Outlining an approach to the development of communicative behavior from early infancy to the onset of single word utterances, Nobuo Masataka's research is rooted in ethology and dynamic action theory. He argues that expressive and communicative actions are organized as a complex and cooperative system with other elements of the infant's physiology, behavior and social environments. This book offers new insights into the precursors of speech and will be of interest to researchers and students of psychology, linguistics and animal behavior biology.

This book provides the first state-of-the-art examination of children's understanding of biology and health. Authors based in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia review and evaluate children's understanding of birth, life and death, their knowledge of contamination and contagion as well as processes related to food, digestion, and pain. The chapters tightly focus on the connection between research and practice in examining the implications for communication about diseases such as HIV and for children's medical and therapeutic decision-making.

For many years, the development of theories about the way children learn to read and write was dominated by studies of English-speaking populations. As we have learned more about the way that children learn to read and write other scripts, it has become clear that many of the difficulties that confront children learning to read and write English specifically are less evident, or even nonexistent, in other populations. At the same time, some aspects of learning to read and write are very similar across scripts. The unique cross-linguistic perspective offered in this book, including chapters on...

Microdevelopment is the process of change in abilities, knowledge and understanding during short time-spans. This book presents a new process-oriented view of development and learning based on recent innovations in psychological research. Instead of characterizing abilities at different ages, researchers investigate processes of development and learning that evolve through time to determine progressive changes. With contributions from the foremost researchers in the field, this study will be essential reading for all interested in cognitive and developmental science.

Modern research demonstrates that imitation is more complex and interesting than classical theories proposed. Monkeys do not imitate whereas humans are prolific imitators. This book provides an analysis of empirical work on imitation and shows how much can be learned through interdisciplinary research ranging from cells to individuals, apes to men, and babies to adults. Covering diverse perspectives on a great puzzle of human psychology, the book is multidisciplinary in its approach to revealing how and why we imitate.

Connecting traditional Piagetian, information processing, and psychometric approaches with newer frameworks and tools for the assessment and analysis of change, this book provides a cutting-edge account of the latest theory and research. Chapters cover key theories of cognitive change, the factors that affect change including neurological, emotional and socio-cultural factors and the latest methods for measuring and modelling change.