Developmental

About the Program
The University of Chicago has long been a pioneer in the field of developmental science. With its renowned faculty and state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, the Developmental Psychology Program provides a rich environment for scientific inquiry, training, and mentorship.

Our faculty pursue a wide range of topics that span cognitive, emotional, and social development. In cognitive development, our work focuses on infants’ and children’s mathematical, spatial, and language development along with interventions to improve educational outcomes. In terms of social and emotional development, we examine infants’ and children’s affective, intentional, and moral understanding. Other research examines how interacting with their environment affects children’s cognition and social behavior, and how their bodies can shape learning and thinking. Not only do our faculty, post-docs, and students investigate multiple exciting questions with behavioral methods, but they also supplement this approach with other methods including behavioral economics, gestural analyses, functional MRI, eye tracking, and EEG/ERPs. Moreover, the faculty interact with faculty from other disciplines, bringing rich interdisciplinary expertise to bear on their research questions. The faculty are also involved with the Science of Learning Center, Center for Gesture Sign and Language, Committee on Education, and the Child Neurosuite. These diverse perspectives and methodologies provide a comprehensive picture of how the mind works and is shaped throughout development.

Faculty Advisers in Developmental Psychology: Lin Bian, Jean Decety, Susan Goldin-Meadow, Katherine D. Kinzler, Susan C. Levine, Alex Shaw, Amanda Woodward