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Short Essays on Child Development


Here are a few brief items that I wrote for a post-graduate psychology classes. Most of these essays were written 20 years ago and may or may not represent my current thinking. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Delayed adolescence and social development

Hormonal levels, hemispheric lateralization, and social adjustment during adolescence

In opposition to routine universal administration of IQ scores

Reciprocal socialization and family systems with illustrations

Peer pressure

Styles of parenting

Occupation and identity

Schools as 'youth ghettos'

Substance abuse prevention in schools

How should schools respond to adolescent suicide?

What does it mean to say that there is nothing more practical than a good theory?

Why is the relationship between individuation and socialization significant?

What can those who work with children do to help them develop a good self-concept?

Why is nurturance an important concept when trying to explain the behavior of children?

Why is aggression given so much attention in the child-development literature?

What is the significance of the difference between moral reason and moral knowledge?

Advantages and disadvantages of an 'ages and stages' view of morality?

Ethological and social-learning views of how attachment develops.

Problems associated with identifying the best way to raise children.

What are the implications of androgyny for child-rearing practices?

Why is 'attachment' such an important concept in explaining human behavior?

Differences in child-rearing practices and how schools are run.

Case study in depression

These items may not be reproduced without permission. (c) Tom Rue, 1991, 2010