Developmental Psychology Contributors

Lee Vygotsky

proponent of sociocultural theory who introduced the concepts of zone of proximal development (ZPD)

Jean Piaget

developed a well known stage theory of cognitive development, involving a progression of four distinct stages

Erik Erikson

Psychoanalyst known for identifying psychosocial developmental stages

Carol Gilligan

behaviorist most responsible for developing operant conditioning theory

Lawrence Kohlberg

developed a theory of moral development involving 3 distinct stages of moral reasoning

Albert Bandura

known for contributions to observational learning, including famous Bobo doll experiment on aggression

Diana Baumrind

known for research on four types of parenting styles

Mary Ainsworth

developed strange situation and attachment theory

Konrad Lorenz

conducted naturalistic observations of geese and other animals and discovered a simple form of attachment known as imprinting

Harry Harlow

conducted research on rhesus monkeys, discovering they prefer contact to food acquisition, which was influential for attachment theory