Child development : understanding a cultural perspective / Martin J. Packer.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 535-577) and index.

Chapter 1: Introduction 1. A Cultural Perspective on Children?s Development 2. Organization of the Book Chapter 2: Theoretical Perspectives in Developmental Psychology Theoretical Perspectives in Developmental Psychology 1. Genetic Psychology 2. Behaviorism 3. Cognitive Developmental Psychology 4. Constructivist Psychology 5. Cultural Psychology Chapter 3: Interwoven Lines of Development 1. What is Evolution? 2. Evolution of Human Beings 3. Tracing the Origins of Language 4. Evolution of the Life Cycle 5. Sociocultural Evolution Chapter 4: Prenatal Development, Birth, and the Newborn 1. Prenatal Development of Body and Brain 2. Birth: The First Developmental Transition 3. Infant Dependence: What the Newborn Cannot Do 4. Neonatal Capabilities: What the Newborn Can Do Chapter 5: Infancy -- A Practical Understanding of the World 1. The Infant?s Practical Understanding 2. The World of Infancy: The Great-We 3. Caring for the Infant: Chapter 6: Infancy -- Towards Biological Differentiation 1. Primary Emotions and their Regulation 2. Biological Developments During the First Year 3. The Transition at 1 Year: Biological differentiation Chapter 7: Toddlerhood -- A World of Irresistible Invitations 1. The World of Toddlerhood: Irresistible Invitations 2. Caring for the Toddler 3. Understanding Other People: Intentions in Action, and Family Customs 4. Biological Change During Toddlerhood Chapter 8: Toddlerhood -- Towards Psychological Differentiation 1. The Toddler?s Talk 2. How Language Changes the World of the Toddler 3. Understanding Material Representations 4. Self and Symbol: The Transition at 3 Years Chapter 9: Early Childhood -- How Things Appear, And How They Are 1. Sociodramatic Play 2. Talking as both Doing and Understanding 3. The World of Early Childhood: Breaking from the Visual Chapter 10: Early Childhood -- Towards Inner and Outer 1. Understanding Other People: Prior Intentions and Conventional Scenarios 2. Caring for the Young Child 3. The Origins of Verbal Thinking 4. Becoming a Kind of Person 5. Biological Changes During Early Childhood Chapter 11: Middle Childhood -- Understanding Institutional Reality 1. The Transition at 5-to-7 Years 2. Learning Through Participation and Apprenticeship 3. Understanding Other People: Mental States, and Institutions with Roles and Rules Chapter 12: Middle Childhood -- Towards the Actual and the Possible 1. The Institution of School 2. Outside School and Work Chapter 13: The Teenage Years -- Adolescent, or Adult? 1. Biological Changes in the Teenage Years 2. Constituting Adolescence 3. Adolescent Reasoning and Decision Making Chapter 14: The Teenage Years -- Towards Adulthood 1. Who Is The Adolescent? 2. Peer Culture 3. Understanding Other People: Ethical and Epistemological Relativism Chapter 15: Summing up 1. Stages, Transitions, and Trajectories 2. Theory of Mind, and the Normative Stances 3. Embodied, Embedded, and Distributed.

Every child is born into a community, a society with a culture, in which he or she will live, grow, and develop. Cultures lead to differences in children's development, but equally important, culture is an essential component of every child's psychological development. Child Development takes a chronological approach, from prenatal development to adolescence, in which social, cognitive, emotional, and physical aspects of development are interwoven. Author Martin J. Packer integrates cross-cultural examples from different parts of the world to illustrate how culture plays a constitutive role in children's development. This book includes an in-depth discussion of human evolution, the history of language, and the human lifespan, as well as the theoretical perspectives of scientific research on children's development -- Provided by the publisher.