How are we to understand the complex forces that shape human be- havior?
A variety of diverse perspectives, drawing on studies of human
behavioral ontogeny, as well as humanity's evolutionary heritage, seem
to provide the best likelihood of success. It is in an attempt to
synthesize such potentially disparate approaches to human development
into an integrated whole that we undertake this series on the genesis of
behav- ior. In many respects, the incredible burgeoning of research in
child development over the last decade or two seems like a thousand
lines of inquiry spreading outward in an incoherent starburst of effort.
The need exists to provide, on an ongoing basis, an arena of discourse
within which the threads of continuity between those diverse lines of
research on human development can be woven into a fabric of meaning and
understanding. Scientists, scholars, and those who attempt to translate
their efforts into the practical realities of the care and guidance of
infants and children are the audience that we seek to reach. Each
requires the opportunity to see-to the degree that our knowledge in
given areas permits-various aspects of development in a coherent,
integrated fash- ion. It is hoped that this series-which will bring
together research on infant biology, developing infant capacities,
animal models, the impact of social, cultural, and familial forces on
development, and the distorted products of such forces under certain
circumstances-will serve these important social and scientific needs.
