Do the first two years of life really determine a child's future development? Are human beings motivated only by pleasure? Do people have stable traits, like intelligence, fear, anxiety, and temperament? This book, by one of the founders of developmental psychology, takes on the powerful assumptions behind these questions-and proves them mistaken.

Do the first two years of life really determine a child's future? Are human beings, like other primates, only motivated by pleasure? Do people actually possess stable traits like intelligence, fear, etc.? Harvard psychologist Jerome Kagan challenges some of our most cherished notions about human nature.