Comparative Psychology of Mental Development
Comparative Psychology of Mental Development

Author: Heinz Werner

Publisher: Eliot Werner Publications/Percheron Press

Published: 2004-12-31

Total Pages: 605

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This classic work, first published in German in 1926 and subsequently in English in 1940, was the first comprehensive introduction to the field of comparative developmental psychology. In her new prologue to this reprint of the revised edition, originally published by International Universities Press in 1948, Margery Franklin sketches the key events in Werner's life, the major themes in his concept of development, and relevant issues for today's scholars.

The Development and Meaning of Psychological Distance
The Development and Meaning of Psychological Distance

Author: Rodney R. Cocking

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2013-06-17

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 1134759576

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

One of the paradoxes in developmental theory is the child's simultaneous intrapsychic and interpsychic development. While the child is growing in mental capacity and struggling to define self, behaviors are also being learned whose function is to integrate self into a social network, which often means that egocentric behaviors are in conflict with sociocentric ones. This theory draws upon processes that promote both individual and social growth into a unified theory of development. A construct pertinent to almost all dimensions of psychological research, psychological distance is conceptualized as either the distance between what the learner understands and what still has to be understood (intrapsychic), or ways in which others adjust information for the learner in order to be fully comprehended (interpsychic). Psychological distance appears to serve both organizing and explanatory functions across seemingly diverse sets of theoretical and research questions, such as differentiation of self in personality development; conceptual representation in cognitive development; dialogue in the development of communication skills; information processing in cognitive science; regulatory mechanisms in the growth of control processes; and concept formation in cross-over areas of cognition, learning and thinking skills. This volume is based on papers presented as part of the Invitational Conference honoring Irving E. Sigel, Distinguished Research Scientist, at Educational Testing Service. In each of the chapters different models are utilized to account for the construct of psychological distance, and as such, to suggest extensions of Sigel's seminal work in this area. Together, these contributions form the basis of a discussion of psychological distance as a developmental construct -- a construct which permits serious consideration of individual differences as a function of both the process and the product of cognition and ecology.