A comprehensive book supported by extensive research studies and data, Bjorklunds text presents the broadest coverage of topics in cognitive development. Unlike other books, Bjorklund shows readers how developmental function can help explain individual differences in cognition by covering both the typical pattern of change in thinking observed over time and the individual differences in childrens thinking in infancy and childhood. A major theme of this book is the continuous transaction between the child embedded in a social world: although a child is born prepared to make some sense of the world, his or her mind is also shaped by forces in the physical and social environment.
1. Introduction to Cognitive Development. 2. Biological Bases of Cognitive Development. 3. The Social Construction of Mind: Sociocultural Perspectives on Cognitive Development. 4. Piaget and the Neo-Piagetians. 5. Information-Processing Approaches. 6. Learning to Think on Their Own: The Role of Strategies in Cognitive Development. 7. Infant Perception. 8. Spatial Cognition. 9. Representation. 10. Memory Development. 11. Language Development. 12. Problem Solving. 13. Social Cognition. 14. Schooling and Cognition. 15. Approaches to the Study of Intelligence. 16. Origins, Modification, and Stability of Intellectual Differences. Epilogue: Cognitive Development: What Changes and How?