About this item
How do we get from helpless baby to knowing teenager? What impact do television, computers and iPads, the internet, video games and evolving technology have on the way children's minds develop? Is cognition a question of learning and environment or of heredity? How we learn to think, perceive, remember, talk, reason and learn is a central topic in psychology - and one that sees constant new research. In this very readable book, David Cohen discusses the latest studies and covers all the controversies that have dogged the subject for nearly 150 years. He examines the work of the 'greats' like Piaget, Freud and Vygotsky and shows how the issues that have intrigued psychologists relate to any child growing up today. This book is for everyone who lives with, works with or studies children.
About the Author
Author biogs are so tedious usually as one waffles about one's qualities, insights and. if wise, doesn't use the space to settle scores with old enemies. When I used to do reviews for the Times Higher Educatrional Supplement I once wrote a mildly critical review of a book by a distinguished psychologist. When I went to interview him, he said 'you hurt me, you hurt me'. He was in his mid 60s. Thirty years of success in psychology had left him with no self confidence.But Tajfel was a nice man - and did ground breaking work on why we are prejudiced. He is one of those I interviewed for my first book, Psychologists on Psychology which Routledge have recently reissued.Prejudice features in a new Kindle - Pervitudes which I provide a foreword for. Pervitudes is the account of a troubled teenager and Kidd's experiences of what he calls Therapie as his therapist (not me) is particularly fond of steak and oyster pie, apple pie, lemon pie, steak and kidney pie, fish pie, pish pie and Tarte Tintin. Freud only saw one child as a patient (Little Hans) . Little Hans was frightened unconsciously natch that his father would castrate him. But he could not admit fears so he refused to leave the house because a horse might attack him. Freud diagnosed that Hans' dad had a moustache which made him look like a horse. No wonder the surrealists made Freud their patron saint.After Little Hans, Freud did not treat any children. When you read Kidd's account, you can only applaud Freud's wisdom. Kidd's adventures bring him into conflict with Judge Wig, Sgt No Brains, P.C Tazer and Head Teach. He gets the better of them rather like Jane Eyre does in the end. I hope you're intrigued enough to risk £1.98.I have also written a foreword to Talking Sense about medicine by Richard Asher, the father of the actor Jane Asher. He was a famous physician in the 1950s and 60s who wrote for the Lancet among many others. His essays are wise, funny and still relevant. Asher taught the late Oliver Sacks who said "I thought Richard Asher a most remarkable teacher, physician and human being.'Whether Kidd will ever meet Prince George is interesting. Still Advice to Prince George on how to cope with what is likely to be a long apprenticeship for the throne. It's not very reverent but it does draw on my research into royal history and child psychology. It stems from research I did for Bringing Them Up Royal. I became a writer for a number of reasons. Vanity, of course. Show me the writer who dosen't have some of that. Interesting experiences I wanted to share. And the bizarre pleasure of getting the stuff down on the page. Much but not all of my writing has been about psychology and psychiatry. I've also tackled the death of Diana - because I've had a second career as a film maker - as well as Mrs Beeton and my own childhood. My parents left me in a fine flat in the West End when I was just under thirteen and I managed never to le
