Author Biography

Carol K. Sigelman (B.A., Carleton College; M.A. and Ph.D., George Peabody College for Teachers at Vanderbilt University) is professor and chair of psychology at George Washington University (GWU), where she also served as an associate vice president for 13 years. She was on the faculty at Texas Tech University, Eastern Kentucky University, and the University of Arizona before coming to GWU. She has taught courses in child, adolescent, adult, and life-span development and has published research on such topics as the communication skills of individuals with developmental disabilities, the development of stigmatizing reactions to children and adolescents who are different, children's emerging understandings of diseases and psychological disorders, and communication in military families separated by deployment. Elizabeth (Betty) Rider (B.A., Gettysburg College; M.S and Ph.D., Vanderbilt University) is professor of psychology and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. She taught at the University of North Carolina at Asheville for several years before moving back to her home state of Pennsylvania more than 20 years ago. She has taught psychology of women and developmental psychology courses to undergraduates at an institution where student learning is the number one priority. Before moving into administrative positions, she was awarded exceptional performance distinctions nearly every year for her work in or out of the classroom. Her research interests include young children's understanding of spatial relationships, predictive variables for student success, and methods to strengthen student learning.