• Presents the most up-to-date research and theories on childhood social development
• Features chapters by an international cast of leaders in their fields
• Includes comprehensive coverage of a range of disciplinary perspectives
• Offers all new chapters on children and the environment, cultural influences, history of childhood, interventions, and neuro-psychological perspectives
• Represents an essential resource for students and researchers of childhood social development

Peter K. Smith is Professor of Psychology and Head of the Unit for School and Family Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is co-author of the leading textbook Understanding Children's Development (Fifth Edition, Wiley, 2010), the recently published Children and Play (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), and many other books and articles.

Craig H. Hart is Associate Academic Vice President for Faculty at Brigham Young University, where he has also served as a department chair and an associate dean in the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences. He has authored or co-authored numerous scientific papers and book chapters on parenting/familial linkages with children's social development, most recently from a cross-cultural perspective. Dr Hart also serves on the Biobehavioral and Behavioral Sciences subcommittee, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

List of Contributors ix

Introduction by the Editors xiii

Part I Historical Overview 1

1 Historical Perspectives on Contemporary Research in Social Development 3
W. Andrew Collins

Part II Disciplinary Perspectives on Social Development 23

2 Behavioral Genetics 27
Alice M. Gregory, Harriet A. Ball, and Tanya M. M. Button

3 Conceptual Development and Emotion: A Neuropsychological Perspective 45
Steven Woltering and Marc D. Lewis

4 Evolutionary Perspectives on Social Development 64
David F. Bjorklund and Anthony D. Pellegrini

5 Historical Reframing of Childhood 82
Willem Koops

6 Cultural Psychological Perspectives on Social Development in Childhood 100
Heidi Fung

7 Sociological Perspectives on Social Development 119
Gerald Handel

Part III Ecological Contexts for Social Development 139

8 Culture and Social Development 141
Xinyin Chen, Janet Chung, Rachel Lechcier-Kimel, and Doran French

9 The Social Development of Immigrant Children: A Focus on Asian and Hispanic Children in the United States 161
Charissa S. L. Cheah and Christy Y. Y. Leung

10 Children’s Interpersonal Skills and School-Based Relationships 181
Gary W. Ladd, Becky Kochenderfer-Ladd, and Ann-Margret Rydell

11 Environmental Psychology 207
Christopher Spencer and Kate Gee

Part IV Child and Contextual Factors in Social Development 225

12 Temperament and Social Development 227
Ann Sanson, Sheryl A. Hemphill, Bilge Yagmurlu, and Sandee McClowry

13 Children’s Social Development Within the Socialization Context of Child Care and Early Childhood Education 246
Carollee Howes

14 The Interplay Between Parents and Peers as Socializing Infl uences in Children’s Development 263
Stephanie M. Reich and Deborah Lowe Vandell

15 Sex Differences in Social Behavior 281
Vickie Pasterski, Susan Golombok, and Melissa Hines

16 Ethnicity, Race, and Children’s Social Development 299
Stephen M. Quintana

Part V Family Context 317

17 Parent–Child Attachment in Early and Middle Childhood 319
Laura E. Brumariu and Kathryn A. Kerns

18 Parent–Child Relationships and Influences 337
Alan Russell

19 Sibling Relations in Early and Middle Childhood 356
Nina Howe, Hildy S. Ross, and Holly Recchia

Part VI Peer Group 373

20 Social Status Among Peers: From Sociometric Attraction to Peer Acceptance to Perceived Popularity 375
Shelley Hymel, Leanna M. Closson, Simona C. S. Caravita, and Tracy Vaillancourt

21 Social Skills and Social Competence in Interactions With Peers 393
Antonius H. N. Cillessen and Amy D. Bellmore

22 Emotions and Social Development in Childhood 413
Susanne Denham, Heather Warren, Maria von Salisch, Oana Benga, Jui-Chih Chin, and Elena Geangu

23 Social Withdrawal and Shyness 434
Kenneth H. Rubin, Robert J. Coplan, Julie C. Bowker, and Melissa Menzer

Part VII Play, Cooperation, Competition, Aggression, and Bullying 453

24 Social Play 455
Thomas G. Power

25 Cooperation and Competition 472
Barry H. Schneider, Joyce Benenson, Márta Fülöp, Mihaly Berkics, and Mónika Sándor

26 Aggression in Children 491
Sarah M. Coyne, David A. Nelson, and Marion Underwood

27 Bullying 510
Christina Salmivalli, Kätlin Peets, and Ernest V. E. Hodges

Part VIII Cognition, Helping, and Moral Reasoning 529

28 Social Cognition 531
Charlie Lewis and Jeremy Carpendale

29 Prosocial Behavior 549
Joan E. Grusec, Paul Hastings, and Alisa Almas

30 Children’s Social and Moral Reasoning 567
Charles C. Helwig and Elliot Turiel

31 Children’s Understanding of Society 584
Martyn Barrett and Eithne Buchanan-Barrow

Part IX Intervening in Social Development 603

32 Intervening in Childhood Social Development 605
Mary Ellen Voegler-Lee and Janis B. Kupersmidt

33 The Development of Social Competence in Children With Disabilities 627
Karen E. Diamond, Hsin-Hui Huang, and Elizabeth A. Steed

34 Interventions for Development of Social Skills Among Children in Developing Countries 646
Suman Verma and Rajani Konantambigi

Author Index 663

Subject Index 687