Early Childhood Australia   In 2013, Early Childhood Australia (ECA) celebrates 75 years of continued service to Australian children.  It was in 1938 we started as the ‘The Australian Association of Pre-School Child Development’.  The longevity of the organisation and its continued commitment to this important role is testament to its leaders and members. While there is still much to be achieved, the gains to date should be celebrated as we acknowledge this milestone.

Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University, USA   The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University was founded in 2006 on the belief that the vitality and sustainability of any society depend on the extent to which it expands opportunities early in life for all children to achieve their full potential and engage in responsible and productive citizenship. We view healthy child development as the foundation of economic prosperity, strong communities, and a just society, and our mission is to advance that vision by using science to enhance child well-being through innovations in policy and practice.

Laboratory for Developmental Studies, Harvard University, USA    Welcome to Harvard University’s Laboratory for Developmental Studies, where we investigate how infants and children perceive and reason about the world around them. Our studies are supported by funds from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Child Health and Development, and the John Templeton Foundation. Our studies explore such topics as children’s basic understanding of the physical world, how children acquire language, and how they interact socially with other people. We have found that babies and young children may know a lot more than people used to believe.

The Brazelton Institute, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard University, USA   The Brazelton Institute is dedicated to promoting the healthy development of infants and families, through research and education programs for people who care for children and their families in the first years of life. The Institute is based in the Department of Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital in Boston, which is an affiliate of the Harvard Medical School.

The Infant Cognition Center @ Yale, USA   Since 1990, our team has studied the development of infants and young children. Our research examines how babies reason and learn about their physical worlds (such as objects in their environment) and their social worlds (such as the people they interact with). None of this would be possible without the help of parents like you who generously volunteer their time to participate!

Infancy Studies Laboratory @ Rutgers University, USA   Research at the Infancy Studies Laboratory (ISL, also known as The Baby Lab) at the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience (CMBN) uses a range of techniques to examine sensory information processing, language, and cognitive development across the lifespan. In particular, we focus on the early neural processes necessary for normal cognitive and language development as well as the impact of disordered processing on infant neurocognitive status in high risk (e.g., family history of language-based learning impairment, autism or ADHD) or neurologically impaired infants. All of our prospective, longitudinal research is conducted on children aged approximately 3 months to 10 years.

Social Kids Lab, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA   The youngest members of our species face an enormous task: They must learn not only about the objects that comprise the physical world, but also about the people who inhabit the social world. Further, the social world comprises many individuals with different attributes and dispositions, and these individuals relate to one another in myriad ways—as friends or foes, as bosses or subordinates, and as members of different social groups. How do children navigate the complexities of the social world and make sense of the various ways people can be categorized? And, how do children use this information to make judgments about others (e.g., to decide who is likeable or trustworthy)? Our research focuses on infants and children. Most of our studies take place in our lab at the Waisman Center, but we also conduct research at preschools and in the Madison Children’s Museum. 

Child Emotion Lab, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA   Located at the Waisman Center, our primary goal is to unite cutting edge science with research aimed at improving children’s wellbeing.  Our research focuses on the influences of social risk factors on children’s brain and behavioral development, with particular focus on emotions, learning, and children’s health.

Child Development Research Center, Texas Tech University, USA   The Christine DeVitt & Helen DeVitt Jones Child Development Research Center (CDRC) at Texas Tech University provides a developmentally appropriate program for the children of faculty, staff, students and area residents. One important function of the CDRC is to generate research that contributes to knowledge about children and family relationships. Recent research has sought to answer questions about children’s understanding of stories, children’s social competencies in mixed age-group preschools, gender differences, and use of language in children’s pretend play. Research that takes place in the Child Development Research Center generates new knowledge. 

Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, USA   Founded in 1925, the Institute is one of the oldest departments studying children’s development in the United States. From its inception, a key tenet of our department has been to “give away” child psychology. This philosophy has created an environment rich with collaborations, new ideas, and exciting interdisciplinary work.

Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk & Adaptation   The Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children began in 1975. We are focusing on social relationship experiences: how people think about their experiences, risk and protective factors, and issues of continuity and change. The overarching goal of the project has been to trace the course of individual development and to understand factors that guide it toward good outcomes or poor outcomes. Therefore, we have studied how people develop at different points in their lives and across diverse setting (e.g., school, home, social relationships).

Wisconsin Twin Research   We study the nature and sources of emotional individuality, and risk for anxiety and behavioral challenges of early development. Our projects span from infancy to early adulthood. Using a behavior genetics approach, we attempt to understand the nature of risk and resilience as children develop. We hope that this increased understanding will contribute to public health and to appreciation of human differences.

Child Study Center, Yale University, USA   For 100 years we have been committed to research, treatment, and training related to children and their families. We have remarkable and outstanding programs in areas such as autism and related disorders, Tourette syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorders, community mental health, treatment research, and neuroscience and neurobiology. 

Center for Early Childhood Research, The University of Chicago, USA   We conduct cutting edge research exploring the development of cognition, action, and perception in the first few years of life. Our research focuses on space, number, and language development

Early Play & Development Laboratory, University of Miami, USA  The primary focus of our research is to investigate the social and emotional development of infants and children. The research data collected in our lab is used to examine the development of typically developing children as well as children who are at-risk for or are diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

UEL BabyDevLab, University of East London, UK    In the UEL BabyDevLab we host a range of projects looking at all aspects of children’s early development and learning. The children in our catchment area come from some of the most socioeconomically and demographically diverse areas in the UK, and a major focus of our research is looking at how children’s early home environment influences their concentration, learning, and emotion regulation. Our research uses a variety of innovative techniques including dual parent-child EEG, miniaturised microphones, cameras and stress monitors that can be worn by babies and parents in the home, and computerised concentration training exercises for infants.

Winnicott Research Unit, University of Reading, UK  The WRU was established in 1989 in Cambridge under the directorship of Lynne Murray and Peter Cooper. It moved with Lynne and Peter to Reading in 1996, where it currently runs, with Cathy Creswell as the Deputy Director. The research of the Unit is focussed on the interplay between environmental and biological factors in the course of child development. The Unit has made particular use of prospective longitudinal research, notably in relation to the development of offspring of mothers with postnatal depression (PND) and with anxiety disorders, as well as of those living in conditions of extreme socio-economic adversity. The Unit has also studied the development of children with cleft lip/palate (CLP). For each of these populations the Unit has undertaken the development and evaluation of psycho-social interventions, both as a means of elucidating causal processes, and to establish evidence-based interventions for improving child developmental outcome.

Child Development Lab, University of Maryland (Studies on temperament), USA   Our research focuses on multiple facets of socio-emotional development. We study cognitive, social and emotional processes and are interested in the observation and measurement of attention, memory, as well as emotion expression and social experience. Our lab specializes in linking these psychological processes to neural activity through brain imaging methods such as EEG, ERP and functional neuro-imaging.

The Center for Infant Studies, Stanford University, USA   The Center for Infant Studies is a consortium of three research groups in the Stanford Psychology Department, each working to answer many different questions about infant and child development. We study how children learn to see, listen, talk and understand the world around them.

Stanford Project on Adaptation & Resilience in Kids, USA   The Stanford Project on Adaptation and Resilience in Kids — the SPARK Lab — seeks to understand how adversity influences children’s adaptation across various domains of functioning, ranging from school engagement and academic competence to positive peer relationships and prosocial behaviors. We strive to identify the biological, behavioral, and environmental processes that enable some disadvantaged children to demonstrate remarkable resilience, while placing others at risk for maladaptive outcomes, such as symptoms of anxiety and depression or disruptive behaviors.

Child & Brain Development, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Canada   A mounting body of evidence suggests that a person’s earliest experiences play a pivotal role in mental and physical health and adaptive development throughout life. CIFAR researchers explore how, when and under what circumstances early environmental factors become “biologically embedded,” affecting neural, endocrine and immune systems at the molecular level. Launched in 2003, Child & Brain Development (formerly known as Experience-based Brain and Biological Development) capitalizes on new techniques for measuring physiological changes, as well as a new abundance of knowledge in genetics, epigenetics, and neuroscience. CIFAR has assembled a team of scientists with expertise in neurobiology, molecular genetics, epidemiology, developmental sciences, pediatrics and psychology.

Stanford Center on Adolescence, Stanford University, USA   The Stanford Center on Adolescence aims to promote the character and competence of all young people growing up in today’s world. The Center’s work provides guidance for parenting, for improved educational practice, and for youth development in a wide variety of community settings. Center’s research agenda examines issues of adolescent learning, identity, and character formation in an array of settings found in modern society.

Virginia Adolescent Research Group, University of Virginia, USA   The Virginia Adolescent Research Group studies the psychological and social development of adolescents and young adults. To find out more about what we do, click on one of the links below. Our lab focuses on the influence of social relationships, autonomy, and attachment processes on adolescent development. Our current study, Kids’ Lives, Families, and Friends (KLIFF), is a longitudinal study in which we are working to learn more about how young teenagers develop and manage friendships with their peers, and how family relationships influence qualities of these peer relationships and teens susceptibility to peer pressure.

Baby Lab, UCLA, USA   The principal focus of our research is perceptual and cognitive development. Infants are born with no visual experience, and are suddenly confronted with a barrage of new sights and sounds. How do they begin to make sense of this new sensory input? We explore this question, and many others, with studies that investigate visual and auditory perception and learning processes in infants, children, and adults.

The Early Childhood Cognition Lab, MIT, USA   The infrastructure of human cognition — our commonsense understanding of the physical and social world — is constructed during early childhood. In the Early Childhood Cognition lab, we study the representations and learning mechanisms that underlie this feat. Our research looks at 1) how children infer the concepts and causal relations that enable them to engage in accurate prediction, explanation, and intervention; 2) the factors that support curiosity and exploration, allowing children to engage in effective discovery and 3) how the social-communicative context (e.g., demonstrating evidence, explaining events, disagreeing about hypotheses) affects children’s learning.

Oxford Centre for Developmental Science, Oxford University, UK   Our goal is to understand how genes and experience work together to influence brain development, emotion and behaviour.The different groups within the Centre investigate a broad range of abilities, from basic vision and perception, through to cognitive skills including language, memory and attention, as well as social and emotional development. We are also interested in children’s individual differences – in what ways do children differ, and why?

The Conceptual Development Lab, University of Michigan, USA   For over 20 years, we have been conducting research on children’s language and thought at the University of Michigan. Our projects explore cognitive development, category formation and use, causal reasoning, and relationships between language and thought. Most of our studies focus on children between the ages of 2 and 10, and are conducted either in our home-like laboratory setting or in area preschools and schools.

Center for Human Growth & Development, University of Michigan, USA   The Center for Human Growth and Development (CHGD) is internationally known for its leadership in integrating biological, behavioral, and cultural aspects of development. We currently have 38 faculty members, including research scientists, research investigators, and faculty who also hold tenure appointments in one of the University’s schools or colleges.CHGD’s multidisciplinary research teams create new understandings of the complexity and richness of human development. By transcending disciplinary boundaries, we cultivate the next generation of knowledge to foster health and encourage optimal development for children, families, and societies.

Child Development Laboratory, University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign, USA   The missions of the CDL parallel the three-part Teaching, Research, and Service missions of the University of Illinois. As a Laboratory School, we support these academic missions by: Facilitating student observations of children. Allowing select research/teaching projects to occur at the school. Serving as a center for teacher training.

Moffitt & Caspi    Avshalom Caspi and Terrie Moffitt are professors of psychology who together study mental health and human development. This joint website represents their collaborative research.This extensive website of developmental psychology researchers Terrie Moffitt and Avshalom Caspi presents an overview of their research, links to publications, a section on what’s new, and more. Of particular interest, is a special section on Gene X Environment effects, including empirical studies, theory and methods, public engagement, topics of debate, and summaries of their work suitable for classroom discussion.