Essentials of Life-Span Development

Human development can be a challenge to teach and learn, especially when the entire lifespan needs to be discussed within just a few months. Santrock's Essentials of Life-Span Development successfully gives professors and students a concise text that still captures the fundamental concepts and principles involved in human development. This comprehensive and well-structured book serves as a student-teacher guide, featuring relatable example and studies designed to transform the students' attitudes about the subject. It is short enough for single-term use, covering important concepts in all stages of life, from infancy to adulthood. Consisting of 17 chapters, Essentials of Life-Span Development (ISBN 9780073532073) starts with an introduction of lifespan development, along with a discussion of the psychoanalytic, cognitive, behavioral, and ethological and ecological theories that rule development. The succeeding chapters talk about the biological beginnings, from evolution to genetics, heredity, prenatal development, and the birth process. This handy reference also discusses physical and cognitive development during infancy, socioemotional development during the same stage, as well as early, middle, and late childhood. Chapter devoted to the adolescence stage explain the socioemotional issues related to personal identity, family, peers, culture, and ethnicity, as well as behavioral/emotional problems, juvenile delinquency, depression, suicide, and intervention. The final sections of the book talk about adulthood, late adulthood, and death. The last chapter discusses the cultural and sociohistorical context of death, coping with death, and losing a life partner. Author John Santrock has built a strong career in teaching and psychological practice. He has written exceptional and market leading texts about human development and psychology, including Child Development, Adolescence, Life-Span Development, Educational Psychology, and Psychology.