Dear Colleagues:
The Ph.D. Program in Developmental Psychology at the University of Utah has openings for graduate students beginning fall 2011.
Applications are due December 15th; instructions are available at: http://www.psych.utah.edu/graduate/apply.php.
PROGRAM.This program provides cutting-edge research training in the integrated systems (i.e., cognition, emotion, culture, biology, family, community) in which human development unfolds over the lifespan. Faculty research focuses on regulatory processes in diverse family and social contexts including traditional families as well as diverse family constellations (e.g., families with a gay, lesbian or bi-sexual adolescent; families adapting to chronic illness), and friendships. A second focus is on regulatory processes in diverse cultural contexts including cultural contexts in the United States (e.g., regulation involving executive function among Native American Indian children) as well as diverse cultural contexts (regulation of identity and moral understanding in contexts of political violence in Colombia).
A distinguishing feature of our program is its cross-disciplinary approach. In addition to core training in the theories and methods of developmental psychology, our graduates typically pursue supplemental training (tailored to their specific research interests) in allied fields such as health psychology, social/personality psychology, cognitive neuroscience, psychophysiology, developmental psychopathology, and human sexuality. Given that developmental science has become increasingly integrated with research in these allied fields, students who graduate from our program are well-prepared to join the “next generation” of developmental scientists conducting important, cutting edge, interdisciplinary research.
RESOURCES.All students can expect to receive 4 years of financial support via research or teaching assistantships (3 years if entering with a Master’s degree), plus a tuition waiver and basic health insurance. Faculty in the developmental area share a collaborative orientation and active, intersecting research programs, with a strong record of both federal and foundation funding that facilitates faculty and student research. The department houses several state-of-the-art psychophysiology and observational laboratories for data collection.
SALT LAKE CITY.The University of Utah is located on the eastern edge of Salt Lake City at the base of the magnificentWasatch Mountains. The University provides a center for community culture, with recognized research institutes, museums, concerts, intercollegiate athletics, and community service programs. Salt Lake City affords the amenities of a major metropolitan area, but also proximity to National Forest and unparalleled outdoor recreation opportunities (including the best skiing on earth!).
MORE INFORMATION. For more information about the Ph.D. program in developmental psychology at the University of Utah, contact Monisha Pasupathi, Coordinator of the Developmental Program at: pasupath@psych.utah.edu. Additional information can be found on our website: www.psych.utah.edu and at www.psych.utah.edu/graduate/pdf/graduate_brochure.pdf.
FACULTY INTERESTED IN TAKING GRADUATE STUDENTS 2011-2012
Cynthia Berg, http://www.psych.utah.edu/people/cynthiaberg; cynthia.berg@psych.utah.edu
My research examines how individuals across the life span collaborate together to solve everyday problems and deal with daily stressors. Our work (funded by grants from NIH) examines how parents may facilitate or derail problem solving in collaboration with their adolescents as they deal with problems surrounding the adolescent's type 1 diabetes (Berg et al., 2011). We just began a 5-year NIH study examining self-regulatory processes as adolescents transition into emerging adulthood and how parents may assist in this transition. In addition, I examine how collaborative problem solving may provide a context for understanding physiological processes in married couples in normal interaction (Berg et al., 2007) and in interaction as they deal with treatment decisions regarding chronic illness (e.g., making treatment decisions regarding prostate cancer, Berg et al., 2008).
Lisa M. Diamond, www.psych.utah.edu/lisadiamond; diamond@psych.utah.edu
My research focuses on two distinct but related areas -- the nature and development of affectional bonds and the nature and development of same-sex sexuality. The common thread uniting these lines of research is my interest in the psychological and biobehavioral processes underlying intimate relationships and their influence on emotional experience and functioning over the life course. My work is funded by the W. T. Grant Foundation and NIH. My primary research questions are as follows: (1) what are the basic psychological and biobehavioral processes underlying the formation and functioning of affectional bonds; (2) how are these processes related to sexual desire and sexual orientation; (3) what are the implications of affectional bonding for mental and physical well-being at different stages of life? In addressing these questions, I use a diverse range of research methods, including in-depth qualitative interviews, controlled social-psychophysiological experiments, and assessment of naturalistic interpersonal behavior.
Monisha Pasupathi, www.psych.utah.edu/monishapasupathi; monisha.pasupathi@psych.utah.edu
I study the development of self, identity, and memory in adolescence through late life, with a particular emphasis on how narratives function to regulate self-perceptions and emotions. My work is supported by NIH funding. My recent theoretical and empirical work has focused on relations between storytelling and self, whether traditionally conceptualized in terms of self-concept ( McLean, Pasupathi, & Pals, in press; Pasupathi, Alderman, & Shaw, 2007; Pasupathi & Rich, 2005), or viewed in terms of the integration of experiences with the self (Pasupathi, Mansour, & Brubaker, in press; Pasupathi & Mansour, 2006). For example, people typically use stories to confirm their views of themselves (Pasupathi & Rich, 2005), but some experiences force people to create stories that account for changes and discontinuities (Pasupathi & Mansour, 2006).
Monica Tsethlikai, www.psych.utah.edu/monicatsethlikai; monica.tsethlikai@psych.utah.edu
My research focuses on dynamics of positive child development, integrating my research on memory (Tsethlikai & Greenhoot, 2006; Tsethlikai 2010) and my research on executive functions (Tsethlikai, 2011). I have studied both as basic cognitive processes that underlie positive behavioral outcomes. The long-term goal of my research program is to use a dynamic systems approach to examine positive child development from within a framework where basic cognitive processes and social environments are not studied independently of biological processes. In pursuit of this goal, I am currently seeking funding to explore: 1) how variations in exposure to environmental strain (as indicated by cortisol secretion in hair and self-report) and cultural support (as measured by engagement in cultural activities) impact the development of executive functions, specifically working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility; and 2) To examine whether executive functions independently or collectively serve as mediators of self-regulatory outcomes (e.g., academic persistence, prosocial behavior, healthy choices) in children. I am also interested in examining the roles of inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility in the maintenance, loss, and meaning-making of traumatic memories over time in relation to positive developmental outcomes.
Cecilia Wainryb, www.psych.utah.edu/ceciliawainryb; cecilia.wainryb@psych.utah.edu
I study moral development. My research concerns how children and adolescents further their moral understandings through their everyday experiences, and how these developments are shaped by violence, war, and injustice.My work focuses particularly on how children and adolescents make sense of interpersonal and group conflict situations, especially the types of conflicts in which one or both parties feel hurt or mistreated. I'm particularly interested in how the specific ways in which children interpret these experiences both affect their actual behavior in conflict situations and further their moral development. I have studied this process by interviewing children about hypothetical conflict situations (Shaw & Wainryb, 2006; Wainryb, Shaw, Langley, Cottam& Lewis, 2004; Komolova & Wainryb, 2011) and, also, by eliciting children's narrative accounts of their own conflict experiences (Wainryb, Brehl, & Matwin, 2005; Pasupathi & Wainryb, 2010a). Most recently, I have begun to examine how different ways of narrating experiences of harm may alter the implications of those experiences for emotional experiences, and ultimately, self and moral development, as part of an NIH-funded award.
Monisha Pasupathi, PhD
Associate Professor and Area Coordinator
Developmental Psychology
University of Utah
