This textbook provides an up-to-date account of our knowledge of social development. It is addressed to students of psychology and other social sciences with no or only limited knowledge of child development, and covers an age range up to and including adolescence. The content is organized according to themes, but these themes follow an approximate developmental progression. The central theme of Social Development is that of socialization - how an essentially biological being becomes transformed into a highly sophisticated social being. Whilst giving full attention to the older and well-established aspects of our knowledge of social development but also to more recent topics such as research on behavior genetics, children's theory of mind, post-infancy attachment development, and family dynamics. Throughout Professor Schaffer sets the findings within the context of the general aims and theoretical concerns that underpin the studies carried out, as well as of the methods used to obtain the knowledge gained. Due recognition is also given to the many practical implications of social development research for aspects such as day care, the development of anti-social behavior and family conflict.

H. Rudolph Schaffer is Professor of Psychology at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, and has written extensively on various aspects of child development. His books include Mothering (1977) and Making Decisions About Children (Blackwell Publishers, 1991), and he is also editor of the journal Social Development.