Recent Theories of Human Development

R Murray Thomas, emeritus professor in psychology from the University of California in Santa Barbara, has been very active over the last 50 years in the field of human development with close to 50 books to his name. Human development is the way people change with the passing of time and in this book you will find an introduction with a brief description of nine different models of human development put forward during the 1880-1980s. The rest of the book is devided into three parts: Extensions of tradition, products of social movements and final observations that illustrates the theories of human developemnt during 1980-2000. The last 20 years have been influenced by the discussions of children growing up in poverty, ethnic minorities, sexual orientations and the impact of feminism. The coming years with a wider globalism, the influence of the internet and the impact of international terrorism will certainly have new therories and models come forward to explain human development in the 21st century. A short and quickly read book with an overview of human development for students in psychology, social work, educations and human development.Geula Merrick, CDA, BA(Psych)Child development specialistProfessor Joav Merrick, MDMedical director, Division for Mental Retardation, Box 1260, IL-91012 Jerusalem, Israel.