Research

Faculty in the Department of Human Development are internationally recognized experts in their particular areas of research. They publish frequently in major peer-reviewed professional journals and books, and include students on many of their publications. Many hold leadership positions in major professional associations and Fellow status in the American Psychological Association, are Fellows in the American Psychological Society. Faculty also serve as consulting or associate editors and editors of premier journals in the field such as American Educational Research Journal, Contemporary Educational Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Child Development, Adolescence, Human Development, Journal of Research in Adolescence, Developmental Psychophysiology, Educational Psychologist, Early Education and Development, the Journal of Educational Psychology, Review of Education Research, and Learning and Cognition.

Departmental faculty are engaged in a wide range of research projects investigating different aspects of human development and learning, and many faculty have extensive external funding to support their research. They welcome student participation in their research and service programs. These interactions provide opportunities for graduate students to enhance their expertise in areas of special interest.

Areas of faculty expertise and active research include:

achievement motivation
affective neuroscience
at risk children
attachment
cognition and instruction
cognitive development in instructional contexts
cognitive and motivational aspects of reading
computers and education
cross-cultural influences on human development
development of domain knowledge
developmental psychopathology
deviant and violent behavior in children and adolescents
early childhood education
educational psychology
emotion and emotion regulation
family processes
gender roles
infant development
intergroup relationships
moral development
parent education
parenting
peer relationships
psychology of learning and instruction
self-concept
social-cognitive development
social and political cognition
social policy related to young children
stereotypes
student-teacher relationships
teacher beliefs

Please see the individual faculty pages for descriptions of their specific research interests and projects.