Child Development

“Levine and Munsch have made an excellent contribution to the texts available to those of us who teach child and adolescent development – both at the undergraduate and graduate levels.  I was excited to use the text when I reviewed it for potential adoption, and after this second review, I am even more excited.  I do not see any key weaknesses but do see the many strengths…”

                    —Charles Dickel, Creighton University



“The book is great! I would recommend it to anyone teaching a course in Child and Adolescent Development.”

—Dan Nyaronga, SUNY Empire State College-Saratoga



“I really like this book. I love all of the resources, the book itself is clear and provides a lot of information, and I will definitely adopt it again.”

                        —Kelly Cotter, California State University-Sacramento



“The strengths of this text are the topics presented…, the reading level of the text, the resources in the chapters, pictures, charts, Active Learning, Research, etc. I would adopt the [second] edition of the text for all of the above.”

                    —Sharon Carter, Davidson County Community College-Lexington



“This is an extremely well written text.  The authors can be commended for the depth and scope of the content . . . easily accessible to students.”

                        —Dawn Witt, California State University-Channel Islands


“My overall assessment of this text book is that it is well done…it engages the students in the material but [is] also very cost effective. I especially enjoyed how thorough the book was but that it was not too research focused or boring to the reader. In addition, having access to the Extended Journey in Research and SAGE [journal] articles is a major strength.”

            —Nicole Surething, Christopher Newport University



Psychology Learning and Teaching “In their preface, authors Laura Levine and Joyce Munsch emphasize the need for a child development book that enables students to create meaningful learning experiences.  This text has succeeded in achieving their goal.”



“The many strengths of this text attest to the success of Levine and Munsch in creating a comprehe...

Laura E. Levine received her PhD in developmental and clinical psychology from the University of Michigan. After working with children and families at the Childrens Psychiatric Hospital and in private practice in Ann Arbor for 10 years, she moved to Connecticut and was a stay-at-home mother of her two children for 6 years. She returned to academia in 1994 and taught child psychology and life span development for 20 years at Central Connecticut State University, where she is currently a professor emerita of the Department of Psychological Science. She has received three university teaching awards, and her research on the social development of young children and on the relation between media use and attention difficulties has appeared in journals such as Developmental Psychology, the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Infant Mental Health Journal, Infant and Child Development, Computers and Education, and CyberPsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.

Dr. Levine has been very active in promoting excellence in college teaching. She was involved in the creation of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Central Connecticut State University and served on the board of the Connecticut Consortium to Enhance Learning and Teaching. She created numerous programs for faculty both at her university and at regional and national conferences. Her work on the scholarship of teaching and learning can be found in New Directions for Teaching and Learning, College Teaching and the International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

Joyce Munsch received her PhD in human development and family studies from Cornell University. She was a faculty member in human development and family studies at Texas Tech University for 14 years, where she also served as associate dean for research in the College of Human Sciences for 2 years. In 2002, Dr. Munsch went to the California State University at Northridge as the founding chair and professor in the Department of Child and Adolescent Development. She currently is an emeritus professor in the Department.

Dr. Munschs research has focused on adolescent stress and coping and social network research. Her work has been published in the Journal of School Psychology, Adolescence, The Journal of Early Adolescence, the Journal of Research on Adolescence, and the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Throughout her career, Dr. Munsch administered grants that supported community-based programs. She was the codirector of the Early Head Start program at Texas Tech University and coprincipal investigator for three...

PART I. UNDERSTANDING DEVELOPMENT: WHY AND HOW WE STUDY CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS Chapter 1. Introduction: Why We Study the Development of Children and Adolescents Chapter 2. Theories of Development Chapter 3. How We Study Development Part II. BEGINNINGS CHAPTER 4. How Children Develop: Nature Through Nurture Chapter 5. Prenatal Development, Birth and the Newborn Part III. Building Blocks of Development: How Children Grow Chapter 6. Physical Development: The Body and the Brain Chapter 7. Cognitive Development Chapter 8. Intelligence and Academic Achievement Chapter 9. Language Development Chapter 10. Emotional Development and Attachment Chapter 11. Identity: The Self, Gender, and Moral Development Chapter 12. Social Development PART IV. CONTEXTS FOR DEVELOPMENT Chapter 13. Families Chapter 14. Beyond Family and School: Activities, Media and the Natural World Chapter 15. Health, Well-being and Resilience