Books by David F. (Florida Atlantic University) Bjorklund

Natural selection has operated as strongly on the early stages of the lifespan as adulthood. One evolved feature of human childhood is high levels of behavioral, cognitive, and neural plasticity. Taking an evolutionary perspective provides better understanding of children and how changes in the development of our ancestors produced modern humans.

Why Youth is Not Wasted on the Young examines the nature of childhood through an evolutionary lens and argues that childhood is an essential stage of development with its own unique purposes, separate from those of adulthood; a time of growth and discovery that should not be rushed.