Clinical Psychology

Carroll E. Izard

		Professor Trustees Distinguished Professor Ph.D., Syracuse University, 1952 Research Interests Recent Publications Representative Publications Vita -PDF izard@psych.udel.edu Office: 105 McKinly Hall (302) 831-1838 (302) 831-3645 -fax Lab: 181 McKinly Hall (302) 831-2700 Preferred contact method - email

Research Interests

Emotional development

Research Summary:

In the Human Emotions Lab, we study emotions, indexed by a wide variety of procedures, in relation to the development of emotion knowledge, emotion regulation, social and emotion competence, personality, and behavior problems. The theoretical notion that drives our work is that the emotions are central in motivating and organizing perception, cognition, and action.

Much of the current research in the lab concerns the development of emotion knowledge, emotion regulation, and key components of emotion competence. Four graduate students are active in this research. Each has primary responsibility for particular studies, and they collaborate with each other and with the principal investigators on other studies.

A principal goal of our research is to develop a scientific basis for emotion-based intervention programs that prevent behavioral disorders and facilitate the development of social and emotion competence.

A relatively new activity in the lab consists of translating research into practice--clinical, school, and community programs. Based on differential emotions theory and findings from basic research in our lab and others, we have constructed an emotion-centered prevention program for preschool children, particularly children at risk for behavior problems and psychopathology. Graduate students may choose to participate in basic research that strengthens the scientific basis of the program, the development of auxiliary program materials, program implementation, or program evaluation research.

Graduate students in the lab present papers at regional and national conventions and publish as first or later authors on a number of papers and book chapters. Current graduate students have presented at SRCD and APA and are authoring or coauthoring several papers. For example, some of these papers showed that a child's ability to detect emotion signals and understand the causes of emotion feelings was associated with indexes of the child's emotion competence and academic competence. These activities of our graduate students reflect their goal of preparing for research-oriented careers in clinical psychological science.

Recent Publications

Izard, C. E. (in press). Emotion theory and research: Highlights, unanswered questions, and emerging issues. Annual Review of Psychology.

Izard, C. E., & King, K. A. (in press). Differential emotions theory. In K. Scherer (Ed.), Oxford Companion to the Affective Sciences. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Izard, C. E., King, K. A., Trentacosta, C. J., Laurenceau, J. P., Morgan, J. K., Krauthamer-Ewing, E. S., et al. (2008). Accelerating the development of emotion competence in Head Start children. Development & Psychopathology, 20, 369-397.

Izard, C. E., Stark, K., Trentacosta, C., & Schultz, D. (in press). Beyond emotion regulation: Emotion utilization and adaptive functioning. Child Development Perspectives.

Izard, C. E., Quinn, P. C., & Most, S. B. (2008). Many ways to awareness: A developmental perspective on cognitive access. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 30, 506-507.

Izard, C. E., Trentacosta, C. J., King, K. A., Morgan, J. K., & Diaz, M. (2007). Emotions, emotionality, and intelligence in the development of adaptive behavior. In G. Matthews, M. Zeidner & R. Roberts (Eds.), The science of emotional intelligence: Knowns and unknowns (pp. 127-150). Cambridge, MA: Oxford University Press.

Izard, C. E., Youngstrom, E. A., Fine, S. E., Mostow, A. J., & Trentacosta, C. J. (2006). Emotions and developmental psychopathology. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental Psychology: Theory and method, 2nd edition (Vol. 1, pp. 244-292). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Representative Publications

Izard, C.E., Fine, S.E., Mostow, A.J., Trentacosta, C.J., & Campbell, J. (2002). Emotion processes in normal and abnormal development and preventative intervention. Development and Psychopathology, 14, 761-787.

Fine, S.E., Izard, C. E., Mostow, A. J., Trentacosta, C. J., & Ackerman, B. P. (2003). First grade emotion knowledge as a predictor of fifth grade self-reported internalizing behaviors in children from economically disadvantaged families. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 331-342.

Mostow, A.J., Izard, C.E., Fine, S.E., & Trentacosta, C. J. (2002). Modeling the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral predictors of peer acceptance. Child Development, 73, 1775-1787.

Izard, C.E. (2002). Translating emotion theory and research into preventative interventions. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 796-824.

Izard, C. E. (2001). Emotional intelligence or adaptive emotions? Emotion, 1, 249-257.

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