Celebrating the Contribution of Developmental Psychology to Public Policy

This event will celebrate the achievements of two distinguished scholars, Dr. Anna Gassman-Pines and Dr. Jennifer Lansford, who have been recognized with prestigious awards from the American Psychological Association's Division 7 for their outstanding contributions to the field of developmental science. Both Gassman-Pines and Lansford have demonstrated an unwavering dedication to the field of developmental psychology, leveraging their research to drive positive change in society, particularly for the well-being of children and families.

Gassman-Pines received the highly acclaimed 2024 Mavis Hetherington Award for Excellence in Applied Developmental Science. This recognition honors her exceptional commitment to advancing the well-being of children, families, and organizations through her scholarly contributions and applied developmental science. She is a professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy and the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience and is a faculty affiliate at the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy.

Lansford was awarded the esteemed 2024 Mary Ainsworth Award for Excellence in Developmental Science. This honor acknowledges her exceptional scientific merit and groundbreaking work, which has opened new empirical and theoretical areas within developmental psychology and fostered interdisciplinary connections. Lansford is the director of the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy and a research professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy.

During this event, Gassman-Pines will share her research on how work hours and income instability shaped families' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her talk will include some of the unconventional policy approaches that were tried during the pandemic which provide insight about ways to help stabilize families going forward.

Lansford will discuss child protection in the U.S. and internationally, showcasing data from the Parenting Across Cultures Project, a longitudinal study of families in nine countries which began in 2008. She will describe aspects of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals that are focused on child protection, how countries are trying to achieve child protection goals (e.g., legal bans of corporal punishment), No Hit Zones in the U.S., and parenting programs that have been implemented to improve children's well-being by reducing violence against them.

Please join us for a reception after the talk.