IHD THEMES, RESEARCH GROUPS, AND SEMINARS

The Institute of Human Development is organized around set of themes and research groups that encompass developmental, clinical, neuroscience, and applied-policy areas. The activities around each theme are organized by members who coordinate brown bag seminars and work toward collaborative endeavors. The main themes and coordinators are as follows:

IHD Seminar Series

We sponsor a twice-monthly seminar series that features noted speakers from IHD, other campus departments, and other universities. This series brings together faculty, researchers, and students to focus on chosen topics presented by experts, hear important research developments, and discuss them. Seminars may involve projects in the formative, interpretive, or finished stages. Topics cover six general areas of human development, including:

• Contexts and Development
• Developmental Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychopathology
• Early Childhood Development and Education
• Social and Emotional Development
• Social Policy

Recent speakers include: Diana Baumrind (Department of Psychology), Ron Dahl (Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh), Jill Duerr Berrick (School of Social Welfare), Steve Hinshaw (Department of Psychology), Na'ilah Suad Nasir (Graduate School of Education), and Martin Sanchez-Jankowski (Department of Sociology).

All are welcome to attend.

IHD Seminar Series Schedule

IHD Seminar Series Mailing List Sign Up

Early Childhood Development and Education

(Coordinators: Jill Duerr Berrick, Bruce Fuller, Margaret Bridges, and Alison Gopnik)

Several researchers in IHD study early development and/or education. In addition, IHD has long standing connections with the Harold E. Jones Child Study Center and more recent connections with other child care units on campus, the Early Childhood Education Program, which includes the new Haste Street Child Development Center. This theme encompasses both research and educational endeavors. IHD members engage in research on early childhood development and IHD oversees research supervision in the Jones Center and other units. On the educational side, the university has now in place an Interdisciplinary Studies in Early Childhood undergraduate minor with involvement of the Graduate School of Education, the Department of Psychology, and the School of Social Welfare. A Center for Young Children has been formed to pursue research and educational initiatives in early childhood.

Contexts and Development

(Coordinators: Philip Cowan and Rhona Weinstein)

This theme involves collaborations on the effects of existing and changing contexts on individual and group development. The discipline of Psychology has long focused on development within individuals. In recent decades, there has been an emerging interest in the contexts in which individuals develop and adapt, especially in families, schools, neighborhoods, workplaces, and cultures or subcultures. And, as investigators realize that these contexts change, there has begun to be interest in how to assess groups, and how to understand group development. For example how should we think about family development, or classroom development, or community development, or cultural development? A central aim of this theme is to bring together scholars from different disciplines to address the interconnections of these contexts as they affect development across the lifespan.

Developmental and Evolutionary Neuroscience

(Coordinator: Silvia Bunge)

Some members of IHD engage on research in development and evolutionary neuroscience. Given the prevalence and importance currently placed on evolution and neuroscience, it is of mutual benefit for developmentalists and neuroscientists to engage in dialogue and collaborations. Activities around this theme provide for connections between the Institute and the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and other departments.

Developmental Psychopathology

(Coordinator: Steve Hinshaw)

Studies of Developmental Psychopathology are well represented in IHD. In addition to stimulating greater collaborative activities, this theme serves to make connections with research in early childhood development and developmental neuroscience.

Social and Emotional Development

(Coordinators: Diana Baumrind and Joe Campos)

There is a long tradition in IHD of psychological research on social and emotional development that has examined social relationships, social interactions, family processes, socialization, and social and moral reasoning. Several researchers address one or another of theses topics. One aim of this theme at IHD is to promote more interactions among researchers. An equally important goal is to connect psychological research on social and emotional development to relevant work in other units in areas of philosophy, culture, politics, legal studies, and women's studies.

Seminars

IHD has a regular bi-weekly Brown Bag meeting to address the organizing themes of the Institute. At each of these meetings researchers address topics revolving around one or more of the themes, and lead general discussions relevant to the theme.