Infants and Children:Prenatal Through Middle Childhood

Description

Features

• Stories and vignettes of real children - a Berk signature feature - illustrate developmental principles. This book “teaches while it tells a story.”

• “Milestones” tables summarize major physical, cognitive, language, emotional, and social achievements of each age span. Besides offering an overview of change, each entry is page-referenced to provide the student with a convenient tool for review. The Fifth Edition Milestones tables contain new photography depicting real children and their achievements.

• “Ask Yourself” questions have been thoroughly revised and expanded into a unique pedagogical feature that promotes four approaches to engaging actively with the subject matter. The questions are labeled “Review, Apply, Connect, and Reflect.”

• Chapter Openers, containing real child art, prepare students for what they will learn in each chapter. The end-of-chapter material carefully and succinctly reviews this learning and provides page numbers for important terms and concepts.

• Observation Program: This real-life videotape (now two hours) contains a wealth of observation segments that illustrate the many theories, concepts, and milestones of child development. An Observation Guide helps students use the video in conjunction with the text to deepen their understanding of the material and apply what they have learned in everyday life.

• A second video, A Window on Infants, Children, and Adolescents is a narrated, running footage videotape. This tape complements the Observation Video and an accompanying Video Guide is available.

New to this Edition

• “Applying What We Know” boxes build upon the Caregiving and Educational Concerns tables from the previous edition. In this new feature, the author takes time to summarize research-based applications on many issues, speaking directly to students as parents or future parents and to those pursuing different careers or areas of study, such as psychology, social work, health care, teaching, and guidance counseling.

• “Social Issues: Education” and “Social Issues: Health” boxes underscore the influence of social policy on all aspects of development. In the fifth edition, approximately 70% of the Social Issues boxes are new or updated. Please see New Topics.

• “Cultural Influences” boxes have been expanded and updated to deepen the attention to culture threaded throughout the text, emphasizing multicultural and cross-cultural variations. Please see New Topics.

• “Biology and Environment” boxes highlight the growing attention in the child development field to the complex, bidirectional relationship between biological and environmental influences. Please see New Topics.
• TECHNOLOGY ADVANTAGE-MyDevelopmentLab  Give your student the extraordinary benefits of MyDevelopmentLab-resources and content worth $130-at no additional cost when you order this Student Starter Kit packaged with any MyDevelopmentLab book using the ordering ISBN below. Students can also purchase immediate online access at www.mydevelopmentlab.com using a credit card and their instructor's course ID.

• Chapter One

  • Latest research that dispels misconceptions on how children were perceived in the Middle Ages.

  • Enhanced discussion of cohort effects, including a New Social Issues/Health box on the Great Depression and World War II.

  • Updated Biology & Environment box on resilience.

• Chapter Two

  • Expanded coverage of gene-environment exchanges and reproductive technologies.

  • Expanded attention to the impact of poverty on development, including a New Social Issues/Health box on welfare reform, poverty, and child development.

  • Discussion of public policy and the overall well-being of North American children.

• Chapter Three

  • New Biology & Environment on the teratogenic effects of Accutane.

  • Expanded treatment of prenatal AIDS exposure, with discussion of the rapid spread of AIDS among women in developing countries.

  • Update consideration of the importance of prenatal health care.

• Chapter Four

  • Enhanced section on infant crying, including cultural variations in infant soothing and new evidence on abnormal crying.

  • New research on methods of caring for preterm and low-birth weight infants, including new evidence on “kangaroo care” in the intensive care nursery.

  • New findings on infant pain perception.

  • Revised section on the transition to parenthood, including new evidence on factors that influence adjustment and on the challenges of adapting to both a first and a second birth.

• Chapter Five

  • Updated discussion of brain development, including a New Biology & Environment box on brain plasticity.

  • New evidence on infants' and toddlers' eating habits and early risk for obesity.

  • Updated findings on the development of reaching and grasping.

  • New findings on the development of speech perception, including infants as statistical analyzers of speech patterns.

• Chapter Six

  • New Biology & Environment box considering whether infants have built-in numerical knowledge.

  • Inclusion of the core knowledge perspective on cognitive development.

  • Updated findings on quality of child care in the United States and Canada, with consequences for cognitive and social competence.

• Chapter Seven

  • New research on the stability of temperament, and discussion of different methods for measuring temperament.

  • Enhanced coverage of attachment, including new evidence of cultural variations in attachment and a New Cultural Influences box on the powerful role of paternal warmth in development.

• Chapter Eight

  • Expanded treatment of sleep habits and problems of preschoolers, with advice in a new Applying What We Know feature.

  • International comparisons of rates of childhood injury mortality, with discussion of factors contributing to the relatively poor rankings of Canada and the United States.

  • Updated Cultural Influences box on child health care in the United States and other Western nations, with special attention to the large number of uninsured children in the United States.

  • New research in the development of drawing and printing, including the relationship between these skills.

• Chapter Nine

  • New Cultural Influences box on how children in village and tribal cultures learn by observing and participating in adult work.

  • New developments in early childhood literacy and mathematical reasoning.

  • New findings on the impact of educational television during the preschool years on academic achievement.

• Chapter Ten

  • Updated discussion of gender typing that considers biological, family, and peer influences. Included is a New Biology & Environment box describing a case study of a boy reared as a girl.

  • Updated section on child maltreatment, including incidence in the United States and Canada. Also in this chapter is a New Social Issues/Health box on Healthy Start, Hawaii's home visiting program for preventing child maltreatment.

• Chapter Eleven

  • Updated consideration of brain development in middle childhood.

  • New findings on the causes and consequences of obesity, including a New Social Issues/Health box on how Americans became the heaviest people in the world.

  • Updated evidence on consequences of participation in youth sports programs.

• Chapter Twelve

  • New Cultural Influences box on the Flynn effect: massive generational gains in IQ and its implications for the IQ nature-nurture controversy.

  • New research on culture, communication styles, and children's mental test performance.

  • New evidence revealing that stereotype threat can impair children's test taking.

  • Revised and updated section on educational philosophies, including constructivist and social-constructivist classrooms and the community of learners approach.

• Chapter Thirteen

  • New research on peer acceptance, including the relationship of peer-acceptance categories to bullying and victimization.

  • New Cultural Influences box on children's understanding of God.

  • Updated attention to divorce, with special attention to long-term consequences.

  • Updated research on school-age children's fears, including cultural influences and the role of temperament.

  • Expanded consideration of resilience, including a new Applying What We Know feature on fostering resilience in middle childhood.

Table of Contents

I. Theory and Research in Child Development.

II. Foundations of Development.

III. Infancy and Toddlerhood: The First Two Years.

IV. Early Childhood: Two to Six Years.

V. Middle Childhood: Six to Eleven Years.

Back Cover

“Writing Style: Fabulous! Information in these chapters is consistently presented in a clear, concise style. The reader is very much 'involved' in the material.”
Deb Gural, Red River College

“I particularly appreciate Berk's inclusion of multicultural perspectives. It is important to help students, particularly those who are just beginning their professional preparation, to put what we know about young children and their development into a cultural context. This text does that masterfully with words AND with pictures. ”
Nancy Freeman, University of South Carolina

“The thing that I am most impressed with is the examples the author uses. I found that often I had new insights in to child development issues even though I have been teaching and working in the field for years. These insights were so well thought out that I think that they would be very helpful students when learning the material. ”
John Prange, Irvine Valley College

“As always, Berk provides a comprehensive discussion of developmental issues. What I appreciate is that the text provides good coverage of areas that are often neglected by other texts (especially applied developmental issues). ”
Deborah Laible, Southern Methodist University

“The author's writing style is very engrossing. She is exceptionally accomplished in her knowledge of developmental psychology. I think her writing will be easy for my students to follow. ”
Algea Harrison, Oakland University

“The writing level of this text is exemplary! The integration of research findings and "plain language" explanations allows the students to interact seamlessly with the text… This is a wonderfully comprehensive and intelligent resource. ”
Matthew DiCintio, Delaware County Community College

“I really enjoyed the writing style used by the author. I particularly liked the way that the story from the beginning of the chapter was woven throughout all the sections of each chapter. In addition, using the same characters in subsequent chapters really pulled together the links between developmental domains. ”
Lynn Caruso, Seneca College "I think if a student feels the material he will know it. The value of the Ask Yourself sections is monumental." John Prange, Irvine Valley College

Reader Review(s)

"As always, Berk provides a comprehensive discussion of developmental issues. What I appreciate is that the text provides good coverage of areas that are often neglected by other texts (especially applied developmental issues)." - Debbie Laible, Southern Methodist University

"Making theories useful and fun to discuss is a chore, but Berk continues to make these user-friendly and applicable to the real world." - F. Richard Ferraro, University of North Dakota

"The writing in this edition is very clear, interesting and engaging. The level is perfect for my students. The explanations are appropriate, relevant, and clear. The examples are interesting and understandable. There are plenty of illustrations, photographs and review suggestions that guide the students toward success." - Sara Lawrence, California State University, Northridge

"We have used this text in our department for this course for several years now, just because it works. The students appear to like it, and they find it challenging and useful." - Colin T. William, Columbus State Community College

"I feel that one of the best compliments a student can give a text is to say 'I am not going to resell this book at the end of the semester - I am going to keep it as a reference book.' I hear this comment frequently from my students who use the Berk text." "The clarity and level of writing, the timeliness of the material, and the organization of the material make the text student-friendly." - Martin Marino, Atlantic Cape Community College

"The writing level of this text is exemplary! The integration of research findings and "plain language" explanations allows the students to interact seamlessly with the text." ". . . a wonderfully comprehensive and intelligent resource." - Matthew DiCintio, Delaware County Community College

"Probably one the greatest strengths of chapter 14 is the level at which it is written. . . . with the experience of a child developmental specialist, but not so technical that the students would be lost in jargon." "Berk combines the latest relevant research without making the text read like a science book." - Sandra Hellyer, Butler University

"Berk's text provides preservice teachers and others preparing to work with young children and their families a solid grounding upon which to base their work. It deserves a place on students' bookshelves throughout their careers as a basic reference." - Nancy Freeman, University of South Carolina

"I adopted the text because of the quality of writing and coverage of topics I feel are critical in developmental psychology." - Ron Craig, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

"I find the text to be very up-to-date and packed with research. Along with Berk's writing style, I continue to come back to her text." "I find Berk does a good job linking areas of development together which is a major emphasis of this course. I think the vignettes at the beginning of each chapter are helpful here." "I particularly like the links made between theory and education as this is the major application of the theories and provides the 'so what' part of developmental research. I try to get students understand why this research is important and how we apply it the real world. This is also why I like the boxes in each chapter - 'Applying What We Know.'" - Lisa Huffman, Ball State University

"I particularly appreciate Berk's inclusion of multicultural perspectives. It is important to help students, particularly those who are just beginning their professional preparation, to put what we know about young children and their development into a cultural context. This text does that masterfully with words AND with pictures." - Nancy Freeman, University of South Carolina

"I really enjoyed the writing style used by the author. I particularly liked the way that the story from the beginning of the chapter was woven throughout all the sections of each chapter. In addition, using the same characters in subsequent chapters really pulled together the links between developmental domains." - Lynn Caruso, Seneca College, Canada

"Writing Style: Fabulous! Information in these chapters is consistently presented in a clear, concise style. The reader is very much 'involved' in the material. This is achieved through the use of active language. . ." - Deb Gural, Red River College, Canada

"I think if a student feels the material he will know it. The value of the Ask Yourself sections is monumental." "The thing that I am most impressed with is the examples the author uses. I found that often I had new insights in to child development issues even though I have been teaching and working in the field for years. These insights were so well thought out that I think that they would be very helpful students when learning the material." - John Prange, Irvine Valley College

"The author's writing style is very engrossing. She is exceptionally accomplished in her knowledge of developmental psychology. I think her writing will be easy for my students to follow." - Algea Harrison, Oakland University

"At all times, Berk seems to make a real effort to keep the style clear and uncluttered. The use of unnecessary technical terms is avoided yet the key words/phrases that are needed to really describe the topic are there." - David Lockwood, Humber College, Canada