Developmental Child Psychology: A Primer

This book is a primer, a summary and review of theories and concepts in developmental psychology with an emphasis on child development. It is intended for upper level undergraduate psychology students and graduate psychology students. A primer for upper level undergrads and graduate students? Yes, my experiences and those of several of my colleagues show that, although these students have had one or several classes in developmental psychology, once they reach their senior year or enter graduate school their recollection of the basic tenets of developmental psychology and particularly child development, has become limited. This oftentimes necessitates spending inordinate hours of classroom time on reviewing developmental psychology fundamentals when instruction at this level should be focused on more complex issues and concerns. This text then can be used in the following capacities: in upper level classes to efficiently review and reconsider information to which students have presumably already been exposed; to provide the prerequisites for more advanced study; or to simply provide an overview and working knowledge of developmental theory and concepts.