Contains essays that provide information about the course of human life during childhood and adolescence, examining how experiences during these formative years affect an individual's social and human evolution.

This book shows how individuals develop a unique style or 'melody' of living, beyond physical and social constraints.

Demographers and public health specialists have been surprised by the rapid increases in life expectancy, especially at the oldest ages, that have occurred since the early 1960s. Some scientists are calling into question the idea of a fixed upper limit for the human life span. There is new evidence about the genetic bases for both humans and other species. There are also new theories and models of the role of mutations accumulating over the life span and the possible evolutionary advantages of survival after the reproductive years. This volume deals with such diverse topics as the role of the elderly in other species and among human societies past and present, the contribution of evolutionary theory to our understanding of human longevity and intergenerational transfers, mathematical models for survival, and the potential for collecting genetic material in household surveys. It will be particularly valuable for promoting communication between the social and life sciences.

Drawing on philosophy, the history of psychology and the natural sciences, this book proposes a new theoretical foundation for the psychology of the life course. It features the study of unique individual life courses in their social and cultural environment, combining the perspectives of developmental and sociocultural psychology, psychotherapy, learning sciences and geronto-psychology. In particular, the book highlights semiotic processes, specific to human development, that allow us to draw upon past experiences, to choose among alternatives and to plan our futures. Imagination is an important outcome of semiotic processes and enables us to deal with daily constraints and transitions, and promotes the transformation of social representation and symbolic systems - giving each person a unique style, or 'melody', of living. The book concludes by questioning the methodology and epistemology of current life course studies.

This volume engages the interface between the development of human lives and social relational networks. It focuses on the integration of two subfields of sociology/social science--the life course and social networks. Research practitioners studying social networks typically focus on social structure or social organization, ignoring the complex lives of the people in those networks. At the same time, life course researchers tend to focus on individual lives without necessarily studying the contexts of social relationships in which lives are embedded and “linked” to one another through social networks. These patterns are changing and this book creates an audience of researchers who will better integrate the two subfields. It covers the role of social networks across the life span, from childhood and adolescence, to midlife, through old age.

In this Fifth Edition of her acclaimed text, Elizabeth D. Hutchison uses her multidimensional framework to examine the influences that can impact human behavior across time. Thoroughly updated to reflect the most recent developments in the field, the book weaves its hallmark case studies with the latest innovations in theory and research to provide a comprehensive and global perspective on all the major developmental life stages, from conception through very late adulthood. The companion text, Dimensions of Human Behavior: Person and Environment, Fifth Edition, examines the multiple dimensions of person and environment and their impact on individual and collective behavior. Together, these two texts provide the most comprehensive coverage available for Human Behavior courses. Order the books together with bundle ISBN: 978-1-4833-8097-1. “Overall, I believe Elizabeth Hutchison has done an outstanding job in addressing the unique biopsychosocial aspects associated with each stage of development along the life course.” —David Skiba, Niagara University “The explicit focus on and reiteration of social work competencies throughout is particularly impressive and helps students preparing for licensure to draw concrete connections between the knowledge in the text and what they will be expected to know.” —Jamie Mitchell, Wayne State University “The use of cases and questions offered the connection to context that we were looking for.” —Gwenelle S. O’Neal, West Chester University “Great introductory textbook covering material related to Human Behavior in the Social Environment at an appropriate depth and breadth.” —Lisa M. Shannon, Morehead State University