In this video I introduce the work of developmental psychologist Jean Piaget. Piaget proposed a stage-based theory for how we develop our cognitive abilities. Piaget viewed children like “little scientists” who were constantly testing and updating their knowledge structures, or … Read More
Early Brain Development
In this video I discuss brain development and begin with the idea of infantile amnesia. Memories before about the age of 3 are very rare, suggesting that the infant brain is not yet developed to store episodic memories, though it … Read More
Infancy Stage: Motor & Perceptual Development
In this video I introduce some terms for understanding infant development, particularly for motor and perceptual skills. Infants are born with a number of reflexes (such as the rooting reflex and sucking reflex) which are gradually replaced with voluntary control … Read More
Prenatal Development
In this video I discuss prenatal development from conception until birth. This can be divided into the germinal stage, embryonic stage, and fetal stage. Conception occurs when a sperm cell and egg cell join to create a zygote, which then … Read More
Erikson’s 8 Ages of Man
In this video I introduce developmental psychology, which considers how we develop physically, cognitively, socially, and morally over our lifespan. I discuss some of the recurrent themes we will see in this chapter and then describe Erikson’s division of life … Read More
Motivation & Goal-Setting
In this last video on motivation I consider the relationship between motivation and the goals that we set for ourselves. I discuss the importance of setting self–concordant goals which are intrinsically motivated and then discuss strategies for achieving goals. In … Read More
Conscious & Unconscious, Approach & Avoidance Motivations
In this video I discuss how motivations may be conscious or unconscious influences on behavior. I describe some of the unconscious motivations proposed by Henry Murray and David McClelland and how external conditions may activate motivations. Next I describe the … Read More
Delay of Gratification & Ironic Effects of Punishment
In this video I introduce the concept of delay of gratification and the famous Marshmallow Test. Mischel, Shoda, and Rodriguez found that the ability to delay gratification at age 4 was associated with higher social competence, coping skills, and even … Read More
Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivations
In this video I explain the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and then discuss the overjustification effect demonstrated in a study by Mark Lepper, David Greene, and Richard Nisbett in 1973. Then I consider how the overjustification effect may … Read More
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
In this video I describe one way of organizing the many other motivations that we face: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Abraham Maslow proposed that motivations could be categorized and then those categories could be arranged into a hierarchy of importance, … Read More