Infancy is a unique period, in that at no other state is there greater growth and development. During this time, growth is occurring at a physical level, but equally impressive are the socio-emotional and cognitive developments during this time. Genetics, the womb environment, and the physical environment after birth all combine to impact the rate and manner of growth. Who we ultimately become as individuals begins here.
Intended for university and public libraries, the Encyclopedia of Infant and Early Childhood Development is the major reference work that provides a comprehensive entry point into all of the existing literature on child development from the fields of psychology, genetics, neuroscience, and sociology. The scope of this work is to understand the developmental changes, when they occur, why they occur, how they occur, and those factors that influence that development. Although some medical information is included, the emphasis is on normal growth and is primarily from a psychological perspective.
Authors
Marshall M. Haith Professor of Psychology at University of Denver.
Marshall Haith is the John Evans Professor of Psychology at University of Denver. He has also been an NIMH research awardee, director of research at University of Denver, and Guggenehim fellow and visiting professor at University of Geneva, Switzerland. A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Psychological Association, and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, he is a member of the Society for Research in Child Development, the International Society for the Study of Behavior Development, and the International Conference for Infant Studies. Formerly the associate editor of the Monographs for the Society of Child Development, he has served on the editorial board of nine scientific journals relating to infant development and behavior. Recipient of the APA G. Stanley Hall Award for distinguished contributions to developmental psychology in 2000 and the SRCD Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award in 2003, he has authored 10 books and over 75 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles on infancy and early childhood development.
Janette B. Benson Associate Professor, Psychology Department, University of Denver, USA.
Janette B. Benson is an Associate Professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Denver. She served for five years as the Director of the University-wide Office of Academic Assessment and co-chaired the successful University reaccreditation. Most recently she served as the Associate Dean of the Morgridge College of Education (2014-2017). Dr. Benson's expertise is in cognitive and sensorimotor development in infancy and early childhood, and her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, The MacArthur Foundation and the March of Dimes. Dr. Benson has published several articles, book chapters and has edited or co-edited several books, including The Encyclopedia of Infancy and Early Childhood Development. She has been the recipient of several awards and honors, including the University of Denver Scholar - Teacher of the Year (1993), the 2000 CASE Colorado Professor of the Year, a Carnegie Scholar, a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, member of the Board of Directors of Shortridge Academy, and the serial editor of Advances in Child Development and Behavior.