Research in Social and Developmental Psychology in Cambridge
Although the Department is relatively small, its members are actively involved in research on a number of different topics, and postgraduate students tend to work in close assoication with a member of staff and other members of their research groups or networks.
Among the social psychologists, David Good focuses on the effects of new technologies on human behaviour and interaction in real-world settings, Jason Rentfrow focuses on the links between personality, values and attitudes, and the roles and uses of music, and Simone Schnall, studies embodied cognition and emotion using self-report, behavioural and psychophysiological methods. Juliet Foster studies social representations, including representations of mental health. Nicholas Gibson examines the psychology of religion with an emphasis on agnostive approaches.
Members of the Psychometric Centre, directed by John Rust, are actively involved in a raft of research projects, including the standardisation of new and established measures that are in widespread use around the world.
Among the developmental psychologists, Susan Golombok, who directs the Centre for Family Research, heads a group of researchers studying family functioning and child adjustment in traditional and non-traditional families, including those headed by same-sex partents as well as those created using new technologies. Melissa Hines (with Vickie Pasterski) focuses on gender, with a particular interest in the interpay of pronatal hormonal exposure and early experience on the emergence of behavioural sex differences. Claire Hughes and Rosie Ensor focus on individual differences in child adjustment in the first few years of life. Michael Lamb along with Irit Hershkowitz, Carmit Katz and Lindsay Malloy study the capabilities of child witnesses, especially with respect to their testimony regarding experiences of abuse. Michael Lamb also studies factors affecting the adjustment of children, including parent-child relationships. Martin Richards focuses on new reproductive techniques and their implications.
Current or recent visitors include Sanford Braver, Andrew Elliot, Irit Hershkowitz, and Jesus Palacios.
The Department has very close links to:
- The Centre for Family Research
- The Psychometrics Centre
- Psychology and Society (online journal)
- Non-Religion and Secularity Research Network
The Department welcomes
inquiries from postdocs who either have funding or who are seeking
funding to pursue research in social and developmental psychology.
It also welcomes inquiries from social and developmental psychologists
who are considering spending a period of sabbatical leave in Cambridge.
In both cases, inquiries should in the first instance be addressed to
the Head of Department, Professor Michael Lamb .
Research Centres
The Department has very close links with a number of Centres and the current list can be found by click below:
List of Centres linked with the Department of Social and Developmental Psychology
Research Opportunities
The BBC's 'The Big Personality Test'/'The Personality Project'
The Department has recently been heavily involved with the BBC as part of its 'Lab UK' series of online experiments.
See The Personality Project page for more details.
Research Archives
The F. C. Bartlett Archive
The F. C. Bartlett Archive is an online archive of the work of Frederic Charles Bartlett. Created by Gerard Duveen, Alex Gillespie and Brady Wagoner with a grant from the British Academy.