This important book challenges the widely held assumption that early experience has a disproportionate effect on later development. Drawing from over forty years of rigorous empirical research and theoretical enquiry, Ann and Alan Clarke argue that the effects of early experiences are just the first steps in an ongoing and complex life path, on which the shaping or re-shaping of development can occur in any period. The evidence they present for the resilience of children and the interaction of early and subsequent experience clarifies and advances the ancient nature - nurture debate. This...

Tackling some of the most important ideas in child psychology and human development, Human Resilience presents key theories from Ann and Alan Clarke's pioneering work in this field. The Clarkes discuss major interacting influences on development, including genetic and environmental effects, chance events and the tendency for people to influence their environments in ways that reinforce their personal characteristics. In particular, they address various issues surrounding IQ inheritance and outline factors affecting the success of several intervention programmes, including fostering and...