Gopnik Shares Research on Parenting and Learning

Modern parents try to raise their children to become smart, successful, happy adults. But this goal-centered concept of parenting is profoundly wrong, both scientifically and practically, says psychological scientist Alison Gopnik. An internationally recognized expert in child development, Gopnik shared research on why children should be nurtured, but not shaped, in her “Bring the Family” address at the 2016 APS Annual Convention.

Gopnik’s presentation, “Parents Without Parenting,” examined research showing how children learn from the people who care for them through everyday observation, conversation, and play, rather than through intensive supervision and direction.


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