Human development: A social work perspective - Hardcover

Specht, Riva

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0134447786 ISBN 13: 9780134447780

Publisher: Prentice-Hall, 1982

Synopsis

Designed for students from a wide range of backgrounds, this text takes a chronological and interdisciplinary approach to human development. With its focus on context and culture, the seventh edition illustrates that the status of human development is inextricably embedded in a study of complex and changing cultures. Craig maintains an open-ended perspective throughout, encompassing many different and opposing views. Retaining the best features of previous editions, the seventh edition is revised and updated to include recent developments in the field and improvements for both instructors and students.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Key Benefit: Designed for readers from a wide range of backgrounds, this book takes a chronological and multidisciplinary approach to human development. Key Topics: The book and supplement combined provide a complete teaching package tha t covers biological, physical, cognitive, social and emotional development of humans—from conception through adulthood—with a strong emphasis on cross-cultural experiences. Craig maintains an open-ended perspective throughout, encompassing ma ny different and opposing views. Retaining the best features of previous editions, the new Seventh Edition is revised and thoroughly updated to include recent developments in the field and many improvements for both instructors and students.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

The story of a human life—in any cultural context—is a rich and compelling drama. The systematic study of human development in context is a challenge for students and researchers alike. Human Development, Ninth Edition, draws from many fields (psychology, biology, sociology, anthropology, history, nursing, medicine, and public health, to name a few), to provide an up-to-date presentation of the key topics, issues, and controversies in the study of lifespan development.

In this edition of Human Development, I continue to be joined by Don Baucum, an experimental psychologist with clinical training, who draws on his own observations, his eclectic teaching experience, and an engaging writing style to help breathe life and voice into the narrative. We discovered in writing the previous edition that his expertise and mine as an applied developmental psychologist also with extensive teaching experience augment each other well, so Don is now my full co-author. Together, we attempt to provide a sound, often thought-provoking survey of contemporary developmental research and theory as well as applications to everyday life. Because this field is so broad, challenging, open-ended, and controversial, ample opportunities are included for students to consider a wide variety of perspectives and kinds of evidence. Students are encouraged to weigh the evidence against personal experience, and to develop an informed, critical perspective on how we come to be who and what we are as human beings and what each of us can expect in our years to come.

Student Diversity

Today's college students are more diverse than ever. A given classroom may have a cross-section of students who vary widely in age, ethnicity, personal experiences, and outlook. Today's students also vary in academic background, degree of exposure to the social sciences in particular, and career interests. Each of these factors, and more, create "filters" through which each individual perceives human development and life in general. Many students of human development will pursue a future in fields related to human service, including social work, education, nursing, counseling, various areas of psychology, and program administration. Some are already parents, many will become parents in the future; considerable practical advice about parenting is also included for this reason.

We believe that most students by far have a unique and potentially irresistible curiosity about how childhood, adolescence, and adulthood work. This text encourages that curiosity through its emphasis on diversity. Human Development presents people as they are in the context of culture and subculture, both within the United States and beyond. Rather than generalize from any one group of people, it makes a special effort to explain how developmental phenomena apply or relate to a wide range of peoples. The contemporary case studies and research efforts incorporated in the text reflect this variety. Hopefully, students will find themselves in the pages of this text, regardless of background, and yet at the same time escape the confines of ethnocentrism.

Chronological Organization

In the field of human development there is always the question of whether to organize developmental research and theory by topical chapters, such as bio-, logical, cognitive, language, social, and personality development, or to present child and adult development as it happens chronologically, emphasizing the holistic interrelationships. Human Development takes the latter approach and presents child and adult development primarily in chapters devoted to each of the traditional age divisions: the prenatal period, infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, and young, middle, and older adulthood. The text opens with two chapters on perspectives on human development and its study, one on the interaction of heredity and environment, and one on prenatal development, and closes with one on death and dying. In between, each age range includes two chapters: one on physical and cognitive development, one on personality and sociocultural development. Given these necessary divisions, we remain alert throughout to the crucial importance of the complex interplay of the many different facets of development through which a whole person emerges.

Special Features and Study Aids

Throughout this text, we have woven cultural diversity and personal relevance into the ongoing narrative. Special boxed features extend this emphasis. A Matter for Debate explores controversies about human development and encourages thought and discussion. In Theory, In Fact focuses on popular concepts about development that are sometimes supported by research and sometimes not. Finally, A Closer Look examines important contemporary issues in development.

Within each chapter, the opener is a Chapter Preview that poses questions intended to stimulate interest in the main topics to be considered. Each major section of the chapter is followed by a brief Content Check, with True-False questions and a Thinking Critically question; answers and additional questions are provided on the Companion Website discussed below. Throughout, to enhance understanding, Tables present information such as brief summaries of contrasting views, additional terms, and current statistical data; Figures illustrate discussions of complex topics, research materials, and the like, and also present current statistical data in graphical form. The chapter then closes with a Chapter Revisited, which summarizes the main topics and issues while requiring that the reader return to the chapter for definitions and the like, followed by Key Terms listed in the order in which they appear in the chapter. Key terms are defined in the margins near where they appear; they are also collected in the comprehensive Glossary.

Supplements

For the Instructor

Instructor's Resource Manual with Test Item File: Created by Carolyn Meyer of Lake-Sumter Community College, this extensive resource contains chapter outlines, lecture topics, classroom activities, a list of videos available from outside sources and handouts. The Test Item File includes over 1,500 questions in multiple choice, fill-in, short answer and essay formats that test for factual, applied and conceptual understanding of the material presented in each chapter.

Prentice Hall Test Manager: One of the most popular test-generating software programs on the market, Test Manager is available in Windows and Macintosh formats and contains a Gradebook, Online Network Testing and many tools to help you edit and create tests. This program comes with full technical support and telephone "request-a-test" service.

Prentice Hall Color Overhead Transparencies for Human Development: Available in acetate form, or as downloads from our Companion Website, these transparencies add visual appeal to your lectures.

Media Support for Human Development, Ninth Edition

Human Development, Ninth Edition Companion Website at www prenhall.com/craig: Written by Don Baucum, this online study guide allows students to review each chapter's material, take practice tests that provide immediate feedback, and link to chapter specific web resources to research topics for course projects. Each chapter includes Objectives, Multiple Choice Questions, True-False Questions, Fill-In-The-Blanks Questions, Essays, Web Destinations, and Answers to each chapter's Content Checks.

ContentSelect Research Database: Prentice Hall and EBSCO, the world leader in online journal subscription management, have developed a customized research database for students of psychology. This database provides access to the text of many popular periodicals and peer-reviewed psychology publications. For more information about ContentSelect, contact your local Prentice Hall representative.

Online Course Management: For professors interested in using the Internet and online course management in their courses, Prentice Hall offers fully customizable online courses in WebCT, B1ackBoard and Pearson's Course Compass powered by B1ackBoard. Contact your local Prentice Hall Representative or visit www.prenhall.com/demo for more information

For the Student

Study Guide: Written by Carolyn Meyer of Lake-Sumter Community College, this student workbook helps students master the core concepts in each chapter. Every chapter includes a Chapter Outline, Key Terms and Concepts, Key Names, a Pre-test, a Programmed Review, a Posttest, Essay Questions, and an Answer Key.

Psychology on the Internet: Evaluating Online Resources: This "hands-on" Internet tutorial features Web sites related to psychology and general information about using the Internet for research. This supplement is available FREE when packaged with the text and helps students capitalize on all the resources that the World Wide Web has to offer.

Supplementary Textbooks Available for Packaging

The supplementary textbooks are available in specially discounted packages with the textbook or as stand-alone supplements:

Human Development in Multicultural Contexts: A Book of Readings by Michele A. Paludi: Designed to be used with a text on Human Development, this collection of readings demonstrates how culture affects development across the lifespan. Each section begins with an introduction and is followed by readings carefully selected and excerpted with the undergraduate in mind.

Acknowledgments

As was true of previous editions, the ninth edition of Human Development reflects the contributions of many individuals, beginning with people of all ages that Don and I have met in classrooms, clinical encounters, and interviews; students and research assistants; colleagues, teachers, and mentors; family m...

About this edition

• Publisher: Prentice-Hall
• Publication date: 1982
• ISBN 10: 0134447786
• ISBN 13: 9780134447780
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 372