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
Puberty & Adolescence
In this video I describe the changes associated with puberty and adolescence, ranging from the physical to the socioemotional. Puberty causes major physical changes in both primary and secondary sex characteristics as adolescents become capable of reproduction. Cognitive changes include … 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
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