Faculty members in the Developmental Psychology area study typical and atypical development in human infancy and childhood.

The major aim of graduate training is to develop a strong theoretical and methodological foundation in developmental psychology. Current research interests of faculty members include the development of face processing, perception, memory, television viewing, reading comprehension, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, perceptions of race and gender discrimination, gender and ethnic identity development, social inequalities in education, and science education. Other faculty with related interests study attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and the social aspects of teasing in children.

Click here for a student handbook on the CDS program.

Core Faculty Members

• Brown, Christia, Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at Austin, 2003.  Children's perceptions of race and gender discrimination, gender and ethnic identity development, and social inequalities in education.
• Bhatt, Ramesh, Associate Professor, University of Iowa, 1988. Perceptual, attentional, and cognitive development in infants; memory processing.
• Gottlob, Lawrence, Assistant Professor, Arizona State University, 1995. Visual attention, cognitive aging.
• Lorch, Elizabeth, Professor, University of Massachusetts, 1981. Cognitive development, attention, reading, television viewing, drug abuse prevention, development of attention and comprehension in children with   ADHD.
• Curtis, John, Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota, 2002.

Faculty Members with Related Interests

• Harris, Monica, J., Associate Professor, Harvard University, 1987. Interpersonal expectancy effects, stigma, meta-analysis.
• Milich, Richard, Professor and Associate Chair, Washington University, 1976. Childhood psychopathology, hyperactivity and attention deficit disorders, assessment of childre

Children at Risk Initiative

A new initiative in our department is directly relevant to our program in Developmental Psychology.  The College of Arts and Sciences funded a proposal to recruit three new faculty members in Psychology and two in Sociology who are doing research that focuses on some aspect of children at risk (e.g., for educational failure, social problems, mental health problems, or physical health problems such as obesity).  Professors Christia Brown and John Curtis were hired as part of this initiative, and three new faculty positions will be filled. The Children at Risk initiative is designed to foster interdisciplinary research that will go beyond the original two departments, and to provide interdisciplinary training opportunities for graduate students.