Laura E. Berk is a distinguished professor of psychology at Illinois State University, where she has taught child and human development to both undergraduate and graduate students for more than three decades. She received her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and her master's and doctoral degrees in child development and educational psychology from the University of Chicago. She has been a visiting scholar at Cornell University, UCLA, Stanford University, and the University of South Australia.
Berk has published widely on the effects of school environments on children's development, the development of private speech, and most recently, the role of makebelieve play in development. Her research has been funded by the U.S. Office of Education and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. It has appeared in many prominent journals, including Child Development, Developmental Psychology,Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, Development and Psychopathology, and Early Childhood Research Quarterly. Her empirical studies have attracted the attention of the general public, leading to contributions to Psychology Today and Scientific American.
Berk has served as research editor for Young Children and consulting editor for Early Childhood Research Quarterly and the Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology. She is a frequent contributor to edited volumes on early childhood development, having recently authored chapters on the importance of parenting, on make-believe play and self-regulation, and on the kindergarten child. She has also written the chapter on development for The Many Faces of Psychological Research in the Twenty-First Century (Society for the Teaching of Psychology), the chapter on social development for The Chicago Companion to the Child, the article on Vygotsky for the Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science, and the chapter on storytelling as a teaching strategy for Voices of Experience: Memorable Talks from the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology (Association for Psychological Science). Berk's books include Private Speech: From Social Interaction to Self-Regulation, Scaffolding Children's Learning: Vygotsky and Early Childhood Education, and Landscapes of Development: An Anthology of Readings. In addition to Infants, Children, and Adolescents, she is author of the best-selling texts Child Development and Development Through the Lifespan, published by Allyn and Bacon. Her book for parents and teachers is Awakening Children's Minds: How Parents and Teachers Can Make a Difference.
Berk is active in work for children's causes. In addition to service in her home community, she is a member of the national board of directors of Jumpstart, a nonprofit organization that provides early literacy intervention to thousands of low-income preschoolers across the United States, using college and university students as interveners. Berk is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, Division, 7: Developmental Psychology.
PART II. FOUNDATIONS OF DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 2: Biological and Environmental Foundations
Chapter 3: Prenatal Development, Birth, and the Newborn Baby
PART III. INFANCY AND TODDLERHOOD: THE FIRST TWO YEARS
Chapter 4: Physical Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood
Chapter 5: Cognitive Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood
Chapter 6: Emotional and Social Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood
PART IV. EARLY CHILDHOOD: TWO TO SIX YEARS
Chapter 7: Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood
Chapter 8: Emotional and Social Development in Early Childhood
PART V. MIDDLE CHILDHOOD: SIX TO ELEVEN YEARS
Chapter 9: Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood
Chapter 10: Emotional and Social Development in Middle Childhood
PART VI. ADOLESCENCE: THE TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD
Chapter 11: Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence
Chapter 12: Emotional and Social Development in Adolescence
PART VII. EARLY ADULTHOOD
Chapter 13: Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Adulthood
Chapter 14: Emotional and Social Development in Early Adulthood
PART VIII. MIDDLE ADULTHOOD
Chapter 15: Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle Adulthood
Chapter 16: Emotional and Social Development in Middle Adulthood
PART IX. LATE ADULTHOOD
Chapter 17: Physical and Cognitive Development in Late Adulthood
Chapter 18: Emotional and Social Development in Late Adulthood
PART X. THE END OF LIFE
Chapter 19: Death, Dying, and Bereavement
Visit the Preview Website to see sample chapters, get information on the supplements (including sample videos and on-line simulations), and much more: http://www.pearsonhighered.com/berkls5epreview