Development Across the Life Span, Global Edition

Abstract

This book tells a story: the story of our lives, and our parents’ lives, and the lives of our children. It is the story of human beings and how they get to be the way they are. Unlike any other area of study, lifespan development speaks to us in a very personal sense. It covers the range of human existence from its beginnings at conception to its inevitable ending at death. It is a discipline that deals with ideas and concepts and theories, but one that above all has at its heart people—our fathers and mothers, our friends and acquaintances, our very selves. Development Across the Life Span seeks to capture the discipline in a way that sparks, nurtures, and shapes readers’ interest. It is meant to excite students about the field, draw them into its way of looking at the world, and build their understanding of developmental issues. By exposing readers to both the current content and the promise inherent in lifespan development, the text is designed to keep interest in the discipline alive long after students’ formal study of the field has ended