Mary Ainsworth Born in 1913, Mary Ainsworth is considered a pioneer of attachment research. Her development of the “Strange Situation” allowed the differentiation of attachment into different types (e.g., secure vs. insecure). Her work is mentioned frequently in the textbook and the lectures, and a short biography of her life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ainsworth Paul Baltes Born in 1939, Paul Baltes provided developmental researchers with a number of theories and ideas. These include the Selection Optimization Compensation model, notions of lifelong development, multidimensionality, multidirectionality, plasticity etc. His work is mentioned frequently in the textbook and the lectures, and a short biography of his life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Baltes Albert Bandura Born in 1925, Albert Bandura is best known for Social Learning theory. One of his most famous experiments is called the Bobo doll experiment; children who observed an adult model aggressive behavior towards a Bobo doll were later observed expressing the same aggressive behaviors after experiencing frustration. A short biography of his life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Bandura Simon Baron-Cohen Born in 1958, Simon Baron-Cohen is a researcher that was involved in one of the first studies to show that children with autism have deficits in Theory of Mind. His work involves cognitive development in children and adults with autism. A short biography of his life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Baron-Cohen John Bowlby Born in 1907, John Bowlby is most notable for his work on child development and attachment theory. His idea of the parent acting as a “secure base” for the exploring child has influenced the work of other psychologists as well, such as Mary Ainsworth. A short biography of his life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bowlby Urie Bronfenbrenner Born in 1917, Urie Bronfenbrenner’s greatest impact on developmental psychology centers around his Ecological Systems Theory, which illustrates the importance of considering contextual influences when studying developmental processes. His work is mentioned frequently in the textbook and the lectures, and a short biography of his life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urie_Bronfenbrenner Jacquelynne Eccles Jacquelynne Eccles is a developmental and motivational psychologist who studies the development of adolescents and young adults. Her main interest is in the role of the individual in the context of school, family and peer-relationships in shaping important developmental transitions during the second decade of life. Dr. Eccles is joining UCI’s School of Education in Fall 2013. See more at http://www.gse.uci.edu/news/2013/eccles.php Glen H. Elder, Jr. Glen Elder is one of the founders of life-course sociology. He pioneered research methods using existing longitudinal data sets and investigating the effects of major historical events and social changes on individuals’ life courses. Famous works of his are on children of the great depression and on long-term effects of war. See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Elder_%28sociologist%29 Erik Erikson Born in 1902, Erik Erikson comes from the Freudian psychoanalytic school of psychology. Perhaps his most enduring contribution to the field comes from his Stages of Psychosocial Development, or the 8-stages of man. His work is mentioned frequently in the textbook and the lectures, and a short biography of his life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Erikson G. Stanley Hall Born in 1844, Hall is best known for his research on evolutionary theory and childhood and adolescent development. He founded the American Journal of Psychology and was the first president of the American Psychological Association (APA). A short biography of his life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._Stanley_Hall Harry Harlow Born in 1905, Harry Harlow is known for his work on maternal separation and social isolation in rhesus monkeys. Harlow found that when raised with surrogate inanimate mothers, infant monkeys preferred the mother that provided comfort over the mother that provided food, especially in times of distress. His work has important implications for human attachment theory. A short biography of his life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Harlow Jerome Kagan Born in 1929, Jerome Kagan conducted research involving personality traits and emotion across the lifespan. He is most notable for his work involving the role of environment and infant temperament on the development of adult personality and behavior. A short biography of his life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Kagan Lawrence Kohlberg Born in 1927, Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of Moral development provided insight on the development of moral reasoning across the lifespan. His work has important implications for child cognition and cognitive development. A short biography of his life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Kohlberg Richard M. Lerner Born in 1946, Richard M. Lerner conducted research in positive youth development and was an eminent contributor to the theory and history of lifespan development. His work has had important influences on the development of lifespan development as an interdisciplinary field of research. More information can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_M._Lerner Konrad Lorenz Born in 1903, Konrad Lorenz was an etiologist, not psychologist. However, his work with animal behavior, specifically geese, has important implications for the field of psychology. Lorenz coined the term “imprinting,” which refers to how baby geese imprint and follow the first moving stimulus that they see after hatching. The important implications of imprinting relate to “critical periods” and phase-sensitive learning in psychology. For more information on imprinting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imprinting_(psychology); for a short biography of his life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konrad_Lorenz Abraham Maslow Born in 1908, Abraham Maslow is best known for his Hierarchy of Needs, a theory of human psychological and physical necessities to reach self-actualization. His theory involves the idea that humans must obtain their basic needs (food, shelter, etc.) before they have the capacity to obtain higher needs (love, self-esteem). A short biography of his life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow Andrew Meltzoff Born in 1950, Andrew Meltzoff is most famous for his work on infant and child development. His work on infant facial imitations showed that infants less than one month old are capable of imitating adult facial gestures shown to them. Meltzoff’s work has important implications for the study of infant memory and learning. A short biography of life his can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Meltzoff John R. Nesselroade John Nesselroade’s scholarship is in the area of quantitative methods in developmental research. He has developed a wide array of statistical strategies to capture individual differences in change over time, both in micro- and macro-longitudinal studies. His legacy is not only laid down in his many books and articles, but maybe even more in numerous highly innovative and successful graduate students and postdocs who are currently shaping the field of lifespan developmental methodology. See also http://www.drjrnesselroade.com/ Bernice Neugarten Bernice Neugarten was a psychologist who studied adult development and pioneered the study of older adults and aging. She was one of the founders of lifespan developmental psychology at the Center for Human Development at the University of Chicago. Her influence on the fields of lifespan developmental psychology and life-course sociology was truly interdisciplinary. See biography and other details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernice_Neugarten Jean Piaget Born in 1896, Jean Piaget is a giant in the field of cognitive development. Although he had many contributions, his sensorimotor model of cognitive development is perhaps his most enduring. His work is mentioned frequently in the textbook and the lectures, and a short biography of his life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Piaget Sandra Scarr Born in 1936, Sandra Scarr’s most prominent influence on developmental psychology include research and theory regarding how genes and environments interact in influencing development. Her work is mentioned in the textbook and a short biography of her life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandra_Scarr B.F. Skinner Born in 1904, B. F. Skinner was a prominent proponent of the behaviorist school of psychology. He introduced operant conditioning, and the Skinner box, both of which have had a long-lasting impact on the field. His work is mentioned in the textbook and lecture, and a short biography of his life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._Skinner Margaret Beale Spencer Received her Ph.D. at the University of Chicago, studies the effects of ethnicity, gender and race on adolescent and youth development. She differentiates multiple levels of social context and how that effects ethnic identity. See more information here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Beale_Spencer Esther Thelen Born in 1941, Esther Thelen’s Dynamic Systems Theory provided a great leap forward to the field of motor development. Her work is mentioned prominently in the motor and sensory developmental sections of the text and lecture, and a short biography of her life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Thelen Lev Vygotsky Born in 1896, Lev Vygotsky is known for his work in child cognitive development. Specifically, he is best known for his ideas in learning and cognitive development; the “zone of proximal development” explains how child learning is “scaffolded” or guided by a more skilled person to help a child reach a skill level that he could not do on his own. A short biography of his life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky John B. Watson Born in 1878, John B. Watson was a behaviorist psychologist who is most famously known for the (highly unethical) Little Albert experiment. The classical conditioning experiment conditioned the infant to be afraid of a white rat by pairing the presentation of the rat with a loud noise. The experiment showed that emotions could also become conditioned responses, and that these responses can also be generalized to similar stimuli. A short biography of his life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Watson Wilhelm Wundt Born in 1832, Wilhelm Wundt is considered the “father of experimental psychology” because he founded the first formal psychology lab for experimental research. His other notable accomplisments involve work in neurological bases of mental disorders and abnormal behavior. A short biography of his life can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Wundt
