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
Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage of Cognitive Development
In this video I begin describing the 4 stages of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Then I provide details of the sensorimotor stage along with more recent research suggesting that infant understanding of … 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
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
Sexual Motivation
In this video I introduce the basics of sexual motivation and briefly describe hormones involved. Next I discuss some important differences between humans and other species when it comes to sexual motivation, including estrus and hidden fertility. I explain how … Read More