Charles M. Super

Professor


Co-Director, Center for the Study of Culture, Health, and Human Development

Curriculum Vitae

Prof. Super is accepting new graduate students for fall, 2024

Educational Background:

Ph.D., Developmental Psychology, Harvard University, 1972
Internship in Clinical Child Psychology, Judge Baker Children’s Center, Boston, M.A., 1981-85
B.A., cum laude, Psychology, Yale University, 1966

Selected Honors and Awards:

  • Jean Lau Chin Award for Outstanding Psychologist in International Leadership Contributions, Division 52 of the American Psychological Association (co-recipient with Sara Harkness)
  • U.S. National Committee for Psychological Science (Elected Member), National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences. 2013-2021
  • Award for Distinguished Contributions to Cultural and Contextual Factors in Child Development, Society for Research in Child Development (co-recipient with Sara Harkness), 2009
  • Connecticut Friend of Families and Consumers, presented by the Connecticut Affiliate of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, 2005
  • Distinguished Service Award, University of Connecticut School of Family Studies Alumni Association, 2005

Research Interests:

Cultural Regulation of Human Development, Particularly Biological, Cognitive, and Emotional Development During Infancy and Childhood; Parental and Professional Ethnotheories of Child Development and Behavior; Interventions to Promote the Physical and Mental Health of Children and Families; Research Methods Appropriate for Comparative and Culturally Based Research.

Selected Publications:

  • Super, C. M., Blom, M. J. M., Harkness, S., Ranade, N., & Londhe, L. (2021). Culture and the organization of infant sleep: A study in the Netherlands and the U.S.A. Infant Behavior and Development, 64. Doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101620.
  • Super, C. M., & Harkness, S. (2020). Culture and the perceived organization of newborn behavior: A comparative study in Kenya and the U.S. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development. doi: 10.1002/cad.20366
  • Super, C. M., Harkness, S., Bonichini, S., Welles, B. Zylicz, P. O., Ríos Bermúdez, M., & Palacios, J. (2020). Developmental continuity and change in the cultural construction of the “difficult child: A study in six Western cultures. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, in press.
  • Super, C. M., Britto, P. R., & Engle, P. (2013).The future of ECD in the global development agenda. In P. R. Britto, P. Engle, & C. M. Super (Eds.). Oxford handbook of early childhood development research and its impact on global policy (pp. 508-516). [Sponsored by UNICEF and SRCD]. New York: Oxford.
  • Super, C. M., Guldan, G. S., Ahmed, N., & Zeitlin, M. (2012). The emergence of separation protest is robust under condition of severe developmental stress. Infant and Child Development, 35, 393‑396.
  • Super, C. M., & Harkness, S. (2003). The metaphors of development. Human Development, 46(1), 3‑23.
  • Super, C. M., Harkness, S., van Tijen, N., van der Vlugt, E., Fintelman, M., & Dijkstra, J. (1996). The three Rs of child rearing in Holland and the socialization of infant arousal.  In S. Harkness & C. M. Super (Eds.). Parents’ cultural belief systems:  Sociocultural origins and developmental consequences. (pp. 447-466). New York:  Guilford Press.
  • Super, C. M., Herrera, M. G., & Mora, J. O. (1990). Long‑term effects of food supplementation and psychosocial intervention on the physical growth of Colombian infants at risk of malnutrition. Child Development, 61, 29‑49.
  • Super, C. M., & Harkness, S. (1986). The development niche:  A conceptualization at the interface of child and culture. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 9, 545‑569.
    Charles Super
    Contact Information
    Emailcharles.super@uconn.edu
    Phone860 486 1595
    Mailing Address348 Mansfield Road U1058 Storrs, CT 06269-1058 USA