Change, Plasticity and Development (CPD) Program Previously the Developmental Program
Program Area Mission
Our research goal is to understand how the organism and its capabilities develop throughout the lifespan. Our interdisciplinary approach is multi-species, multi-system, and multidisciplinary in nature. We study change over time in cognitive, social, emotional, and physiological processes.
Our explanations include both neurological accounts of the plasticity that is observed in the developing brain and other systems and computational and psychological accounts of development. The bi-directionality of these processes is emphasized, with the organism's genetically program development being influenced by its physical and social environments and in turn influencing those environments. Thus, our research is situated at the interface between the fields of developmental psychology, social psychology, cultural psychology, cognitive psychology, clinical psychology, community psychology, genetics (including gene-environment interactions), and neuroscience.
Our research examines numerous areas of development, plasticity, and change including sensory processes, cognitive capacities, language, everyday knowledge of the world, emotions, and social relationships. We utilize cross-species comparisons to help us elucidate core mechanisms. Finally, we examine both typical and atypical development, each providing rich insights for better understanding the other and suggesting new approaches for effective treatments and preventive interventions.
Social-emotional development in infancy, especially emotional communication and perception of emotion; and the relation of motor development to cognitive, social and emotional development
First and second language acquisition: In particular, I am interested in how these processes may constrain the form of languages, and how they might influence how languages change over time
Attachment; individual differences in relationship representation in discourse, drawing, and narrative; functional disorders of consciousness; ethology
Cognitive and language development, including infant cognition, statistical inference across domains, physical and psychological reasoning, word learning, number representations, social cognition, language and thought, concept acquisition, psychology and philosophy
Research and clinical work with couples making the transition to parenthood and children making the transition to elementary and high school; focus on couple relationships during adult life transitions, marital distress, and parenting issues.
Childhood behavior disorders, developmental psychopathology. Attention deficits and hyperactivity; aggressive behavior, peer relations, family interactions, and neuropsychological risk factors; psychosocial and pharmacological interventions for children with ADHD; process and outcome research in child interventions; assessment, diagnosis, and classification of child disorders; definitions of mental disorder; stigma associated with mental disorder.
Emotion. Autonomic nervous system and facial expressive components, cultural influences, empathy, emotional control, emotional changes with aging, dementing disorders, and brain pathology. Marital interaction across the life span: emotional and physiological signs and predictors of marital distress.
Community psychology (children, schools, and community settings): Classroom/school processes and the development of competence; expectations about ability and self-fulfilling prophecies; social cognition and achievement motivation; school reform and the prevention of school failure; consultation, institutional change, and policy.
Department of Psychology | 3210 Tolman Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
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Our research goal is to understand how the organism and its capabilities develop throughout the lifespan. Our interdisciplinary approach is multi-species, multi-system, and multidisciplinary in nature. We study change over time in cognitive, social, emotional, and physiological processes.