Table Of ContentPraise for
THE DEVELOPING MIND
“Welcome to an intellectual feast that will also enrich your emotional life.
Siegel is masterful at synthesizing multidisciplinary knowledge to give us an
understanding of the mind that is both scientifically rigorous and richly imbued
with experiential meaning. The third edition of this classic text incorporates new
findings from thousands of recent studies, while retaining the fresh excitement
of the field of interpersonal neurobiology that Siegel inaugurated 20 years ago.
Indispensable reading for anyone interested in how the mind emerges from the
interface between brain and interpersonal experience.”
—AliciA F. liebermAn, PhD, Irving B. Harris Endowed Chair
in Infant Mental Health and Professor, Department of Psychiatry,
University of California, San Francisco
“I can only describe this as a unique and astounding book about child development
that every therapist must have in his or her library. Siegel is thorough and
incredibly informative as he explains the child’s developing social mind and
brain. The book is also very readable.” —John m. GottmAn, PhD,
The Gottman Institute, Seattle, Washington
“Siegel presents an up-to-the-minute third edition of a book that is already in wide
use. He elucidates the neurological underpinnings and social processes that have
made humans—with our peculiar questing for intersubjective engagement—so
different emotionally from other apes. No book I know of more clearly lays out,
step by step, how people develop in response to those around them, and how
variable those outcomes can be.” —SArAh blAFFer hrdy, PhD,
Professor Emerita of Anthropology, University of California, Davis
“This comprehensive book reviews three decades of neuroscience related to
learning with others in the early months, and reveals new ideas about how the
mind grows when a child is thriving. Siegel, a leader in child and family mental
health, generously shares his expertise. He traces how the infant is committed
from birth to play a part in the life of a community of personalities, and how
our emotions, bodies, and brains move together in search of kindness and
connection.”
— colwyn trevArthen, PhD, FRSE, Professor Emeritus of Child Psychology
and Psychobiology, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
“The importance of Siegel’s work has been reflected in the interest, enthusiasm,
and joy that his interpersonal neurobiology has brought to people around the
world for more than two decades. The third edition of The Developing Mind
presents the ongoing neuroscientific research that supports the book’s initial
hypotheses and expands their applications in psychotherapy, education, and
mindfulness. It offers a window into Siegel’s evolving synthesis of his theories of
mind into the core of interpersonal neurobiology. Readers will find themselves
on a wonderful intellectual and personal journey.” —louiS cozolino, PhD,
Graduate School of Education and Psychology, Pepperdine University
“An astonishing accomplishment. Somehow, Siegel explains the amazingly
complex human mind to nonscientists and scientists alike. As a child psychologist,
I find much of The Developing Mind of great interest and relevance to my
practice, including excellent material on early attachment and trauma. The third
edition has been completely updated with the most recent research and writings
across multiple disciplines. Students and professionals in diverse fields will find
interesting and useful material in this impressive work.”
—deborAh roth ledley, PhD, private practice,
Plymouth Meeting and Narberth, Pennsylvania
“I used the second edition in our required social work practice course for graduate
students. My students gained an understanding of the meaning of ‘mind,’ how the
mind emerges from the brain, and the way the mind is shaped by interpersonal
relationships. I used the text to demonstrate how an interpersonal neurobiology
framework can be utilized in assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of infants,
children, and adolescents. Readings and discussions also helped students explore
aspects of their own identity and subjective mental processes.”
— mAriAn S. hArriS, PhD, School of Social Work
and Criminal Justice, University of Washington Tacoma
“Siegel skillfully navigates readers through the disquiet of fatalism and destiny
toward hope and understanding of how our neurobiology is shaped by our society
and how we in turn shape our society. . . . Siegel provides a well-integrated
thesis on the developing mind and leads the reader from an understanding of the
neuron and neuronal networks to the development of social meaning and the
social experience within the context of neurobiology. . . . In-depth exploration
is encouraged by the excellent citations. The Developing Mind is an outstanding
addition to the library of those who are interested in how the mind develops, and
it is likely to become a well-thumbed reference over the years.”
—PsycCRITIQUES
“Fulfilled my wildest expectations. Instead of laboriously struggling to learn
about neurobiology, I found myself fairly effortlessly assimilating information
because 1) the author is able to present his material in the context of interpersonal
relationships in general and the treatment dyad in particular, and 2) the author is
a master of lucidity, avoids pedantry, and succeeds in making his data clinically
useful.” —American Journal of Psychiatry
“Readable, thoughtful, and informative.” —Educational Leadership
“A remarkable book. . . . The Developing Mind boldly transcends the reductionism
that characterizes so much of contemporary psychiatry.” —Psychiatric Times
“Why can’t we remember what we did at age three? Why are some children
unusually shy? What is the biochemistry of humiliation, and how can it be ‘toxic
to the developing child’s brain’? New and plausible answers to these questions
emerge from Siegel’s synthesis of neurobiology, research psychology and cognitive
science. . . . His subject—how we become the people we are—deserves to hold
many readers spellbound.” —Publishers Weekly
“The story Siegel tells is indeed fascinating, essentially describing the transactional
processes that happen at the interface between developmental neurobiology and
the environment of an individual. He links every level of the system from cell
chemistry to brain architecture, to caregiver–infant attachments, to interpersonal
relationships in adulthood. . . . This is a book to stimulate, illuminate, and drive
our understanding of human developmental processes forwards and I suspect
that The Developing Mind will be seen as a milestone work in the future.”
—Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
T H E D E V E L O PIN G M IN D
The Developing Mind
How Relationships and the Brain Interact
to Shape Who We Are
T H I R D E D I T I O N
Daniel J. Siegel
THE GUILFORD PRESS
New York London
Copyright © 2020 Mind Your Brain, Inc.
Published by The Guilford Press
A Division of Guilford Publications, Inc.
370 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1200, New York, NY 10001
www.guilford.com
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission
from the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Last digit is print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The author has checked with sources believed to be reliable in his efforts to
provide information that is complete and generally in accord with the standards
of practice that are accepted at the time of publication. However, in view of the
possibility of human error or changes in behavioral, mental health, or medical
sciences, neither the author, nor the editor and publisher, nor any other party
who has been involved in the preparation or publication of this work warrants
that the information contained herein is in every respect accurate or complete,
and they are not responsible for any errors or omissions or the results obtained
from the use of such information. Readers are encouraged to confirm the
information contained in this book with other sources.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Siegel, Daniel J., 1957– author.
Title: The developing mind : how relationships and the brain interact to
shape who we are / Daniel J. Siegel.
Description: Third edition. | New York : Guilford Press, [2020] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019054763 | ISBN 9781462542758 (hardcover)
Subjects: LCSH: Developmental psychology. | Interpersonal relations. |
Intellect. | Brain--Physiology.
Classification: LCC BF713 .S525 2020 | DDC 155—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019054763
For Maddi
