You are invited to this week’s special talk organized by the Department of Psychology, featuring Assoc. Prof. Stuart Hammond.
Everyone is welcome to attend!
Title: Advancing a relational developmental system of morality: Action, scaffolding, and helplessness
Speaker: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Stuart Hammond, School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa, (Ottawa Canada)
Date: 12.03.2025, Wednesday
Time: 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
Room: A 130
Abstract:
This talk will present a revision of a relational developmental system of morality (Carpendale, Hammond, & Atwood, 2013) drawing on research conducted on the development of prosocial behaviour in the first year of life (“action”; e.g., Edwards & Hammond, 2023; Hammond et al., 2017; Hammond & Brownell, 2018), social supports (“scaffolding”; e.g., Hammond & Carpendale, 2015; Hammond et al., 2023), and the unique evolutionary characteristics of human infants (“helplessness”; e.g., Deneault & Hammond, 2021; and Hammond et al., in preparation). The first part of the talk will explore why the question of morality in infancy is important, and why it is important to find ways to “step off the pendulum” of nature and nurture in examining this topic (Allen & Bickhard, 2013). The second part of the talk will develop a relational developmental system of moral development in infancy and beyond, drawing on research conducted on the infants in the first year of life, set within a larger social context, and examined with respect to humans uniquely altricial or helpless state at birth.
Bio: Stuart I. Hammond is an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa (Ottawa Canada). His graduate training is in both philosophy (Université de Montréal, Canada) and developmental psychology (Simon Fraser University, Canada), with a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh (USA). His theoretical research has examined topics such as Piagetian theory and agency, and his empirical research has explored parental scaffolding and the development of prosocial behaviour in both infants and young adults.
We hope to see you there!
Department of Psychology