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26 results in Cambridge Elements

Page 1 of 2

Theory of Mind in Childhood

Theory of Mind in Childhood
  • Diane Poulin-Dubois
  • Coming soon
  • Expected online publication date:
    October 2025
    Print publication:
    31 October 2025
  • This Element describes the development of a Theory of Mind, or mentalizing, in infancy and early childhood. Theory of Mind is a key social cognitive ability that permits children to predict and explain human behaviors by attributing mental states to other people. Understanding mental states gradually progresses from basic desires to false beliefs. The Element reviews the proximal and distal cognitive and social determinants that facilitate early Theory of Mind development. Discoveries in neuroscience contribute to understanding the ontogeny of Theory of Mind. This Element presents an overview of the main theoretical accounts of Theory of Mind development and offers suggestions for future research.
Stress in Childhood

Stress in Childhood
  • Camelia E. Hostinar, Anna M. Parenteau, Geneva M. Jost, Sally Hang, Joanna Y. Guan, Jamie M. Lawler
  • Coming soon
  • Expected online publication date:
    October 2025
    Print publication:
    31 October 2025
  • The innocence of childhood does not protect against exposure to stress. More than half of US children are exposed to adverse experiences, such as abuse, neglect, witnessing domestic violence, parental psychopathology, or divorce, and all children encounter normative stressors like school transitions and challenges with peers. This Element discusses research on stress psychobiology during childhood, from birth to age ten. The Element focuses on important contexts that shape children's responses to stress and their coping capacities, including the family system, peers, schools, neighborhoods, the broader culture, as well as clinical settings. Sources of stress and resilience in each context are described.
Life History and Child Development

Life History and Child Development
  • Lei Chang, Hui Jing Lu
  • Published online:
    06 June 2025
    Print publication:
    26 June 2025
  • The biological life history (LH) theory has been increasingly utilized in psychology, especially in developmental psychology. However, there has not been a comprehensive text on the topic thatalso addresses applications in psychology. This Element fills this void. Organized into five sections, it initially delineates and explains the species-general concepts and principles forming LH theory, emphasizing that, although derived from observations between species, they can be used to explain individual differences within human populations. Grounded in the assumption of phenotypic plasticity, subsequent LH research conducted in psychology covers a wide range of cognitive and social behavioral domains. This body of LH research is discussed next. The Element concludes by presenting four broad recommendations, which, comprising one-quarter of the total content, provide specific directions for future LH research in psychology.
Temperament and Child Development in Context

Temperament and Child Development in Context
  • Liliana J. Lengua, Maria A. Gartstein, Qing Zhou, Craig R. Colder, Debrielle T. Jacques
  • Published online:
    22 November 2024
    Print publication:
    28 November 2024
  • Children's temperament is a central individual characteristic that has significant implications, directly and indirectly, for their social, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and health outcomes, through its evocative and moderating effects on other social and contextual influences. Accounting for these contextual influences is critical to articulating the role of temperament in children's development. This Element defines temperament and describes its roots in neurobiological systems as well as its relevance to children's developmental outcomes, with a focus on understanding the influence of temperament in children's social and environmental contexts. It covers key developmental periods, situating the contribution of temperament to children's development in complex and changing processes and contexts from infancy through adolescence. The Element concludes by underscoring the value of integrating contextual, relational, and dynamic systems approaches and pointing to future directions in temperament research and application.
Children's Defensive Mindset

Children's Defensive Mindset
  • Kenneth A. Dodge
  • Published online:
    14 May 2024
    Print publication:
    06 June 2024
  • The primary psychological process leading aggressive children to grow into dysfunctional adults is a defensive mindset, which encompasses a pattern of deviant social information processing steps, including hypervigilance to threat; hostile attributional biases; psychophysiological reactivity, experience of rage and testosterone release (in males); aggressive problem-solving styles; aggressogenic decision-making biases; and deficient behavioral skills. These processes are acquired in childhood and predict adult maladjustment outcomes, including incarceration and premature death. The antecedents of defensive mindset lie in early childhood experiences of trauma and threat. The Fast Track (FT) intervention was designed to improve social competence in aggressive children. A randomized controlled trial demonstrated that FT is effective in preventing externalizing psychopathology; the primary mediating factor is the reduction of defensive mindset processes. This Element concludes with insights that defensive mindset might also explain dysfunction in other realms, including school culture, parenting, marriage, the workplace, intergroup relationships, politics, and international relations.
Equity for Children in the United States

Equity for Children in the United States
  • Shantel Meek, Evandra Catherine, Xigrid Soto- Boykin, Darielle Blevins
  • Published online:
    27 April 2024
    Print publication:
    23 May 2024
    • Element
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      • Open access
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  • All children deserve access to the conditions and opportunities needed to thrive, including unbiased accessible healthcare and high-quality learning opportunities; safe, toxin-free communities and stable housing; access to nutritious meals; and secure, warm, available, and loving caregivers. Historic and contemporary injustices in US society have created inequities in opportunity and access to resources for Black, Latine, Asian, American Indian and Alaska Native, and other children of color, children with disabilities, children in poverty, and other marginalized children; these have contributed to stark disparities across child development outcomes. This Element overviews inequities in economic, educational, and health systems through historical and contemporary perspectives and describes how these inequities impact children and families. Solutions to address these inequities are considered for a fairer US society, starting with its youngest residents, where all families have what they need to thrive. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Early Childhood and Digital Media

Early Childhood and Digital Media
  • Rachel Barr, Heather Kirkorian, Sarah Coyne, Jenny Radesky
  • Published online:
    24 April 2024
    Print publication:
    23 May 2024
  • Screen time, defined as estimates of child time spent with digital media, is considered harmful to very young children. At the same time, the use of digital media by children under five years of age has increased dramatically, and with the advent of mobile and streaming media can occur anywhere and at any time. Digital media has become an integral part of family life. Imprecise global screen time estimates do not capture multiple factors that shape family media ecology. In this Element, the authors discuss the need to shift the lens from screen time measures to measures of family media ecology, describe the new Dynamic, Relational, Ecological Approach to Media Effects Research (DREAMER) framework, and more comprehensive digital media assessments. The authors conclude this Element with a roadmap for future research using the DREAMER framework to better understand how digital media use is associated with child outcomes.
The Adopted Child

The Adopted Child
  • David Brodzinsky, Jesus Palacios
  • Published online:
    18 December 2023
    Print publication:
    01 February 2024
  • This Element overviews recent research on children's adjustment to adoption and its relevance for key questions addressed in developmental science. First, a historical perspective on trends in adoption practice and adoptive family life is offered. Second, research on children's adjustment to adoption is reviewed, including the impact of early adversity on their development, as well as biological and social factors related to their recovery from adversity. Third, factors impacting adoptive identity development are examined, followed by research on open adoption and adoption by sexual minority adults. Fourth, different types of postadoption support and services that facilitate family stability and children's emotional well-being are analyzed. Finally, conclusions are drawn, and recommendations for future research and practice are offered.
Giftedness in Childhood

Giftedness in Childhood
  • Robert J. Sternberg, Ophélie A. Desmet
  • Published online:
    02 December 2023
    Print publication:
    18 January 2024
  • Giftedness often is defined in a transactional way: individuals give something in return for getting something from authorities who label them as gifted; the labeling authority then expects those individuals identified as 'gifted' to act in ways that justify the label. The authors place emphasis on transformational giftedness-giftedness that serves to make the world a better place. This Element stresses the importance of intelligence, not of the kind of narrow intelligence measured by IQ tests and their proxies, but rather the kind of broad intelligence used to adapt to a variety of real-world environments. The authors further discuss the nature of dual exceptionality, whereby individuals may be identified as having a disability yet at the same time act in gifted ways and thereby harbor the potential to contribute to the world in some distinguished fashion.
Socialization and Socioemotional Development in Chinese Children

Socialization and Socioemotional Development in Chinese Children
  • Xinyin Chen
  • Published online:
    24 February 2023
    Print publication:
    09 March 2023
  • Children's early temperamental characteristics have a pervasive impact on the development of socioemotional functioning. Through socialization and social interaction processes, cultural beliefs and values play a role in shaping the meanings of socioemotional characteristics and in determining their developmental patterns and outcomes. This Element focuses on socialization and socioemotional development in Chinese children. The Element first briefly describes Chinese cultural background for child development, followed by a discussion of socialization cognitions and practices. Then, it discusses socioemotional characteristics in the early years of life, including temperamental reactivity and self-control, mainly in terms of their cultural meanings and developmental significance. Next, the Element reviews research on Chinese children's and adolescents' social behaviors, including prosocial behavior, aggression, and shyness. Given the massive social changes that have been occurring in China, their implications for socialization and socioemotional development are discussed in these sections. The Element concludes with suggestions for future research directions.
Children and Climate Change

Children and Climate Change
  • Ann V. Sanson, Karina Padilla Malca, Judith Van Hoorn, Susie Burke
  • Published online:
    25 August 2022
    Print publication:
    22 September 2022
  • The existential threat posed by climate change presents a challenge to all those concerned about the next generation. This Element reviews and discusses its implications for the development of children (ages 0-12) today and in the future, and for the parents, teachers, researchers, and professionals who have responsibility for children. This Element adopts a bioecological model to examine both the direct impacts on children's physical and psychological well-being as well as indirect impacts through all the systems external to the child, emphasizing the greater vulnerability of children in the Global South. Given evidence of well-founded climate anxiety, this Element examines children's coping strategies and discusses the key roles of caregivers and schools in protecting and preparing children to face current and future challenges – with knowledge, hope, and agency as central themes. This Element highlights many under-researched areas and calls for action by all those caring for and about children's future.
Autobiographical Memory and Narrative in Childhood

Autobiographical Memory and Narrative in Childhood
  • Robyn Fivush
  • Published online:
    26 July 2022
    Print publication:
    18 August 2022
  • This Element delineates how the narrative expression of autobiographical memory develops through everyday interactions that frame the forms and functions of autobiographical remembering. Narratives are both outward and inward facing, providing the interface between how we perceive the world and how we perceive ourselves. Thus narratives are the pivot point where self and culture meet. To make this argument, the author brings together literature from multiple perspectives, including cognitive, personality, evolutionary, cultural, and developmental psychology. To fully understand autobiographical memory, it must be understood how it functions in the context of lives lived in complex sociocultural contexts.
Cognitive Development in Infancy and Childhood

Cognitive Development in Infancy and Childhood
  • Mary Gauvain
  • Published online:
    21 July 2022
    Print publication:
    11 August 2022
  • This Element describes the main theories that guide contemporary research in cognitive development along with research discoveries in several important cognitive abilities: attention, language, social cognition, memory, metacognition and executive function, and problem solving and reasoning. Biological and social contributions are considered side-by-side, and cultural contributions are highlighted. As children participate in social interactions and learn to use cultural symbols and tools to organize and support their thinking, the behaviors and understandings of the social community and the culture more broadly become an integral part of children's thoughts and actions. Culture, the natural ecological setting or habitat of human beings, plays a significant role by providing support and direction for cognitive development. Without the capacity to learn socially, human cognition would be markedly different from what it is today.
Children's Imagination

Children's Imagination
  • Paul L. Harris
  • Published online:
    03 June 2022
    Print publication:
    23 June 2022
  • Children's imagination was traditionally seen as a wayward, desire-driven faculty that is eventually constrained by rationality. A more recent, Romantic view claims that young children's fertile imagination is increasingly dulled by schooling. Contrary to both perspectives, this Element argues that, paradoxically, children's imagination draws much inspiration from reality. Hence, when they engage in pretend play, envision the future, or conjure up counterfactual possibilities, children rarely generate fantastical possibilities. Their reality-guided imagination enables children to plan ahead and to engage in informative thought experiments. Nevertheless, when adults present children with less reality-based possibilities – via biblical narratives or the endorsement of special beings – children are receptive. Indeed, such imaginary possibilities can infuse their otherwise commonsensical appraisal of reality. Finally, like adults, young children enjoy being absorbed into a make-believe, fictional world but faced with real-world problems calling for creativity, they often need guidance, given their limited knowledge of prior solutions.
Children's Eyewitness Testimony and Event Memory

Children's Eyewitness Testimony and Event Memory
  • Martha E. Arterberry
  • Published online:
    03 June 2022
    Print publication:
    23 June 2022
  • This Element addresses the factors that influence children's accuracy in reporting on events and draws implications for children's ability to serve as reliable eyewitnesses. The following topics are covered: short- and long-term memory for event details; memory for stressful events; memory for the temporal order of events; memory for the spatial location of events; the ways poorly worded questions or intervening events interfere with memory; and individual differences in language development, understanding right from wrong and emotions, and cognitive processes. In addition, this Element considers how potential jurors perceive children as eyewitnesses and how the findings of the research on children's event memory inform best practices for interviewing children.
The Child as Visual Artist

The Child as Visual Artist
  • Ellen Winner, Jennifer E. Drake
  • Published online:
    12 April 2022
    Print publication:
    12 May 2022
  • This Element focuses on the development of drawing (and painting) in childhood. The author begins by examining children's representational drawing, a topic that has received quite wide attention from the nineteenth century on. The author then turns to issues that have received far less attention and discusses the aesthetic property of expression, weighing the claim that young children's highly expressive drawings bear an affinity to twentieth century modernist art. The author then examines the function of drawing for children's emotional development. Next, looking at art prodigies, the author turns to the how of drawing, considering the relation of drawing talent to IQ and to visual-spatial skills. Finally, the author considers the relation between development and education in art and how educators can best nurture children's artistic development.
Depression in Children's Lives

Depression in Children's Lives
  • Keith Crnic, Betty Lin
  • Published online:
    07 August 2021
    Print publication:
    26 August 2021
  • Although childhood depressive disorders are relatively rare, the experience of depression in children's lives is not. Developmental contextual perspectives denote the importance of considering both depressive disorder and the experience of subclinical depressive symptoms in the child and the family to fully understand the implications of depressive experience for children's developmental well-being. This Element draws on basic emotion development and developmental psychopathology perspectives to address the nature of depressive experience in childhood, both symptoms and disorder, focusing on seminal and recent research that details critical issues regarding its phenomenology, epidemiology, continuity, etiology, consequences, and interventions to ameliorate the developmental challenges inherent in the experience. These issues are addressed within the context of the child's own experience and from the perspective of parent depression as a critical context that influences children's developmental well-being. Conclusions include suggestions for new directions in research on children's lives that focus on more systemic processes.
The Science of Children's Religious and Spiritual Development

The Science of Children's Religious and Spiritual Development
  • Annette Mahoney
  • Published online:
    24 July 2021
    Print publication:
    26 August 2021
  • This Element provides a comprehensive yet concise account of scientific research on children's religious and spiritual (RS) development. After providing a historical sketch of definitional issues in the science of RS, the first section reviews basic descriptive information on children's RS development as well as wholistic theoretical models and measures of children's RS development. The second section covers evidence about links of child and parental RS to children's psychosocial adjustment, and highlights the need for more research that discriminates specific positive and negative manifestations of RS for children's development. The third section summarizes evidence about the robust influence of parents on their children's RS development and parents' perceptions of their role in this process. The fourth section focuses on cognitive-developmental research on children's cognitions about God/deities and prayer. The Element concludes with a synopsis of key themes and challenges that researchers face to advance the science of children's RS development.
Whole-Child Development, Learning, and Thriving

Whole-Child Development, Learning, and Thriving
  • A Dynamic Systems Approach
  • Pamela Cantor, Richard M. Lerner, Karen J. Pittman, Paul A. Chase, Nora Gomperts
  • Published online:
    30 April 2021
    Print publication:
    20 May 2021
  • We discuss whole-child development, learning, and thriving through a dynamic systems theory lens that focuses on the United States and includes an analysis of historical challenges in the American public education system, including inequitable resources, opportunities, and outcomes. To transform US education systems, developmental and learning scientists, educators, policymakers, parents, and communities must apply the knowledge they have today to 1. challenge the assumptions and goals that drove the design of the current US education system, 2. articulate a revised, comprehensive definition of whole-child development, learning, and thriving that accepts rather than simplifies how human beings develop, 3. create a profound paradigm shift in how the purpose of education is described in the context of social, cultural, and political forces, including the impacts of race, privilege, and bias and 4. describe a new dynamic 'language' for measurement of both the academic competencies and the full set of 21st century skills.
Socializing Children

Socializing Children
  • Joan E. Grusec, Maayan Davidov
  • Published online:
    30 April 2021
    Print publication:
    27 May 2021
  • Complaints are often made that recommendations about how to rear children are contradictory and, therefore, not helpful. In this Element we survey the history of theory and research relevant to childrearing in an attempt to show how apparent differences can be resolved. We suggest that socialization occurs in different domains, with each domain fostering socialization in a different way. Thus there is no all-purpose principle or mechanism of socialization but, rather, different forms of relationship between child and agent that serve a different function, involve different rules for effecting behavior change, and facilitate different outcomes. Using this framework, we survey research relevant to different domains, including the roles played by parents, siblings, and peers in the socialization process. We follow this with a discussion of how culture and biology make their contribution to an understanding of domains of socialization.

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