An INTRODUCING PRACTICAL GUIDE to how children think and grow. Child Psychology is a branch of developmental psychology, which is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life span. Child psychologists examine how children’s brains work even before they are born, through to the beginning of adulthood. They may explore questions of how well children develop language, how they respond to other children and adults, how quickly children become aware of their environment and become autonomous from their parents. In this Practical Guide, child psychologist Kairen Cullen applies the lessons from a lifetime’s research and practice in the area to help you understand - without jargon or technical language - why your child develops in the way he or she does, and how you can best create the conditions for their living a healthy, successful and happy life.

Dr Kairen Cullen
is a chartered psychologist with, and a previous chair of, the Division of
Educational and Child Psychology, British Psychological Society (BPS). She has
written for a number of academic and educational publications including The
Times Educational Supplement and 5 to 7 and Childcare
magazines.

About the author iii Author's note iv INTRODUCTION 1. The reasons behind this book 1 2. What is a child? 4 3. What is psychology? 10 4. Applied psychology practice 22 COGNITIVE THEORY 5. Piaget 26 6. Vygotsky 37 7. Cognitivist Theory 46 8. Information-Processing Theory 57 9. Neuropsychology 63 PSYCHOANALYTICAL THEORY 10. Freud 67 11. Theories of child and parent relationship, including Attachment Theory 77 12. Lifespan Psychology 90 13. Personal Construct (Kellyian) Theory 99 BEHAVIOURISM 14. Pavlov's Classical Conditioning Theory 111 15. Skinner's Instrumental/Operant Conditioning Theory 116 16. Social Learning Theory 125 HUMANISM 17. Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs 133 18. Rogerian Theory 138 19. Adlerian Theory 144 OTHER IMPORTANT THEORIES 20. Social Psychology 148 21. Ecological Systems Theory 159 APPLICATIONS OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 22. Assessment 167 23. Therapeutic work 181 FINAL POINTS 24. Parenting and caring 200 25. Summary 207 References 209 Index 211