David Shaffer is a professor of psychology, chair of the Social Psychology program, and past chair of the Life-Span Developmental Psychology program at the University of Georgia, where he has taught courses in human development to graduate and undergraduate students for the past 30 years. His many research articles have concerned such topics as altruism, attitudes and persuasion, moral development, sex roles and social behavior, self-disclosure, and social psychology and the law. He has also served as associate editor for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Personality and Social Bulletin, and Journal of Personality. In 1990, Dr. Shaffer received the Josiah Meigs award for Excellence in Instruction, the University of Georgia's highest instructional honor.

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.