In celebration of 50 years of Concepts and Theories of Human Development, leading voices in developmental science share their personal connections to this landmark textbook. Hear how Richard Lerner’s work has shaped their scholarship, influenced generations of students and researchers, and continues to advance the field today.
Marvin Berkowitz
Sanford N. McDonnell Endowed Professor of Character Education, and Co-Director of the Center for Character and Citizenship at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and University of Missouri President’s Thomas Jefferson Professor, USA
“It certainly helped my teaching immensely, but it also helped my scholarship.”
Margaret Beale Spencer
Charles F. Grey Distinguished Service Professor Emerita, The University of Chicago, USA
“Dr. Lerner has modeled what it means to be both a rigorous scholar and also a principled human being, one whose theoretical commitments have always been inseparable from a deep respect for the dignity, complexity, and potential of all people.”
David Moore
Professor Emeritus of Developmental Psychology at Pitzer College and Director, Claremont Infant Study Center, USA
“As relevant today as it was 50 years ago when it first burst on the scene.”
Jay Joseph
Clinical Psychologist and Author, USA
“Dr. Lerner has made an outstanding contribution to the developmental psychology literature and in the process helps expose the fallacies of genetic determinism and race science.”
Elizabeth Dowling
Research Professor and Deputy Director of the Institute of Applied Research and Youth Development at Tufts University, USA
“The most comprehensive book about human development that I have ever been made aware of or read.”
William Damon
Director of the Stanford Center on Adolescence, Professor of Education at Stanford University, and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, USA
“I have long considered [this book] to be the go-to source for understanding the foundational ideas in developmental science.”
Jennifer Urban
Professor of Family Science and Human Development, Montclair State University, USA
“The fifth edition of Concepts and Theories of Human Development is a gift to the field, as is its prolific author.”
Alexander von Eye
Former Professor of Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria and Professor of Psychology, Michigan State University, USA
“Clearly, this volume is a must-read for scholars in the domain of human development, and also in the domains of social and behavioral sciences in general.”
Daniel P Cervone
Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
“The 1976 first edition of Concepts and Theories of Human Development has been around in one office or another of mine since I was in graduate school.”
Michael F Mascolo
Executive Director at the Common Ground Institute, Salem, USA
“Lerner’s work brings together practicality, theoretical rigor, and philosophical sophistication.”
Kendall Cotton Bronk
Professor of Psychology at Claremont Graduate University, USA
“Rich Lerner has made a really profound contribution to the field, and this book reflects the depth, the clarity, and the integrative vision that have defined his scholarship for decades.”