Daphne Bugental

Biography

Daphne Bugental is Distinguished Professor, Emeritus within the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She received her Ph.D. in social psychology at UCLA. Her current research is supported by grants from NSF. Her research contributions were recognized in 2003 by the Kurt Lewin Memorial Award (for research that simultaneously advances the state of scientific knowledge and also directly addresses current social issues and concerns of society). She served through 2007 as Associate Editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and is past Associate Editor of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. She is also a Fellow of APA (social psychology, and developmental psychology), APS, and SPSSI (Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues).

Research Interest

Research conducted in my lab is concerned with the mechanisms that regulate social interaction, combining perspectives drawn from social, developmental, and evolutionary theory. In particular, our research has focused on the responses shown to populations often subject to social stigma or neglect, for example, children born at medical risk, individuals with disabilities, and older adults. In addition, we assess individual differences in the responses shown to vulnerable populations. As one example, mothers who believe they have low resources (money, time. or perceived control) are less likely to “invest” (i.e., provide benefits) in high risk children. Such responses are preventable when mothers participate in an intervention that leads to reduced maternal depression, increases in perceived control, and enhanced “investment” in “at risk” children. Children, in turn, show reduced stress (as measured by their cortisol levels), which in turn predicts higher levels of children’s cognitive performance and physical health at older ages. Among older adults, stress responses (often fostered by the ageist speech style of others) predict lower levels of performance and health.