Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Detailed Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- About the Authors -- List of Abbreviations -- Part I What Is HDFS? -- 1 HDFS -- Part II Who Are the People Involved in the Area of HDFS? -- 2 Careers in HDFS -- Part III What Is the History and Future of the HDFS Field? -- 3 History and Future of HDFS -- Part IV Why Is HDFS Important? How Does Theory and Research Inform Work in HDFS? -- 4 Introduction to Research in HDFS -- 5 Introduction to Theories in HDFS -- Part V Professionals and Ethical Thinking and Growth -- 6 Introduction to FLE and Its Applications -- 7 Professional Development and Ethics -- Part VI What are the Key Areas within HDFS? -- 8 Family and Early Years -- 9 Family and Childhood -- 10 Family and Adolescence -- 11 Family and Adulthood -- 12 Family and Late Adulthood -- 13 Diverse Families -- 14 Family Strengths -- Appendix A: A Closer Look at Applied Experiences in HDFS -- Appendix B: Consuming Research -- Glossary -- Index

Human Development and Family Science (HDFS) is an interdisciplinary and applied field that draws from developmental science, family science, and other social sciences. Research Foundations of Human Development and Family Science is a textbook that provides an introduction to the diverse scientific research methods that form the foundation of scholarship and practice in HDFS. In Part I, Kathleen D. Dyer explores science. She distinguishes empirical scientific research from common sense and from knowledge gained from personal experience. This section also includes a discussion of the strategies used by pseudoscience to exploit the well-deserved credibility of science, providing relevant examples. Part II examines systematic empiricism through sampling and measurement. HDFS scholars use a wide array of measurement tools, including self-report (interviews, questionnaires, and self-report tasks), observations (participant, naturalistic, and structured), objective tests, physiological measures, and several types of archival records. Part III introduces the use of study design to achieve falsifiability in scientific research, including an overview of various orientations to time used in research as well as four different study designs: qualitative, prevalence, correlational, and experimental. Finally, Part IV addresses the public verifiability of science, including how scientific consensus is developed, the use of literature reviews to identify convergence of evidence, and how scientific literacy translates into evidence-based professional practice. Illustrated throughout with studies foundational to the discipline as examples of the strategies described in the text, Research Foundations for Human Development and Family Science is a comprehensive, accessible core textbook for undergraduate research methods classes in HDFS. It introduces the discipline of HDFS and challenges students to understand the limitations of common sense and the threat of pseudoscience for those work professionally with children and families.

"The book is well written and the theorists and their respective work are well-presented and clearly explained. . . . As a text dealing with the historical overview of major theorists and their work in human development over the last century or so, it is extremely strong and could be widely used in a variety of both undergraduate and graduate courses." —Ann C. Diver-Stamnes, Humboldt State University "In general, I found the websites and references listed at the end of each chapter to be very interesting and useful for taking students beyond what is in the text." —Jane Ledingham, University of Ottawa "A fine choice for a classic theories course, and I believe that the level of presentation would be appropriate for advanced undergraduate or graduate students. . . . The up-to-date web sites at the end of each section are a definite plus. The choice of sites is excellent." —Cosby Steele Rogers, Virginia Tech An Introduction to Theories of Human Development examines the development process, looking at the series of changes that occur as a result of an interaction between biological and environmental factors. Why might our behavior as an adult be so different from when we were infants? Why and how does one stage of development follow the next? Are the changes that we experience abrupt in nature or smooth and predictable? Author Neil J. Salkind reflects on such critical questions to help readers understand what happens along the way as one develops from infancy through later life. This book provides a comprehensive view of the primary theoretical models of human development including those from the biological, psychoanalytic, behavioral, and cognitive developmental perspectives. Along with a brief discussion of a historical background for each of these approaches, An Introduction to Theories of Human Development examines the application of these theories to various aspects of human development, such as the effectiveness of early intervention, individual differences, adolescence, and sociobiology. Features of this text: A final, integrative chapter compares the various theories presented in the book using Murry Sidman′s model of six criteria for judging a theory to help develop students′ skills for critically assessing theory. Classic approaches to understanding human behavior across the lifespan are also examined. Pedagogical features such as chapter opening quotes, boxed highlights, key terms, a glossary, and websites for further reading enhance student understanding of everyday human behavior. An Introduction to Theories of Human Development is an accessible text for advanced undergraduate students in the social and behavioral sciences including such fields as psychology, education, human services, nursing, sociology, social welfare, and human development and family studies.

How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.

This major new textbook by Jaan Valsiner focuses on the interface between cultural psychology and developmental psychology. Intended for students from undergraduate level upwards, the book provides a wide-ranging overview of the cultural perspective on human development, with illustrations from pre-natal development to adulthood. A key feature is the broad coverage of theoretical and methodological issues which have relevance to this truly interdisciplinary field of enquiry encompassing developmental psychology, cultural anthropology and comparative sociology. The text is organized into five coherent parts: Part 1: Developmental theory and methodology; Part 2: Analysis of environments for human development Part 3:

This is the first multidisciplinary text to address the growing scholarly connection between religion and family life. The latest literature from family studies, psychology, sociology, and religion is reviewed along with narratives drawn from interviews with 200 racially, religiously, and regionally diverse families which bring the concepts to life. Written in a thought-provoking, accessible, and sometimes humorous style by two of the leading researchers in the field, the book reflects the authors’ firsthand experience in teaching today’s students about religion’s impact on families. Prior to writing the book, the authors read the sacred texts of many faiths, interviewed religious leaders, and attended religious services for a wide array of faiths. The result is an accurate and engaging account of why and how families are impacted by their religion. The pedagogical features of the text include boldfaced key terms defined in the glossary, text boxes, chapter conclusions, summary points, and review questions. Religion and Families: Examines several denominations within Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Reviews findings from racially and ethnically diverse families, from traditional and diverse family forms, and examines gender and life-course issues. Addresses the impact of one’s religious involvement on longevity, divorce rates, and parenting styles. Considers demographic, family-, couple-, and individual-level data that relate to prayer and other sacred practices. Presents a balanced treatment of the latest research and a new model for studying family and religion. Explores the "whys," "hows," and processes at work in the religion-family connection. The book opens with a discussion of why religion and family connections matter. Chapter 2 defines religion and presents a new conceptualization of religion. Empirical research connections between religion and marriage, divorce, family, and parent-child relationships are explored in chapters 3 through 6. The interface between religion and the family in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are reviewed in chapters 7, 8, and 9. Chapter 10 explores the unique challenges that religion presents for diverse family forms. Prayer as a coping mechanism for life’s challenges such as death and disability are explored in chapter 11. Chapter 12 examines forgiveness in the context of marriages and families. The book concludes with a review of the book’s most important themes and findings. Intended as a text for undergraduate courses in family and religion, the psychology or sociology of the family, the psychology or sociology of religion, pastoral/biblical counseling, or family and youth ministry, taught in human development and family studies, psychology, sociology, religion, social work, pastoral counseling, and sometimes philosophy. This book also appeals to family therapists and counselors.

This volume provides a diverse, eclectic, and paradoxically mature approach to theorizing and demonstrates how the development of theory is crucial to the future of family research.".