Human Development

Professor Chapman’s research interests include the transition to siblinghood, sibling relationship quality, and maternal self-efficacy. She is interested in studying family transitions and her research aims to help parents and children adjust following normative and non-normative transitions.

Professor Dickinson combines a specialization in Healthy Psychology and the Creative Arts Therapies. Additional areas of interest include cultural issues in the classroom, caregiving across roles, trauma and ethics.

Professor Janus has particular interest in children’s issues. She has been professor of counseling and school psychology and has done clinical work with children in schools and private practice settings. She is especially interested in international adoption and has made adoption a professional specialty area both for practice and research.

Professor Shovali is a geropsychologist holding a degree in life-span developmental psychology with a specialization in gerontology. Areas of interest are the psychological aspects of aging, societal implications of aging, and death and dying. Her research interests include psychosocial health of caregivers, caregiving transitions, end-of-life care planning, guardianship, and diversity issues in aging.

Professor Schwarzmueller is a developmental psychologist with expertise in child development. Areas of special interest to her are gender development, adolescent development, memory development, and forensic psychology. Her research interests include children’s memory in eyewitness testimony situations and empirical assessments of effective college teaching activities.