Recognizing the unique abilities of mature adults.
In the Adult Development Lab we conduct research that addresses social-cognitive processes in everyday life, from adolescence to older adulthood. A great deal of psychological research has focused on ways in which cognitive abilities in adulthood decline with older age. One of our goals is to investigate domains in which adults continue to grow and develop throughout the lifespan.
Guided by a social-cognitive perspective, our research focuses on how older adults' goals, beliefs, experiences, and changing roles come to bear on cognitive functioning in social situations. Thus, we are conducting research in attributional processes, social judgment biases, everyday problem solving, and decision making.
Overall, the long-term goal of research conducted in our lab is to broaden our understanding of the types of behaviors that are uniquely adaptive for adults over the lifespan and to contribute to their competence in the social realm.
