The chapters in this volume address several important issues, but a central concern throughout is how scholars should conceptualize artistic development.
Several chapters address more specifically the nature of artistic style.
Chapter One provides an introduction to symbolic and social processes in early artistic development. Chapter Two addresses the issue of style more directly, showing that style is gender-related and seems to be constrained by peers. The last three chapters are systematic studies of components of style and the developmental trajectory of style. The author describes sequences and processes of artistic development and emphasizes the interplay between endogenous symbolic processes within the child and social processes around the child. The author also discusses complexities inherent in a stage model of artistic development.