Includes bibliographical references (p. 439-464) and indexes.

1. Defining and categorizing theories and exploring their historical roots --
2. Applying human development theories in research and practice --
3. Theories with major emphasis on personality and social-emotional development --
4. Further theoretical perspectives on personality and social-emotional development --
5. Life span theoretical perspectives on personality and social-emotional developmental change --
6. Theories with major emphasis on cognitive and language development --
7. Further theoretical perspectives on cognitive and language development --
8. Theories with major emphasis on sociomoral and gender role development --
9. Further theoretical perspectives on sociomoral and gender role development --
10. Life span theories of cognitive, sociomoral, gender role, and physical/motor/perceptual development --
11. Theoretical perspectives from physical/motor and perceptual development, neuroscience, and behavioral genetics --
12. Theoretical perspectives from ecological, bioecological, developmental psychobiological, and nonlinear dynamical systems -- Epilogue: The future of human developmental theory.

Throughout years of teaching various courses in psychology, Doris Bergen struggled with a familiar problem in Human Development classes: the texts available to her did not meet the needs of the types of students in her classes. In teaching students who were primarily working towards degrees in professional practice, rather than those focusing on advanced degrees in psychology, the current texts did not present theoretical work in a way that helped her students translate the concepts into their careers. Here, Doris Bergen has authored a text that does just that. By making the theoretical issues relevant and accessible to students going into professional practice, enabling them to apply theory to case examples, and helping them see which theories are focused primarily on specific developmental domains, this text will give students the edge they need as they move forward in their working lives.