Until now, evolutionary psychologists have focused largely on understanding adult behavior, giving little sustained attention to childhood. Developmental psychologists, for their part, have been wary of the perceived genetic determinism of evolutionary thinking. This important volume brings together an array of prominent developmental scientists whose work is explicitly driven by evolutionary concerns. Presenting sophisticated new models for understanding gene-environment interactions, the authors demonstrate how evolutionary knowledge can enhance our understanding of key aspects of cognitive, social, and personality development. Tightly edited chapters examine how different developmental mechanisms have evolved and what role they play in children's functioning and their adaptation to adult life. Essential topics covered include parent-child relationships, aggression, puberty, infant perception and cognition, memory, language, and more. --- from the publisher Reviews: “A cornucopia of new ideas on human development, Origins of the Social Mind is required reading for developmental psychologists.” -Steven Pinker, PhD, Department of Psychology, Harvard University “This is a timely and impressive volume from many of today's leading scholars in the field of evolutionary developmental psychology, a perspective that is much misunderstood by mainstream developmental psychologists. The volume includes a nice mix of broad theoretical overviews of the discipline and detailed analyses of a wide range of social and cognitive phenomena. As such, it serves both to introduce the perspective to scholars and students who are unfamiliar with it and to illustrate the ways in which evolutionary thinking can inform the study of numerous aspects of development. It would make a marvelous textbook for instructors in search of something to stimulate and challenge the thinking of advanced undergraduate or graduate students interested in child development. Indeed, the next time I teach an advanced course in developmental psychology, I likely will build my syllabus around this book.” -Laurence Steinberg, PhD, Department of Psychology, Temple University “This volume represents the cutting-edge of transdisciplinary scholarship. Relying on the theories and methods of evolutionary psychology, it broadens the reach of this emerging discipline to the field of child development. Particularly provocative are integrative, novel theories by Ellis and Belsky on topics of relevance to scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and parents. There is something here for everyone.” -Kenneth A. Dodge, PhD, Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University Contents: I. Conceptual Foundations of Evolutionary Developmental Psychology: Core Issues and Approaches 1. Evolutionary Psychology and Child Development: An Emerging Synthesis, David F. Bjorklund and Bruce J. Ellis 2. Ontogeny and Evolution of the Social Child, Mark V. Flinn and Carol V. Ward 3. The Role of Developmental Plasticity in the Evolution of Human Cognition: Evidence from Enculturated, Juvenile Great Apes, David F. Bjorklund and Justin S. Rosenberg 4. Early Stress: Perspectives from Developmental Evolutionary Ecology, James S. Chisholm, Victoria K. Burbank, David A. Coall, and Frank Gemmiti 5. Developmental Behavioral Genetics and Evolutionary Psychology: Tying the Theoretical and Empirical Threads, Nancy L. Segal and Elizabeth M. Hill II. Personality and Social Development 6. Differential Susceptibility to Rearing Influence: An Evolutionary Hypothesis and Some Evidence, Jay Belsky 7. Determinants of Pubertal Timing: An Evolutionary Developmental Approach, Bruce J. Ellis 8. Some Functional Aspects of Human Adolescence, Glenn E. Weisfeld and Heather C. Janisse 9. Sex Differences in Competitive and Aggressive Behavior: A View from Sexual Selection Theory, Anthony D. Pellegrini and John Archer 10. Social Behavior and Personality Development: The Role of Experiences with Siblings and with Peers, Judith Rich Harris 11. Play: Types and Functions in Human Development, Peter K. Smith 12. Evolutionary Origins and Ontogenetic Development of Incest Avoidance, Irwin Silverman and Irene Bevc III. Cognitive Development 13. Infant Perception and Cognition: An Evolutionary Perspective on Early Learning, David H. Rakison 14. Evolution and Development of Human Memory Systems, Katherine Nelson 15. Language Evolution and Human Development, Brian MacWhinney 16. The Evolutionary History of an Illusion: Religious Causal Beliefs in Children and Adults, Jesse M. Bering 17. Cognitive Development and the Understanding of Animal Behavior, H. Clark Barrett 18. The Empathizing System: A Revision of the 1994 Model of the Mindreading System, Simon Baron-Cohen 19. Folk Knowledge and Academic Learning, David C. Geary Contributors: John Archer, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom Simon Baron-Cohen, PhD, Autism Research Centre, Departments of Experimental Psychology and Psychiatry, Cambridge University, Cambridge, United Kingdom H. Clark Barrett , PhD, Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture; Center for Culture, Brain, and Development; and Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA Jay Belsky, PhD, Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues, Birkbeck University of London, United Kingdom Jesse M. Bering, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR Irene Bevc, PhD, Hincks-Dellcrest Treatment Center, Toronto, Canada David F. Bjorklund, PhD, Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL Victoria K. Burbank, PhD, Department of Anthropology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia James S. Chisholm, PhD, School of Anatomy and Human Biology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia David A. Coall, PhD candidate, School of Anatomy and Human Biology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia Bruce J. Ellis, PhD, Division of Family Studies and Human Development, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ Mark V. Flinn, PhD, Departments of Anthropology and Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO Frank Gemmiti, PhD candidate, School of Anatomy and Human Biology and Department of Anthropology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia David C. Geary, PhD, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO Judith Rich Harris, MA, Middletown, NJ Elizabeth M. Hill, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Detroit-Mercy, Detroit, MI Heather C. Janisse, PhD, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI Brian MacWhinney, PhD, Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA Katherine Nelson, PhD, PhD Program in Psychology, City University of New York Graduate School, New York, NY Anthony D. Pellegrini, PhD, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN David H. Rakison, PhD, Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA Justin S. Rosenberg, PhD candidate, Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL Nancy L. Segal, PhD, Department of Psychology, California State University, Fullerton, CA Irwin Silverman, PhD, Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Canada Peter K. Smith, PhD, Unit for School and Family Studies, Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths College, University of London, United Kingdom Carol V. Ward, PhD, Departments of Anthropology and Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO Glenn E. Weisfeld, PhD, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI |