environ-mental-learning and ethological orientations. This new edition includes a greater integration of contextual material, and an increased emphasis on cross-and multi-cultural research. This book presents a comprehensive introduction to child psychology that is engaging, yet detailed and thorough, covering all the major topics in child development, the book offers grounding in the principles, which govern research and theory in contemporary child development, and surveys the theory and research methods, which are essential to developing a firm knowledge of the field. Each chapter summarises existing knowledge in the field, synthesising the latest research in an accessible manner, whilst also highlighting areas of growing debate.

N. M. Tiwari born on 22nd April 1964 in Dehradun, Uttranchal. He is an editorial consultant and coordinator of various projects. He is consultant of the child psychology and development in various NGO's, societies and Trusts and has serves as the author, editor, or editor-in-chief of numerous books in Psychology and Child Development. He has contributed 18 publications ranging from work on psychology, Infant psychology and Child psychology. He has participated and presented his papers in various National and International conferences of repute. His papers have also been published in various magazines and journals.

Child Psychology deals with mental growth or, what amounts to the same thing, the development of behaviour patterns (including consciousness) up to adolescence, the transitional phase marking the entrance of the individual into adult society. Mental growth is inseparable from physical growth: the maturation of the nervous and endocrine systems, in particular, continues until the age of sixteen. This implies that in order to understand mental growth it is not enough to start with birth; there is an embryology of reflexes) dealing with the movements and responses of the fetus, and the preperceptive behaviour of the fetus, for instance, is relevant to the study of the perception of tactilo-kinesthetic causality. From a theoretical point of view, it also implies that child psychology must be regarded as the study of one aspect of embryogenesis, the embryogenesis of organic as well as mental growth, up to the beginning of the state of relative equilibrium which is the adult level. Organically as well as mentally, however, environmental influences assume increasing importance after birth. Child psychology, in its search for factors of development, cannot be limited to a study of biological maturation. Other, equally important factors are to be considered exercise or acquired experience as well as social life in general.

**Contents and Sample Pages**