Department Of Psychology And Human Development

Lauren Malachowski and Kathryn Humphreys When a parent needs to cook dinner or take a shower, often they will place their baby in a bouncy seat, swing, exersaucer, or similar seating device intended to protect the baby and grant a degree of independence to both the parent and infant. For… Read More

Four researchers from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of education and human development are among those named to Education Week's 2023 Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings, an annual list of education researchers who have demonstrated the greatest influence over educational policy and practice. Read More

Duane Watson Duane Watson and Yolanda J. McDonald, two faculty members of Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development, recently published articles in Nature and Nature Water, respectively. McDonald’s article is in the inaugural issue of Nature Water, which was published in January. Watson, Frank W. Read More

Autumn Kujawa, assistant professor of psychology and human development, recently received a two-year, Brain and Behavior Research Foundation Young Investigator Grant of $70,000 for a novel study to identify biomarkers associated with suicidal behavior in adolescents. Read More

Armed with a two-year, $141,444 grant from the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research, Professor of Psychology and Human Development Elisabeth Dykens is developing the first psychometrically sound self-report survey of hyperphagia for people with Prader-Willi syndrome. Read More

The National Association for Gifted Children has recognized David Lubinski, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Psychology, and Camilla Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development, with the Gifted Child Quarterly Paper of the Year award. Read More

Sarah Brown-Schmidt, professor of psychology and human development, recently received a three-year $382,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for her research project, “Perspective-taking in Conversation,” to understand the cognitive mechanisms that allow people to engage in everyday conversation. Read More

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine recently appointed Associate Professor of Psychology and Human Development Lisa Fazio as a member of the Committee on Understanding and Addressing Misinformation about Science. Read More

By Andy Flick Associate Professor of Psychology and Human Development Laura Novick, and graduate student Joanna (Jingyi) Liu, published a paper highlighting the importance of intentionally and thoughtfully designed figures to explain evolutionary relationships and overcome preconceived misconceptions. The work was inspired, in part, by a common misconception… Read More

Assistant Professors of Psychology and Human Development Deon Benton and Cristina Zepeda joined the Department of Psychology and Human Development at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development this fall. Read More

Assistant Professor of Psychology and Human Development Kathryn Humphreys will investigate parent–child proximity and emerging psychopathology with a new five-year research grant in excess of $3.7 million from the National Institute of Mental Health Biobehavioral Research Awards for Innovative New Scientists program.  Read More

A new comprehensive data set featuring neural images from children ages 5, 7 and 9 has been made available for cross-disciplinary research purposes.  Read More

The National Science Foundation has awarded a Faculty Early Career Development Grant to Kathryn L. Humphreys, assistant professor of psychology at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development. She is being recognized for her research study “Examining Prenatal and Postnatal Influences on Infant Brain Development.” Read More

Melvyn Ivan Semmel of Santa Barbara, Calif., a researcher, educator and 2007 Peabody Distinguished Alumnus, who helped shape the nation’s understanding and policies relating to students with disabilities, died Feb. 25. Read More