Emerging Minds: The Process of Change in Children's Thinking [Paperback]

Robert S. Siegler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 1998

How do children acquire the vast array of concepts, strategies, and skills that distinguish the thinking of infants and toddlers from that of preschoolers, older children, and adolescents? In this new book, Robert Siegler addresses these and other fundamental questions about children's thinking. Previous theories have tended to depict cognitive development much like a staircase. At an early age, children think in one way; as they get older, they step up to increasingly higher ways of thinking. Siegler proposes that viewing the development within an evolutionary framework is more useful than a staircase model. The evolution of species depends on mechanisms for generating variability, for choosing adaptively among the variants, and for preserving the lessons of past experience so that successful variants become increasingly prevalent. The development of children's thinking appears to depend on mechanisms to fulfill these same functions. Siegler's theory is consistent with a great deal of evidence. It unifies phenomena from such areas as problem solving, reasoning, and memory, and reveals commonalities in the thinking of people of all ages. Most important, it leads to valuable insights regarding a basic question about children's thinking asked by cognitive, developmental, and educational psychologists: How does change occur?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Siegler proposes a paradigmatic shift in the field of child development, away from the study of `essences' and toward the study of change. . . . The results are intriguing and perhaps revolutionary--must-reading for professionals in the field of cognition."--Choice

"This is one of those rare books that promises to change the way that psychologists view the central problem of developmental psychology. . .Siegler provides a cogent and convincing argument that variability is a constant in thought at all levels and provides the key to cutting through to the problem of cognitive change. . . Few will be able to read it without considering how to apply this model and methods to their own domain of interest." --Kevin Miller, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

About the Author

Robert S. Siegler, Professor of Psycholoy, Carnegie Mellon University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (October 29, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195126637
• ISBN-13: 978-0195126631
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #926,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Will Change your Mind!, December 8, 2011

By 

Tina912 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Emerging Minds: The Process of Change in Children's Thinking (Paperback)

Must read for any developmental, cognitive, or educational psychologist. Actually, for any researcher interested in change (which should be everyone)! Siegler presents the microgenetic method of research based on overlapping waves theory and gives an immense amount of supporting evidence, both theoretical and research-based. He also explains HOW to implement this research method. Just makes me wonder why this method is still so rare to find in the literature.