By using social-psychological literature and sociological theory to examine infancy through later adulthood, this text challenges students to probe the larger social context when viewing the complexities of human development. Long and Holle examine and emphasize the importance of organizations, communities, society, and global influences in assessing human behavior in the social environment. To facilitate the integration of theory and content, the authors use different theoretical orientations to organize the chapters. These are followed by an analysis of developmental issues, a case example, a section in which macro-level influences are highlighted, a reintegration of theory section, and suggested activities.