Richard M. Lerner & Willis F. Overton 
Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science, Volume 1, Theory and Method 

The essential reference for human development theory, updated
and reconceptualized

The Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental
Science, a four-volume reference, is the field-defining work to
which all others are compared. First published in 1946, and now in
its Seventh Edition, the Handbook has long been considered
the definitive guide to the field of developmental science.

Volume 1, Theory and Method, presents a rich mix of
classic and contemporary theoretical perspectives, but the dominant
views throughout are marked by an emphasis on the dynamic interplay
of all facets of the developmental system across the life span,
incorporating the range of biological, cognitive, emotional,
social, cultural, and ecological levels of analysis. Examples of
the theoretical approaches discussed in the volume include those
pertinent to human evolution, self regulation, the development of
dynamic skills, and positive youth development. The research,
methodological, and applied implications of the theoretical models
discussed in the volume are presented.

* Understand the contributions of biology, person, and context to
development within the embodied ecological system

* Discover the relations among individual, the social world,
culture, and history that constitute human development

* Examine the methods of dynamic, developmental research

* Learn person-oriented methodological approaches to assessing
developmental change

The scholarship within this volume and, as well, across the four
volumes of this edition, illustrate that developmental science is
in the midst of a very exciting period. There is a paradigm shift
that involves increasingly greater understanding of how to
describe, explain, and optimize the course of human life for
diverse individuals living within diverse contexts. This
Handbook is the definitive reference for educators,
policy-makers, researchers, students, and practitioners in human
development, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and
neuroscience.

Table of Content

Foreword to the Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science, Seventh Edition vii

Preface xv

Volume 1 Preface xxiii

Contributors xxv

1 CONCEPTS, THEORY, AND METHOD IN DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE: A VIEW OF THE ISSUES 1
Willis F. Overton and Peter C. M. Molenaar

2 PROCESSES, RELATIONS, AND RELATIONAL-DEVELOPMENTAL-SYSTEMS 9
Willis F. Overton

3 DYNAMIC SYSTEMS IN DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE 63
David C. Witherington

4 DYNAMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THINKING, FEELING, AND ACTING 113
Michael F. Mascolo and Kurt W. Fischer

5 BIOLOGY, DEVELOPMENT, AND HUMAN SYSTEMS 162
Robert Lickliter and Hunter Honeycutt

6 ETHOLOGY AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT 208
Patrick Bateson

7 NEUROSCIENCE, EMBODIMENT, AND DEVELOPMENT 244
Peter J. Marshall

8 THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGENCY 284
Bryan W. Sokol, Stuart I. Hammond, Janet Kuebli, and Leah Sweetman

9 DIALECTICAL MODELS OF SOCIALIZATION 323
Leon Kuczynski and Jan De Mol

10 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND CULTURE 369
Jayanthi Mistry and Ranjana Dutta

11 EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CONSCIOUSNESS 407
Michael Lewis

12 DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONAL AND CULTURAL IDENTITIES 452
Michael J. Chandler and William L. Dunlop

13 MORAL DEVELOPMENT 484
Elliot Turiel

14 DEVELOPMENT AND SELF-REGULATION 523
Megan M. Mc Clelland, G. John Geldhof, Claire E. Cameron, and Shannon B. Wanless

15 DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOPATHOLOGY 566
E. Mark Cummings and Kristin Valentino

16 POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND RELATIONAL-DEVELOPMENTAL-SYSTEMS 607
Richard M. Lerner, Jacqueline V. Lerner, Edmond P. Bowers, and G. John Geldhof

17 SYSTEMS METHODS FOR DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH 652
Peter C. M. Molenaar and John R. Nesselroade

18 NEUROSCIENTIFIC METHODS WITH CHILDREN 683
Michelle de Haan

19 MIXED METHODS IN DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE 713
Patrick H. Tolan and Nancy L. Deutsch

20 GROWTH CURVE MODELING AND LONGITUDINAL FACTOR ANALYSIS 758
Nilam Ram and Kevin J. Grimm

21 PERSON-ORIENTED METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES 789
Alexander von Eye, Lars R. Bergman, and Chueh-An Hsieh

Author Index 843

Subject Index 869

About the author

Editor-in-Chief
Richard M. Lerner, Ph D is Bergstrom Chair in Applied Developmental Science at the Eliot-Pearson Department at Tufts University. He is the author of many publications, including Pathways to Positive Development about Diverse Youth and New Directions for Youth Development: Theory, Practice, and Research (Jossey-Bass). Dr Lerner is also a past editor of the Journal of Research on Adolescence and The Handbook of Life-Span Development (Wiley).