Part I: Theory and Research in Child Development 1 History, Theory, and Applied Directions 2 Research Strategies Part II: Foundations of Development 3 Biological Foundations, Prenatal Development, and Birth 4 Infancy: Early Learning, Motor Skills, and Perceptual Capacities 5 Physical Growth Part III: Cognitive and Language Development 6 Cognitive Development: Piagetian, Core Knowledge, and Vygotskian Perspectives 7 Cognitive Development: An Information-Processing Perspective 8 Intelligence 9 Language Development Part IV: Personality and Social Development 10 Emotional Development 11 Self and Social Understanding 12 Moral Development 13 Development of Sex Differences and Gender Roles Part V: Contexts for Development 14 The Family 15 Peers, Media, and Schooling

 9 reasons why the ninth edition of Laura Berk’s Child Development continues to be the cutting-edge standard for child development texts:   1. Thoroughly Engaging Writing Style Laura Berk makes the study of child development both involving and pleasurable for students.  Child Development is written in an engaging, personal style -- one that is highly accessible -- and contains real-life human-interest stories. The author encourages students to relate what they read to their own lives.   2. Appealing and Meaningful Applications Child Development’s practical applications show students how their learning relates to real-world situations.  Applications are relevant to students pursuing a variety of fields, including psychology, education, health sciences, sociology, anthropology, family studies, social services, and health sciences.    3. Exceptional Integration of Culture and Diversity Multicultural and cross-cultural material is presented not only in the text’s research and in many positive and diverse examples, but also through rich photos, figures, and children’s art, which enhance student interest and understanding.   4. Unparalleled Breadth and Depth of Research Child Development is well known for its up-to-date and comprehensive research coverage, presented with clarity and ease, making the study of child development current, relevant, and enjoyable for students.   5. New and Enhanced Material in Each Chapter Added and revised material reflects major changes and discoveries in the field. This edition includes over 1,400 new reference citations.   6. Beautiful Artwork, Graphics, and Photographs Visually stunning, the art, graphics, and photos effectively illustrate major points and enhance student interest and understanding.   7. Outstanding Pedagogical Features Exceptional pedagogical features support students’ mastery of the material.   Chapter Introductions, Learning Objectives, and End-of-Chapter Summaries Each chapter begins with an outline and an engaging real-life story.  NEW Learning objectives appear at the start of their corresponding sections to guide students in their reading. Chapter summaries are organized by learning objective, encouraging active study.  They also include bolded key terms, which help students acquire and master the vocabulary of the field. Take a Moment . . . Built into the text narrative, this feature engages students by asking them to “take a moment” to think about an important point, integrate information on children’s development, or engage in an exercise or an application to clarify a challenging concept.   Look and Listen This NEW active-learning feature asks students to observe what real children say and do, speak with or observe parents and teachers, and inquire into community programs and practices that influence children.   Ask Yourself Questions These questions build on one another and engage students by asking them to Review  what they have read, Connect  what they have read to build an image of the whole child, Apply the material to controversial issues, and then Reflect on their own development and life experiences. Review  questions help students recall and comprehend information they have just read. Connect  questions help students build an image of the whole child by integrating what they have learned across age periods and domains of development. Apply  questions encourage the application of knowledge to controversial issues and problems faced by children, parents, and professionals who work with them. Reflect questions help make the study of child development personally meaningful by asking students to reflect on their own development and life experiences. Each question is answered on the text’s MyDevelopmentLab website. Thematic Boxes   Social Issues boxes discuss the impact of social conditions on children and emphasize the need for sensitive social policies to ensure their well-being: NEW! Social Issues: Education boxes focus on home, school, and community influences on children’s learning. Examples include Baby Learning from TV and Video: The Video Deficit Effect; Media Multitasking Disrupts Attention and Learning; The Head Start REDI Program: Strengthening School Readiness in Economically Disadvantaged Preschoolers; and Magnet Schools: Equal Access to High-Quality Education. NEW! Social Issues: Health boxes address values and practices relevant to children’s physical and mental health.  Examples include Family Chaos Undermines Children’s Well-Being; A Cross-National Perspective on Health Care and Other Policies for Parents and Newborn Babies; and Does Child Care Threaten Infant Attachment Security and Later Adjustment? Biology and Environment boxes highlight the growing attention to the complex, bidirectional relationship between biology and environment. Examples include A Case of Epigenesis: Smoking During Pregnancy Alters Gene Expression; Prenatal Iron Deficiency and Memory Impairments in Infants of Diabetic Mothers: Findings of ERP Research; Children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; and “Mindblindness” and Autism.   Cultural Influences boxes deepen the attention to culture threaded throughout the text and accentuate both cross-cultural and multicultural variations in child development–for example, Immigrant Youths: Adapting to a New Land; Cultural Variation in Sleeping Arrangements; Identity Development among Ethnic Minority Adolescents; and The Impact of Ethnic and Political Violence on Children.    Applying What We Know Tables This feature summarizes research-based applications, speaking directly to students as parents or future parents and to those pursuing different careers or areas of study, such as teaching, health care, counseling, or social work.   Milestones Tables These beautifully illustrated tables summarize major developments within each topical area, providing a convenient overview of the chronology of development.   In-Text Highlighted Key Terms with Definitions, End-of-Chapter Term List, and End-of-Book Glossary Mastery of terms is promoted through in-text highlighting of key terms and definitions.  Key terms also appear in an end-of-chapter page-referenced term list and an end-of-book page-referenced glossary.   8. Unsurpassed Technology — MyDevelopmentLab Prepared in collaboration with Laura Berk, MyDevelopmentLab includes a variety of assessments that enable continuous evaluation of students’ learning. Extensive video footage, multimedia simulations, “Careers in Human Development,” and interactive activities–all unique to Child Development–are also included.     9. Valuable Teaching Resources Instructor’s Resource Manual (IRM) Each chapter includes a Chapter-at-a-Glance grid, Brief Chapter Summary, Learning Objectives, detailed Lecture Outlines, Lecture Enhancements, Learning Activities, “Ask Yourself” questions with answers, Suggested Student Readings, and Media Materials list.   Test Bank. The Test Bank contains over 2,000 multiple-choice and essay questions, each page-referenced to chapter content and classified by type.   Computerized Test Bank. This computerized version of the Test Bank, in easy-to-use MyTest software, lets you prepare tests for printing as well as for network and online testing. It has full editing capability.   PowerPoint Presentation. The PowerPoint presentation provides illustrations and outlines of key topics for each chapter of the text.  A NEW video-enhanced version is also available to instructors.   “Explorations in Child Development” DVD and Guide. This DVD is over four hours in length and contains 47 four- to ten-minute narrated segments, designed for effective classroom use, that illustrate the many theories, concepts, and milestones of child development.  New additions include Preterm Birth, Autism, First-Grade Science Education, Childhood Obesity, Civic Engagement in Adolescence, and Changing Parent-Adolescent Relationships.    MyDevelopmentLab Educators know it. Students know it. It’s that inspired moment when something that was difficult to understand suddenly makes sense. Our MyLab products have been designed and refined with a single purpose in mind–to help educators create moments of understanding with their students.   MyDevelopmentLab delivers results in helping students succeed. Its automatically graded assessments, personalized study plan, and interactive eText provide engaging experiences that individualize, stimulate, and measure learning for each student. The Child Development 9e MyDevelopmentLab includes: MyVirtualChild, an interactive simulation that allows students to raise a child from birth to age 18 and monitor the effects of their parenting decisions over time. A personalized study plan for each student that promotes planning and strategic study of the subject matter, helping the student focus on areas in which he/she has weaker knowledge and understanding Assessments tied to many chapter videos and applications, which enable both instructors and students to track progress and get immediate feedback. The eText lets students access their textbook anytime, anywhere Extensive video footage, including NEW video segments and assessments. Multimedia simulations Biographies of major figures in the field Mini-chapter on Emerging Adulthood “Careers in Human Development,” which explains how knowledge of human development is essential for a wide range of career paths.  MyDevelopmentLab can be used by itself or linked to any learning management system. To learn more about how the new MyDevelopmentLab combines learning applications with powerful assessment, visit www.mydevelopmentlab.com.  

Now, this Ninth Edition builds on its long and successful history with the most cutting-edge research, pedagogy, and supplements package available! It retains all the hallmark features for which Laura Berk’s texts are known and offers a wealth of exciting new features, including: New and revised information that reflects major changes and discoveries in the field. Over 1,400 new reference citations. New Learning Objectives that appear at the start of their corresponding sections to guide students in their reading. New Look and Listen active-learning feature that asks students to observe what real children say and do, speak with or observe parents and teachers, and inquire into community programs and practices that influence children. New Social Issues: Education boxes that focus on home, school and community influences on children’s learning. New Social Issues: Health boxes that address values and practices relevant to children’s physical and mental health. New Video-enhanced PowerPoint Presentations for instructors. New videos in “Explorations in Child Development” DVD, including Preterm Birth, Autism, First-Grade Science Education, Childhood Obesity, Civic Engagement in Adolescence, and Changing Parent-Adolescent Relationships.  Chapter-by-Chapter Changes   Chapter 1 Introduction to the concept of plasticity within section on basic issues of development Revised and updated section on developmental cognitive neuroscience as a new area of investigation New Social Issues box on how family chaos undermines children’s well-being, illustrating the power of the exosystem to affect development Expanded and updated section on child development and social policy Updated Social Issues box on the impact of welfare reform on children’s development, with U.S. welfare reform policies compared to those of other Western nations Chapter 2 Special attention throughout to the advantages of combining research methods and designs New examples of research using systematic observation, structured interviews, correlational design, field experimentation, and microgenetic design Expanded and updated section on neurobiological methods, with special attention to major methods of assessing brain functioning Updated Biology and Environment box on Prenatal iron deficiency and memory impairments in infants of diabetic mothers, illustrating research using event-related potentials (ERPs) as a measure of brain functioning Updated Cultural Influences box on immigrant youths Chapter 3 Enhanced attention to fetal brain development and behavior Expanded and updated consideration of a wide range of teratogens New evidence on the long-term consequences of emotional stress during pregnancy Introduction to the concept of gene–environment interaction, with illustrative new research findings Expanded section on epigenesis, including new examples of environmental influences on gene expression Chapter 4  New research on contributions of sleep to infant learning and memory New dynamic systems research on development of walking and reaching Updated evidence on how environmental factors, including caregiving practices and the baby’s physical surroundings, contribute to development of motor skills Enhanced attention to cultural influences—including infant sleep, gross- and fine-motor development, and perceptual development Expanded and updated research on intermodal perception, including its contributions to all aspects of psychological development Chapter 5 Updated Social Issues box on sex differences in gross motor development, including the role of physical education in school New section on adolescent brain development, focusing on the imbalance between the cognitive control network and the social/emotional network Revised and updated section on overweight and obesity, including coverage of contributing factors and health and psychological consequences New evidence on key elements of effective sex education programs, including recent evaluations of U.S. abstinence education Updated research on contextual factors affecting long-term adjustment of adolescent parents and their children Chapter 6 Revised and updated section on infant and toddler imitation, revealing toddlers’ ability to infer others’ intentions New section on symbolic understanding, including toddlers’ developing grasp of words and pictures as symbolic tools New Social Issues: Education box on baby learning from TV and video, including the video deficit effect and the negative impact of extensive, early TV viewing Enhanced discussion of school-age children’s spatial reasoning, with special attention to map skills Expanded and updated research on adolescent decision making Chapter 7 Enhanced and updated consideration of working memory, its assessment, and its implications for learning and academic achievement New section on executive function and its component processes New Social Issues: Education box on the impact of “media multitasking” on learning Revised and enhanced attention to development of episodic memory, including the relationship between semantic and episodic memory Enhanced discussion of differences between preschoolers from middle-income and low-income families in emergent literacy and math knowledge, including interventions that reduce the gap Chapter 8 Updated Social Issues: Education box on emotional intelligence New findings on IQ as a predictor of psychological adjustment New evidence on how culturally acquired knowledge affects reasoning on mental test items Enhanced Social Issues: Education box on high-stakes testing, including the impact of the U.S. No Child Left Behind Act on quality of American education Enhanced consideration of the potential for supplementary programs to strengthen the impact of Head Start and other preschool programs serving low-income children Chapter 9 Updated research on categorical speech perception in humans and other animals New evidence on contributions of joint attention and preverbal gestures to early language development New findings on how phonological features of the native language influence early vocabulary growth Enhanced consideration of research on young children’s grammatical knowledge, including the influence of native-language syntactic forms Enhanced attention to effects of bilingual education on academic achievement and long-term educational and occupational attainment Chapter 10 Updated evidence on contributions of language development and parenting to preschoolers’ emotional self-regulation New research on consequences of effortful control—the self-regulatory dimension of temperament—for cognitive, emotional, and social development Updated evidence on contextual factors that contribute to changes in attachment pattern over time New evidence on contributions of fathers’ play to attachment security and emotional and social adjustment New section on grandparents as primary caregivers and attachment Chapter 11 Updated evidence on the school-age child’s theory of mind, including development of recursive thought New evidence on preschoolers’ self-concepts, including their emerging grasp of personality traits New Research on personal and social factors contributing to identity development in adolescence Updated Social Issues: Health box on adolescent suicide Enhanced section on children’s understanding of social groups, development of racial and ethnic prejudice, and strategies for reducing prejudice Chapter 12 New evidence on the relationship of early corporal punishment to later behavior problems, including cross-cultural findings Updated research on cultural variations in children’s moral judgments of truthfulness and lying Enhanced consideration of factors that promote moral identity, along with its relationship to moral commitment New findings on social-cognitive deficits and distortions of aggressive children New section on parent training programs to reduce child conduct problems, with special attention to Incredible Years Chapter 13 New evidence on parents’ differential expectations for boys’ and girls’ academic achievement Updated findings on teachers’ differential treatment of boys and girls New Social Issues: Education box on teaching children to challenge peers’ sexist remarks Updated consideration of factors contributing to sex differences in verbal, mathematical, and spatial abilities Updated research on sex differences in adolescent depression Chapter 14 New research on the long-term, favorable consequences of authoritative child rearing Updated section on parenting and adolescent autonomy, including research on immigrant families New findings on sibling relationships, including cultural influences and interventions to reduce sibling animosity New research on gay and lesbian families, including children’s adjustment and gender identity Expanded attention to the role of fathers in children’s development, with special attention to the transition to parenthood, blended families, and dual-career families Chapter 15 New findings on the role of positive peer relations in school readiness New research on characteristics of adolescent friendships, including implications of other-sex friends for adjustment Updated Biology and Environment box on bullies and their victims, including bullies high in social prominence and power and school-context effects on bullying Updated evidence on the influence of various media activities, including TV, video games, texting, and social networking sites, on development and adjustment New research on the educational consequences of widespread SES and ethnic segregation in American schools New Social Issues: Education box on magnet schools as a means of attaining equal access to high-quality education