Lynn S. Liben is developmental psychologist known for her research on effects of gender and racial stereotypes on child development. Liben is an Evan Pugh University Professor of Psychology, Human Development and Family Studies, and Education at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

. Liben has been honored as the past President of the

Society for Research in Child Development The Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) is a professional society for the field of human development, focusing specifically on child development. It is a multidisciplinary, not-for-profit, professional association with a membership of ...

(2013–2015). She also served terms as President of

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...

(APA) Division 7, Developmental Psychology (1996–1997), the Jean Piaget Society, and the

Society for the Study of Human Development The Society for the Study of Human Development (SSHD) is a professional society formed by a group of scholars from multiple disciplines (e.g., medicine, biology, psychology, sociology, economics, and history). The central focus of SSHD is to provi ...

Biography

Liben earned her Bachelors of Arts degree in

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1968. She then completed her PhD at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Developmental Psychology Developmental psychology is the science, scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult deve ...

in 1972 under the supervision of Scott Miller. Liben began her career as an assistant professor at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

before moving to Pennsylvania State University in 1976. She held terms as Editor of the '' Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development,'' '' Child Development,'' and the ''

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology The ''Journal of Experimental Child Psychology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal covering experimental child psychology. It was established in 1964 and is published by Elsevier (formerly Academic Press). The editor-in-chief is David F. ...

''. Liben's research has been funded through grants from the National Science Foundation.

Research

Liben worked with Margaret L. Signorella on research examining how children's gender attitudes influence memory. They devised a memory test for first and second graders that involved showing them pictures of women and men in traditional, non-traditional, and neutral occupations. Children were then given a recognition memory test using some the original photos intermixed with foils in which the gender of the person holding the occupation changed. Results suggested that children's memory for the pictures was affected by the extent to which their own gender attitudes were

stereotypical In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

and reflected prevailing gender roles. Liben and her student

Rebecca Bigler Rebecca Bigler is a developmental psychologist known for research on social stereotyping (based on gender or race), prejudice, and children's perceptions of discrimination. Bigler is Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. ...

conducted influential research on gender and racial stereotyping and

prejudice Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's per ...

. The researchers proposed a ''developmental intergroup theory'' to explain how biases towards different social groups are shaped by environmental factors, including educational, social, and legal policies. Some of Liben's other research has focused on gender differentiation, i.e., the process of assigning social significance to biological differences between the sexes. One of their studies, which involved 11- to 13-year-olds, aimed to establish the reliability of measures of this construct. The researchers explored relations between children's sex typing of others and sex typing of themselves, and found evidence supporting theoretical distinctions relating to individuals' gender attitudes toward others, the feminine self, and the masculine self.

Books

* Blakemore, J. E. O., Berenbaum, S. A., & Liben, L. S. (2008). ''Gender development''. Psychology Press. * Lerner, R. M., Liben, L. S., & Mueller, U. (2015). ''Handbook of child psychology and developmental science, cognitive processes'' (Vol. 2). John Wiley & Sons. * Liben, L. S. (Ed.). (2009). ''Current directions in developmental psychology''. Pearson College Division. * Liben, L., & Bigler, R. S. (2014). ''The role of gender in educational contexts and outcomes''. Elsevier. * Horn, S. S., Ruck, M., & Liben, L. (2016). ''Equity and justice in developmental science: Implications for young people, families, and communities''. Academic Press

Representative publications

* Bigler, R. S., & Liben, L. S. (2007). Developmental intergroup theory: Explaining and reducing children's social stereotyping and prejudice. ''Current Directions in Psychological Science'', ''16''(3), 162–166. *Liben, L. S., Bigler, R. S., & Krogh, H. R. (2001). Pink and blue collar jobs: Children's judgments of job status and job aspirations in relation to sex of worker. ''Journal of Experimental Child Psychology'', ''79''(4), 346–363. *Liben, L. S., Bigler, R. S., Ruble, D. N., Martin, C. L., & Powlishta, K. K. (2002). The developmental course of gender differentiation: Conceptualizing, measuring, and evaluating constructs and pathways. ''Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development. 67''(2), i-183. * Liben, L. S., & Signorella, M. L. (1980). Gender-related schemata and constructive memory in children. ''Child Development, 51''(1), 11–18. * Quinn, P. C., & Liben, L. S. (2008). A sex difference in mental rotation in young infants. ''Psychological Science'', ''19''(11), 1067–1070.

References

External links

Faculty profile
at

Cognitive and Social Development Lab
at Pennsylvania State University {{DEFAULTSORT:Liben, Lynn S. Living people American women psychologists 21st-century American psychologists Developmental psychologists Pennsylvania State University faculty Cornell University alumni University of Michigan alumni Year of birth missing (living people)