The period of human development from birth to eighteen months holds a unique attraction for psychologists interested in cognitive development. It is not only that many look to these early stages for evidence of the origins of later abilities such as language, but also that questions about the interactions of environmental circumstances and genetic transmission often come to focus on infancy.

This reader contains a selection of edited papers that present major findings of the last 20 years of infancy research and reflect currently active research lines. It includes readings on motor development, cultural context, learning, perception, concept formation, the object concept, early social behaviout and continuity.

Prepared as a source book for a third-level Open University course, Cognitive Development, this volume will also be of interest to other people interested in learning more about the abilities and mental processes of infants, and about current research and theory in these areas. It will be particularly appropriate for use in undergraduate and gradute courses in psychology with a developmental context.