In this video I discuss the relationship between attitudes and behavior, including Richard LaPiere’s early work on discriminatory practices and Festinger and Carlsmith’s classic study on cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance refers to the discomfort caused by conflicting attitudes or behaviors, … Read More
The Self & Others
In this video I discuss how others influence the formation of our self–concept using the theories of social comparison theory and social identity theory. Social comparison theory, proposed by Leon Festinger, suggests that we necessarily look to the traits and … Read More
Culture & Cultural Dimensions
In this video I discuss how cultural dimensions can be used to think about the general differences between cultures and how culture may influence thought and behavior. I describe Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, based on his research with IBM employees … Read More
Introduction to Social Psychology
In this video I introduce social psychology and the investigation of how groups, culture, and social context influence our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. I differentiate social psychology from sociology, which generally looks at influence on broader groups rather than individuals. … Read More
Development of Sexual Orientation
In this video I briefly describe research related to development of sexual orientation, with a focus on homosexuality. Despite Freud’s emphasis on identification, there doesn’t seem to be a relationship between parenting and sexual orientation. Twin studies have suggested that … Read More
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development
In this video I describe Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral development and its 3 main stages: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional. I also provide a description of the Heinz dilemma and how different responses might be categorized into the levels of … Read More
Baumrind’s Parenting Styles
In this video I describe Diana Baumrind’s 3 main parenting styles: authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative. I also describe the addition of neglectful or uninvolved parenting and the outcomes in children associated with each of these parenting styles. Lastly I consider … Read More
Attachment & Bonding
In this video I describe several concepts and theories related to the formation of the relationship between mother and child. These include Konrad Lorenz’s work with imprinting in goslings, Harry Harlow’s work on comfort and security in rhesus macaques, and … Read More
Lev Vygotsky & The Zone of Proximal Development
In this video I consider how it is that we improve our skills and abilities and how children make progress through different stages of development. This brings us to the work of Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky and his notion of … Read More
Cognitive Development: Concrete Operational & Formal Operational Stages
In this video I discuss Piaget’s last two stages of cognitive development; the concrete operational stage and the formal operational stage. The concrete operational stage (from about age 6-11) is characterized by improved understanding of the operations of the physical … Read More