Only when we fully appreciate the origins and foundations of child and adolescent behaviors will we succeed in uncovering why they do what they do. By emphasizing evolutionary viewpoints of human psychological development, this textbook explains the fundamental underpinnings of young minds and how they grow. New chapters on the biological basis and cultural context of development introduce students to dynamic new debates in the field. The integrative, topical approach incorporates the perspectives that guide today's practitioners and gives students a holistic and up-to-date understanding of development. Box features highlight key debates, Section Reviews reinforce essential points, and “Ask Yourself” questions and end-of-chapter exercises encourage engagement and extend learning, supporting and enhancing student understanding. Revised and updated throughout, this comprehensive, topical textbook uniquely integrates the central themes of modern developmental theory – developmental contextualism, sociocultural perspective, and evolutionary theory – in a strong, theoretical introduction to child and adolescent development.

Natural selection has operated as strongly or more so on the early stages of the lifespan as on adulthood. One evolved feature of human childhood is high levels of behavioral, cognitive, and neural plasticity, permitting children to adapt to a wide range of physical and social environments. Taking an evolutionary perspective on infancy and childhood provides a better understanding of contemporary human development, predicting and understanding adult behavior, and explaining how changes in the early development of our ancestors produced contemporary Homo sapiens.