David Shaffer's comprehensive and current coverage of social and personality development goes beyond the usual to help students discover the processes that underlie developmental change-so they come away with a real understanding of causes and intriguing complexities. Students learn why development occurs (the biological and environmental factors that cause children to change and contextual factors such as cross-cultural, familial, neighborhood, school, and peer-group influences). Shaffer explores the approaches that researchers use to test their theories and answer important questions about developing children and adolescents. This book's effective coverage of field research stands out from other texts not only for its accuracy and currency, but because Shaffer consistently juxtaposes classic research with the latest breakthroughs to help you appreciate how our knowledge builds on earlier findings.