The fourth edition of this popular text discusses increased life expectancy, changing attitudes towards single parents and child care, the rise of dual-earner marriages, and diverging child disciplinary practices. Professors Newman and Newman take a social developmental perspective on growth from conception to old age, integrating physical, cognitive, emotional and social factors in its examination of the interaction among individuals, the family, and society. Each life stage is presented in terms of different developmental tasks, psychosocial crises and the means of resolving those crises. Development Through Life, describes how research and theory can be applied to tangible concerns and practice. There is a new chapter devoted to the very old, including an original psychosocial analysis. Four photo essays in colour on prenatal development, daycare, parenting and the healthy elderly are featured as well. This updated text contains a larger number of cases and boxes highlighting specific research questions. Approximately 20 Picassos have been added to the book's elegent collection.