(Senior Lecturer)

My research focuses on the communication and acquisition of knowledge and the social factors that may influence these processes. One area of interest concerns how children develop an understanding of the world through communicating with others. A central question I have sought to explore is how children's social identities influence both the style of interaction between peers and the social knowledge that children construct. Another important question concerns the forms of argument that children use in interaction with others and how different characteristics of children’s conversations can be linked to cognitive change. Particular strands of research have focused on the impact of ethnic and gender identity on children’s conversations. A broader area of interest lies in exploring the connections between social and developmental psychology. Interests here extend from an exploration of the links between work on social influence and socio-cognitive models of development, to issues of cognitive style, identity and knowledge in adult reasoning including beliefs about conspiracy theories and child and adult moral reasoning.

Specific Interests: Developmental psychology; social interaction and development; moral reasoning; knowledge, social identity and social cognition

Leman, P. J. (2005). Authority and moral reasons: parenting style and
children's perceptions of adult rule justifications. International
Journal of Behavioral Development, 29(4), 265-270.


Leman, P. J. & Oldham, Z. (2005). Do children need to learn to
collaborate? The effects of age and age differences on children's
collaborative recall. Cognitive Development, 20, 33-48.

Leman, P. J., Ahmed, S. & Ozarow, L. (2005). Gender, gender relations,
and the social dynamics of children's conversations. Developmental
Psychology, 41(1), 64-74.

Lam, V. & Leman, P. J. (2003). The influence of gender and ethnicity on
children's inferences about toy choice.  Social Development, 12(2),
269-287.

Haviv, S. & Leman, P. J. (2002). Moral decision-making in real life:
factors affecting moral orientation and behaviour justification. Journal
of Moral Education, 31(2), 121-140.