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J Youth Adolescence (2015) 44:229231 DOI 10.1007/s10964-014-0217-5
BOOK REVIEW
Jerome Kagan: The Human Spark: The Science of Human Development
Basic Books, New York, 2013, 333 pp, ISBN: 9780465029822
Jordan Schutz
Received: 1 November 2014 / Accepted: 3 November 2014 / Published online: 9 November 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014
The Human Spark: The Science of Human Development, by Harvard Professor Jerome Kagan, delves into what makes a human a human. He compares the early development of human beings to that of chimpanzees. Kagan argues that chimpanzees and humans progress in development at a similar rate and in the same ways throughout the rst 2 years of life, up until the second birthday. This is the time when the environment, socioeconomic background and parenting styles begin to play a role in growth and development of a child. The central idea of Kagans book is to decipher all of the aspects that contribute to the human spark, or how humans become who they are based on genetics and environmental factors present throughout the period of adolescence. This book is tailored to various audiences, parents, developmental psychologist, social psychologists and those who had not made up their minds about the dening features of human nature and the forces that transform (Kagan 2013, p. xiii). Despite these claims, the book is largely written for psychologists that interpret child and adolescent development.
Kagan began this book as a revision of his The Nature of Childhood. But after the completion of many chapters, he decided that The Human Spark discussed issues that were much more advanced at this time, such as the inborn characteristics of a human that are to develop through adolescence (cognitive and motor skills, emotions, beliefs and moral ideals) and how these characteristics vary due to environmental differences. He cites data and information from studies conducted at various institutions around the country to provide data for his conclusions concerning the beliefs about modern adolescent development.
As the rst chapter states in the title, it is Setting the Stage for what is to come in terms of child development. That chapter discusses the environmental effects on an individuals development, such as the experiences that are had, even those that occur right after birth. Humans have the capacity...