Developmental Psychology

The Developmental Psychology program has five core faculty from the Psychology Department: Dr. Nancy Eisenberg, William Fabricius, Kathryn Lemery, Morris Okun, and Gary Ladd. The Developmental faculty and graduate students frequently collaborate with faculty in related programs within the department (e.g., Child-Clinical and Social Psychology programs) and with faculty in other programs with allied teaching and research interests. The program is designed to equip its graduates with the necessary conceptual, methodological, and teaching skills for careers in academic or applied developmental research positions. The primary focus of work in the program is on understanding processes of normative development. Emphasis is on research and scholarship as opposed to clinical application. Students in Developmental Psychology at Arizona State University are trained to be researchers and scholars, with the expectation that any practical applications will follow from this basic expertise.

The graduate curriculum in Developmental Psychology places approximately equal emphasis on coursework and research experience. It provides training in the core areas of cognitive and social development, as well as in fundamental methodological, statistical, and design skills. Students are offered flexibility to develop expertise within specific content areas or particular age groups in coordination with active faculty interests, and are encouraged to work with several research faculty during their training. The major ongoing developmental research programs are focused on such topics as children's prosocial and emotional development, the development of spatial reasoning and knowledge, the development of logical reasoning and representational styles, memory, problem-solving, metacognition and theory of mind, adolescent health and self-concepts, as well as elder health beliefs and social ties. Opportunities to develop teaching and communication skills are offered both through formal coursework and through participation in departmental teaching and seminar activities. An ongoing, informal seminar of developmental students and faculty provides a forum for the discussion of a wide range of theoretical, methodological, and substantive research issues in Developmental Psychology.

The graduate program encourages close faculty-student relationships. Each student begins research training during the first year, developing a research project in the context of a one-to-one relationship with a faculty mentor. After the first year, the coursework and research products become more specialized and tailored to each student's individual interests and expertise. Advanced seminars are available on topics of current interest in Developmental Psychology. Students may complement their developmental courses with related courses either within or outside the Psychology Department. In the course of their graduate training, students develop and pursue their own programs of research in conjunction with an appropriate faculty member or members. The major milestones of the program include a written and oral presentation of the first year research project, a Master's degree, a comprehensive examination, and the student's doctoral dissertation.

The Psychology Department houses the Child Study Laboratory, attended by more than 100 preschool children, which has facilities for both laboratory and naturalistic research projects. In addition, the program has a mobile laboratory that is available for research off-site.

Download the developmental program brochure in .doc or .pdf format.
To download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader go to

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

Core Developmental Faculty

	Nancy Eisenberg Socioemotional development, including emotional development, the development of emotion-related regulation, social competence and adjustment, moral development
	William V. Fabricius Children’s social cognitive development including the development of theory of mind in young children. The role of fathers in children's development in intact and divorced families. Social and legal policy oriented research on children from divorced families.
	Kathryn Lemery Developmental behavior genetic approach, Individual differences in appropriate and inappropriate emotional responding, Risk and resiliency, Parent and sibling influences, Context effects, Person-environment transactions. Behavioral and biological measures.
	Morris Okun Volunteering, future self-enhancement effects, social influences on academic performance and exercise, social support and negativity, and adjustment among burn survivors.
	Gary Ladd Children’s friendships, peer group relations, and social competence, children’s relationship histories and the role of stable and changing relationship processes in the development of child and adolescent social cognitions, perceptions, and belief systems, confluence of risky child behavior and relationships.
	Armando Piña Study of intra-individual level risk factors in the development of anxiety disorders in youths and the evaluation of psychosocial interventions for use with this population.

Affilated Developmental Faculty

	Linda Luecken Health psychology; developmental, social, and cognitive predictors of cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responses to stress and vulnerability to stress-related illness. Childhood adversity and long-term health outcomes.
	Keith Crnic Parent-child interaction, parenting, and family process predictions to emerging behavior problems in young children.  The nature of stress in parent-child relationships and its influence on child and family functioning.