First published in 1981. This volume is the first of a new a new series designed, as the name implies, to survey in thoughtful detail important new strides in developmental psychology. In selecting the chapters to appear in this volume, the authors first identified those researchers whose recent work has provided or promises to provide new understanding of the processes and course of development across the life span. Each of the researchers so identified was then invited to prepare a manuscript describing the research and its theoretical implications. As a result, the chapters present exceptionally valuable perspectives on those aspects of developmental psychology exhibiting significant recent progress.