* How do we get from helpless baby to knowing, ironic teenager? * Is cognition a question of learning and environment or heredity? * What impact do television and computers have on cognitive development? Cognitive Development - how we learn to think, perceive, remember, talk, reason and learn - is a central topic in the field of psychology. In this highly readable book, David Cohen discusses the key theories, research and controversies that have shaped and informed our knowledge of how the child's mind develops. He shows how the questions and issues that have intrigued psychologists over the past hundred years or so relate to the child growing up in the 21st century. This book is for everyone who lives with, works with or studies children. Issues such as learning to read and write, performance in the classroom, and measuring intelligence and ability are covered, as are child crime and the development of morality. The effects on cognitive development of social change and increased exposure to television and computers are also discussed. How the Child's Mind Develops provides an integrated and thought-provoking account of the central issues in cognitive development. It will provide the professional, parent and student with an invaluable introduction to the development of the mind.

Table of Contents

Introduction. The Developing Brain. The Logical Child. Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development. The Social Child: Vygotsky et al. vs. Piaget. The Development of a Moral Sense. Other People and Other Minds. The Development of Memory. Measuring Children's Cognitive Development. Nature or Nurture? Cognitive Development in the Classroom: Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. Television, Toys and the Child as Consumer.