This volume investigates emerging theories in the psychological basis of ownership. Although it has been a neglected area of developmental psychology research, ownership is of broad significance in childrens' lives. Sharing, borrowing, buying, trading and stealing - the abstract concepts of ownership are reasoned early in childhood.

Editors Ori Friedman, associate professor of psychology, University of Waterloo, and Hildy Ross, professor emeritus, University of Waterloo, argue that the study of ownership and its development provide important new directions for psychological study. Contributing authors outline the new research from perspectives drawn from the various subfields of developmental psychology. Topics include:

1. Property in Nonhuman Primates
2. Possessional and Morality in Early Development
3. Early Representations of Ownership
4. Property Rights and the Resolution of Social Conflict
5. Ownership as a Social Status
6. Ownership and Object History
7. Exploring Ownership in a Developmental Context

This is the 132nd volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development. The mission of this series is to provide scientific and scholarly presentations on cutting edge issues and concepts in the field of child and adolescent development. Each volume focuses on a specific new direction or research topic, and is edited by an expert or experts on that topic.