Applied Developmental Psychology

The book sets a new standard for the description and analysis of child rearing and development in a non-Western society. It gives English-speaking readers access - at last - to the fascinating systematic research Japanese psychologists have been doing on Japanese children in a wide variety of contemporary contexts: in families with working mothers, with video games and comic books, in school, and under conditions of disability. Its chapters cover issues ranging from truancy and bullying to literacy and mathematics learning, often with longitudinal data that show developmental as well as historical trends. The results, clearly presented in impeccable and accessible English, provide a multi-faceted cultural understanding of Japanese child development, not as a single portrait of 'The Japanese Child,' but with individual differences, societal complexity and social change as central parts of the picture. - Robert LeVine, Harvard University; I am delighted by the landmark publication of this volume edited by Dr. Nakazawa and the Shwalbs, who have contributed so much over the years to the internationalization of Japanese developmental psychology. It presents both empirical and theoretical perspectives on Japanese phenomena that are becoming important aspects of world youth culture through globalization. The research also represents the growing originality of Japanese applied studies. - Takeshi Asao, President, Japanese Society of Developmental Psychology; This finely edited volume is a gem of interdisciplinary scholarship. It follows naturally from the Shwalbs' brilliant 1996 volume (Japanese Childrearing) that focused on historical works and perspectives. Blending developmental, cultural, theoretical and applied perspectives, the Shwalbs and Nakazawa have now assembled a comprehensive view of modern research on child development in Japan. It stands alone as a research anthology for specialists in developmental or cross-cultural psychology; at another level it serves as an overview of Japanese cultural issues. - Charles M. Super and Sara Harkness, University of Connecticut