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The author, Professor of Psychology at New York University, has surveyed in surprising depth seven major theories of child development. They are presented systematically in separate sections: Fritz Heider and Naïve Psychology, Kurt Lewin and Field Theory, The Theory of Jean Piaget, Sigmund Freud and the Psychoanalytic Theory of Development, Stimulus-Response Theories, Heinz Werner: The Organismic Developmental Point of View, and Talcott Parsons and Robert F. Bales: The Sociological Viewpoint.
The material has been well organized and is lucidly written. The weakest part of the book is the concluding chapter, Toward an Integrated Theory of Child Development—the price one must pay for eclecticism and scientism. However this does not detract from the value of the volume for the college student beginning the study of child development. It can also be recommended to the psychoanalyst seeking a reliable survey of nonpsychoanalytic theories, especially the work of Piaget which receives one hundred thirty-three pages, the longest section in the book.