This volume in the JPS Series is intended to help crystallize the emergence of a new field, "Developmental Social Cognitive Neuroscience," aimed at elucidating the neural correlates of the development of socio-emotional experience and behavior. No one any longer doubts that infants are born with a biologically based head start in accomplishing their important life tasks--genetic resources, if you will, that are exploited differently in different contexts. Nevertheless, it is also true that socially relevant neural functions develop slowly during childhood and that this development is owed to complex interactions among genes, social and cultural environments, and children's own behavior. A key challenge lies in finding appropriate ways of describing these complex interactions and the way in which they unfold in real developmental time. This is the challenge that motivates research in developmental social cognitive neuroscience.
The chapters in this book highlight the latest and best research in this emerging field, and they cover a range of topics, including the typical and atypical development of imitation, impulsivity, novelty seeking, risk taking, self and social awareness, emotion regulation, moral reasoning, and executive function. Also addressed are the potential limitations of a neuroscientific approach to the development of social cognition.
Intended for researchers and advanced students in neuroscience and developmental, cognitive, and social psychology, this book is appropriate for graduate seminars and upper-level undergraduate courses on social cognitive neuroscience, developmental neuroscience, social development, and cognitive development.
Industry Reviews
"The application of neuroscientific approaches to the development of social and cognitive behavior is a ! fast-developing field. This book provides expert guidance on what is known-- and what remains to be learned-- about how studies of brain function inform our understanding of developmental transitions in social development from infancy to adulthood. The chapters are thoughtful, masterful, and will be a valuable resource for both the educated novice and seasoned professional." - Seth D. Pollak, University of Wisconsin -- Madison, USA "This comprehensive book ! will provide a valuable resource for both professionals and graduate students who seek a deeper understanding of how the social mind develops." - Jean Decety, University of Chicago, USA "This is a wonderful book. It provides a timely set of contributions at a key time in the emergence of an exciting new field. This work represents a new wave of advances in cognitive neuroscience--one that emphasizes a synthesis and integration of several different lines of investigation--creating a new frontier in understanding the normal and abnormal development of the most fundamentally human (social) aspects of cognition." - Ronald Dahl, University of Pittsburgh, USA
