Jeremy I.M. Carpendale

The chapters in this book address the fundamental issues faced by developmental theories concerning the roles of the individual and the collective in the development of rationality and morality, as well as the issues of relativism, enculturation and internalization. Various theoretical perspectives of these issues are discussed including dynamic systems theories, and the work of Piaget, Vygotsky and Wittgenstein. Chapters also focus on how these issues are played out in particular areas of development, including the development of rationality, morality, prosocial behavior and social cognition in infancy and childhood, as well as education.

Presumably psychologists, though none admit so, delve into how the psychological development of an individual is influenced by society. Chief among the problems they address are how to conceptualize both the relation between the individual and society or collective, and the contributions of society to the emergence of rational and moral norms. They also present and evaluate developmental psychologist Piaget's unique but still widely bypassed treatment of these issues.… (meer)