Developmental Psychology

The program in Developmental Psychology represents interests in many areas of development. Faculty and students focusing on the area of cognitive and linguistic development conduct research exploring cognition from infancy to adulthood, language acquisition, conceptual development, and brain development. Faculty and students focusing on the areas of social and emotional development conduct research on parenting, , family relationships,  peers, as well as school achievement and developmental psychopathology. Across areas, there is a concern with the underlying biological substrates of development and the role of social context.

Regardless of content area, faculty and students in the Developmental program ask how children change as they progress from earliest infancy through adulthood. Of particular importance are the causes of developmental change. Developmental faculty and students examine both how basic processes of learning and development enable children to acquire fundamental adult abilities and the forces that lead children to follow unique trajectories as they make their way through life.