How the Child's Mind Develops

• How do we get from helpless baby to knowing teenager?
• What impact do television, computers, the internet, video games and evolving technology have on the way children's minds develop?
• Is cognition a question of learning and environment or of heredity?

How we learn to think, perceive, remember, talk, reason and learn is a central topic in psychology - and one that sees constant new research. In this very readable book, David Cohen discusses the latest studies and covers all the controversies that have dogged the subject for nearly 150 years. He examines the work of the 'greats' like Piaget, Freud and Vygotsky and shows how the issues that have intrigued psychologists relate to any child growing up today.

This book is for everyone who lives with, works with or studies children. David Cohen examines the fundamental issues of how children learn to read and write, of how their intellectual abilities are measured and the development of their morality. He examines child crime and looks at how modern media affect the way the child's mind develops.

This fully updated edition of How the Child's Mind Develops is an integrated and thought-provoking account of the central issues in child development. Parents, professionals and students will find it an invaluable introduction.

Table of Contents

1. The developing brain
2. The logical child: Piaget's theory of cognitive development
3. Egocentric or social animals? The work of Lev Vygotsky
4. The development of a moral sense
5. Other people and other minds
6. The development of memory
7. Measuring children's cognitive development
8. Nature or nurture?
9. Cognitive development in the classroom: Reading, writing and arithmetic
10. Toys are so yesterday: Computers, mobiles and the child as consumer

"The second edition of How the Child’s Mind Develops has all the virtues and the attractiveness of the first, and it also contains a large amount of new and interesting material. Once again, David Cohen has given us a clear, lively and up-to-date account of children’s intellectual and emotional development. Students, teachers and parents will certainly learn a great deal from his wide-ranging and often amusing account of children’s minds."
- Peter Bryant, FRS, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Education, University of Oxford

"In this refreshingly modern account of cognitive development, Cohen delineates both classic theories and recent research, and asks what relevance they have for understanding today's media-savvy child. Given the dramatic changes in the everyday cognitive experiences of childhood, this book will prove an invaluable resource for students and practitioners."
- Nicky Hayes, University of the Highlands and Islands