Using "Patterns of Childrearing," by Sears, Maccoby and Levin (1957) as a starting point, this paper touches on the schism between developmental and social psychology and attempts to assess the progress of research in social development during the past quarter century with respect to five major perspectives that are at once evolutionary, historical, ontogenetic, cross-cultural and systemic. A pluralist view is advocated. It is suggested that a psychology of childhood must be: (1) a developmental psychology; (2) a psychology concerned with adaptation which contains an evolutionary perspective and an ecological point of view; (3) a cross-cultural psychology; (4) a psychology of social systems as well as of socializing individuals; and (5) a psychology with a historical point of view. A brief review of research in these various areas is included. (Author/MS)