Research in the developmental area group focuses on the
interrelationships of biological and behavioral processes throughout the life
span, and on the mechanisms and processes of change. The program emphasizes
interdisciplinary studies, and allows graduate students flexibility in designing
a program of study consonant with their goals and interests. Central parts of
the developmental program include a first year core course in developmental
psychology and a weekly lunch meeting, in which students and faculty present
ongoing research and discuss current topics in the field. Students within our
program focus on cognitive, emotional, language, perceptual, personality, social
development, or relations between these areas. Within these content domains,
students and faculty conduct research on both typical and atypical development,
and work with individuals representing a wide range of ages, including infants,
preschool and school age children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly.
Specific faculty research interests include the development of mathematical
reasoning and problem solving, development of visual perception and attention,
developmental behavioral genetics, gender role development, developmental
psychopathology, resiliency in adulthood and aging, and language
acquisition.
Participants in our research studies are drawn from an
unusually wide variety of sources, including local preschools and day care
centers; public, and private schools in the Madison area; the Dane County
Division of Children, Youth, and Families; the Wisconsin Longitudinal Survey;
University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics; and the Institute on Aging. Many
developmental faculty are affiliated with the Waisman Center on Human
Development, which provides a database of typically-developing infants and
children with developmental disabilities.
Prospective students are
encouraged to contact individual faculty directly.
To learn more about
studying cognitive, perceptual, and linguistic development at UW-Madison
click
here.
Psychology Faculty: Professors Alibali, Goldsmith, Hyde, Moore, Pollak, Ryff, Saffran
Affiliated Faculty:
