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Cornell Department of Human Development

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The Department of Human Development was a multidisciplinary department at Cornell University from 1925 to 2021. The department emphasized a lifespan perspective of human development that examined social, cultural, biological, and psychological processes and mechanisms of growth and change throughout the life cycle.[1] Many significant social science scholars of the 20th and 21st century, including Urie Bronfenbrenner (ecological systems theory, co-founder of Head Start) and Kurt Lewin (group dynamics, organizational development), were among the department's faculty. A number of the department's graduate students became significant figures in the social sciences with their work tending toward interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary approaches.

History of the Department

The department was originally founded in 1925 as the Department of Family Life at Cornell. Its founding occurred during a broader historical context in the United States during the 1920s that saw improving and expanding the science of child psychology and child rearing as a national imperative.[2] Funding from the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial, which was part of a mission by the Rockefeller Foundation to promote social science research and improve child welfare, provided the department with resources to create a laboratory nursery school in which faculty and students conducted empirical research observing the behavior of children and parents. Because of its empirical focus on the home, the family, and children, which were considered women's activities during the time, faculty and students in the department were generally women. Given limited opportunities for programs of study for women during the first half the 20th century, the department offered a particular niche for women at Cornell and helped train a generation of educators, health care providers, and social workers.[3][4]

In 1945, the department was renamed the Department of Child Development and Family Relationships. Along with the name change came a change in direction for the department as its funding support shifted to government grants and its empirical studies shifted from the laboratory nursery school to surrounding communities.[3] In 1948, Bronfenbrenner joined the department and further expanded its reputation and impact. While a faculty membe there , he published his ecological systems theory, which posited that human development unfolds in a nested set of systems, involving cultural, social, economic and political factors in addition to psychological factors. Bronfenbrenner's perspective transformed the study of human development and informed policies related to child development. Notably, Bronfenbrenner's congressional testimony in 1964 and subsequent work on a federal panel helped establish the federal Head Start program in 1965. His influence also shaped the direction and organization of the department and the college in which it was housed. In 1969, the department was renamed the Department of Human Development and Family Studies and Cornell's College of Home Economics was renamed the College of Human Ecology in recognition of Bronfenbrenner's theoretical contributions.[5]

In 1998, the department dropped "Family Studies" from its name and became known just as the Department of Human Development. In part, this change reflected an increasing focus on development across the lifespan. Throughout this time, more male faculty joined the department and the number of male students increased. In July 2021, the Department of Human Development and Cornell's Department of Psychology underwent a merger into a cross-university "super-department" that only retained the Department of Psychology in its name.[4] However, undergraduate students at Cornell can still major in Human Development. Human Development coursework at Cornell is organized into five areas of specialization that reflect the strengths of the former department: aging and health; cognitive development; human developmental behavioral neuroscience; psychology, law, and human development; and social and personality development. Human Development coursework also retains the former department's emphasis on the role that social factors, environment, and culture play in human development.[1]

Legacy and Influence

The department's theoretical and empirical contributions reflect the critical perspectives faculty brought from multiple disciplines. Lewin is often recognized as the father of modern social psychology and is credited with establishing field theory, which proposes that human behavior is a function of an individual's psychological environment, and advancing the study of group dynamics.[6] Bronfenbrenner developed a fundamental theory of the ecology of human development that has shaped the subsequent study of human behavior and human environments . Robert Sternberg is credited with developing a triarchic theory of intelligence, which emphasizes intelligence beyond academic proficiency, and is an vocal critic of standardized testing.[7] The work of Valerie F. Reyna and Charles Brainerd established fuzzy-trace theory, which is a theory of cognition proposed to explain false memory, medical decision making, and risk estimation among other phenomena, and provided practical implications for improving medical communication and eyewitness testimony.

Extension and translational work was an emphasis of the department from its early years . In the 1930s, faculty such as Ethel Waring translated data from empirical studies conducted in the laboratory nursery school in extension bulletins aimed at informing parents on the best child rearing practices. Faculty also educated mothers throughout New York state in Cornell Study Clubs.[3][8] Faculty have served on federal panels and provided policy recommendations to government agencies, including Bronfenbrenner's work in establishing the Head Start program. Work by Stephen J. Ceci on child testimony and how law enforcement officials interact with children has shaped judicial policy.[9] Work in the department also led to the development of a home visitation program for pregnant and new mothers that serves approximately 58,000 families a year in the United States and is shown to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies, prevent child abuse and improve children's academic outcomes.[4]

Scholars associated with Human Development at Cornell

Notable graduates from Human Development at Cornell

References

  1. ^ a b "About The Department of Psychology". Cornell University College of Human Ecology. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  2. ^ Frank, Lawrence K. (1962). "The beginnings of child development and family life education in the twentieth century". Merrill-Palmer Quarterly of Behavior and Development. 8 (4): 207–227. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Brumberg, Joan (2005). The Department of Human Development: A Historical Perspective. Cornell University. pp. 1–15. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Hall, Sheri. "Expanding the psychological sciences at Cornell". Cornell University College of Human Ecology. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Urie Bronfenbrenner". BCTR. Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  6. ^ Haggbloom, Steven J.; Warnick, Renee; Warnick, Jason E.; Jones, Vinessa K.; Yarbrough, Gary L.; Russell, Tenea M.; Borecky, Chris M.; McGahhey, Reagan; Powell, John L., III; Beavers, Jamie; Monte, Emmanuelle (2002). "The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century". Review of General Psychology. 6 (2): 139–52. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.586.1913. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.6.2.139. S2CID 145668721.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Wallis, Claudia. "Is the U.S. Education System Producing a Society of "Smart Fools"?". Scientific American. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Ethel Bushnell Waring Papers". Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  9. ^ Winter, Metta. "Ceci shapes judicial policy on testimony of children". The Free Library. Cornell University, Human Ecology. Retrieved 3 January 2022.


Category:Psychology departments in the United States Category:Cornell University Category:Educational institutions established in 1925

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