
Sheila Walker,
Professor of Psychology; Laura Vausbinder Hockett Endowed Professorship
Phone: 72908
Academic History
- B.A. American University
- M.A. New York University
- Ph.D. Cornell University
Interests
My primary areas of research are culture and cognition; the development of racial and ethnic minority youth; and identity. Currently, my lab group is conducting studies examining identity among biracial young adults.
Courses Taught
- Child Development
- Adolescent Development
- Cognitive Development
- Cultural Psychology
- Identity Development among Minority Youth
- Psychology of the Black Woman in the U.S.
- Psychology of Native American and First Nations Peoples (new course to be taught spring semester, 2012)
Selected Research and Publications
- Walker, S.J. (2008). "'Woman' sounds more powerful": Identity development among urban, black adolescent females. In G. Tate (Ed.) Journeys of hope: Black women in urban spaces. NY: Palgrave Macmillan Press.
- Boyer, P. & Walker, S. (2000). Intuitive ontology and cultural input in the acquisition of religious concepts. In K. Rosengren, P. Harris, & C. Johnson (Eds.) Imagining the impossible: The development of magical, scientific, and religious thinking. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Walker, S. (1999). Culture, domain-specificity, and conceptual change: Natural kind and artifact concepts. British Journal of Developmental Psychology 17, 203-219.