Once upon a time, although it seems barely credible to us now, we were all children. We gurgled, we cried, we laughed, we explored, we fell down, and we had very little idea about the journey on which we had just embarked.

Barring mishap, over the first few years of our lives we developed memory, language, self-concept, cognitive, social and emotional abilities. We took our first steps towards our future selves.

Child psychology - or, more broadly, developmental psychology - is not just the study of children, it is the study of you and me and how we came to be this way. Just as discovering your history can teach you about the future, so child psychology shows us what we once were and even what we will become.

Here are 10 classic studies that have illuminated crucial areas of childhood development. Each one is a piece in the jigsaw puzzle that is ourselves, and each one reminds us, through examining just one piece, how aspects of experience we now take for granted were once so complex.

1. Infant Memory Works From Very Early
2. When the Self Emerges: Is That Me in the Mirror?
3. How Children Learn the Earth Isn't Flat
4. The 'Strange Situation': Window on a Child's Past and Future
5. Infants Imitate Others When Only Weeks Old
6. When Children Begin to Simulate Other Minds
7. Infants are Intuitive Physicists: Object Permanence
8. How Infants Start the Journey to Their First Word
9. 6 Types of Play: How We Learn to Work Together
10. Jean Piaget's Four-Stage Theory: How Children Acquire Knowledge

[Image credit: Patrick Q]

Making Habits, Breaking Habits

In his new book, Jeremy Dean--psychologist and author of PsyBlog--looks at how habits work, why they are so hard to change, and how to break bad old cycles and develop new healthy, creative, happy habits.

→ "Making Habits, Breaking Habits", is available now on Amazon.

Reviews
The Bookseller, “Editor’s Pick,” 10/12/12 “Sensible and very readable…By far the most useful of this month’s New You offerings.”

Kirkus Reviews, 1/1/13 “Making changes does take longer than we may expect—no 30-day, 30-pounds-lighter quick fix—but by following the guidelines laid out by Dean, readers have a decent chance at establishing fulfilling, new patterns.”

Publishers Weekly, 12/10/12 “An accessible and informative guide for readers to take control of their lives.”

→ You can dip into the first chapter, or check it out on Amazon.com.