Associate Professor Jeanette Lawrence

Ph.D. (Minnesota), B.A. Hons I (Sydney), Th.L. Hons I (Australian College of Theology), Dip. R.E. (Melbourne College of Divinity)

Associate Professor

Contact details:

Jeanette Lawrence is a developmental psychologist studying the development of people in interaction with their social environments across the life course. Her research projects cover interactions between people across generations (especially in relation to caregiving and inheritance). Research on justice for people is carried out in areas of procedural justice for young people, and court processes (especially in cases of child protection and sentencing). Her interest in pathways of personal development has recently led to studies of people with exceptional as well as normative developmental experiences (particularly young people with diabetes). With a theoretical perspective grounded in the dynamics of personal and social interactions, she has been innovative in developing computer assisted methods of data collection and methods for analysing people's cognitive interpretations and other responses to social situations.

Research Interests:

• In the area of: life-span developmental psychology
  • Development of the changing person in changing environments
  • Developmental processes: internalization/externalization, and mutual constraining of the person and the context
  • Life-course transitions (especially from adolescence to adulthood)
• Specific research projects:
  • Intergenerational interactions: related to caregiving, inheritance arrangements, procedural fairness
  • Procedural justice for children
  • Child protection and sentencing decisions in the children's courts
• Methodology:
  • Combining qualitative and quantitative analyses
  • The development of interactive computer programs for data-collection (See Intergenerational Lab and Procedural Justice Lab.)

Professional Associations, Memberships & Awards:

• Australasian Human Development Association (President: 1997- 2001)
• Australian Psychological Society
• International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development
• Registered Psychologist, Victoria

Recent Funded Research:

Selected Publications:

Book Chapters:

Lawrence, J. A., & Dodds, A. E. (2003). "Goal-Directed Activities and Life-Span Development". In J. Valsiner and K. Connolly (Eds.), Handbook of developmental psychology (517-533). London: Sage.

Lawrence, J.A. (2005). "Young people in transition: Challenges and opportunities for Contemporary Australian Youth". In Richardson, S., & Prior, M. (Eds.), No time to lose: The wellbeing of Australia's children (pp. 298-307). Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.

Articles in Refereed Journals:

Lawrence, J.A., & Dodds, A.E. (1999). "Duncker's Account of Productive Thinking: Exegesis and Application of a Problem Solving Theory. From Past to Future: Insights into life, The Drama of Karl Duncker", XX 1 (2), pp 29-44.

Wilson, S.J., Saling, M.M., Lawrence, J.A., & Bladin, P.F. (1999). "Outcome of Temporal Lobectomy; Expectations and the Prediction of Perceived Success", Epilepsy Research, 36, pp 1-14.

Drake, D. G. and Lawrence, J.A. (2000). "Equality and Distributions of Inheritance in Families", Social Justice Research, 13 (3), pp 271-290.

Goodnow, J. J., & Lawrence, J. A. (2001). "Work Contributions to the Family: Developing a Conceptual and Research Framework". In A. J. Fuligni (Ed.), Family obligation and assistance during adolescence: Contextual variations and developmental implications. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 94 (Winter) (5 - 22). San Franscisco: Jossey-Bass.

Goodnow, J. J., Lawrence, J. A., Ryan, G., Karantzas, G., & King, K. (2002). "Extending Studies of Collaborative Cognition by way of Caregiving Situations", International Journal of Behavioural Development. 26 (1), pp 16-25.

Lawrence , J. A. (2002). "Where Can I Look Up That Ethical Theory, Concept or Application?", Journal of Moral Education, 31 (4) , pp 469-472.

Lawrence , J. A., Goodnow, J. J., Woods, K., & Karantzas, G. (2002). "Distributions of Caregiving Tasks Among Family Members: The Place of Gender and Availability", Journal of Family Psychology, 16 (4), pp 493-509 .

Lawrence, J. A., & Valsiner, J. (2003). "Making Personal Sense: An Account of Basic Internalization and Externalization Processes", Theory and Psychology, 13 (6), pp 723-752.

Lawrence, J. A. (2003). "Safeguarding Fairness for Children in Interactions with Adults in Authority: Computer-based Investigations of the Judgments of Secondary School Students", Report to Criminology Research Council.

Hicks, A.J., & Lawrence , J. A. (2004 ). "Procedural Safeguards for Young Offenders", Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 37 (3), pp 401-417.

Lawrence, J. A., Dodds, A. E., & Valsiner, J. (2004). "The Many Faces of Everyday Life: Some Challenges to the Psychology of Cultural Practice", Culture and Psychology, 10, pp 455-476.

Kelly, G., Lawrence, J. A., & Dodds, A. E. (2005). "Women's Developmental Experiences of Living with Type 1 Diabetes". Forum: Qualitiative Social Research, 6(1), Article 22.

Ross, S. and Lawrence, J. A. (2005). "Sentencing Mentally Disordered Offenders: Factors that Predict Sentencers' Decisions about Treatment", Psychiatry, Psychology & Law, 12(1), 174-183.

Electronic Teaching Materials

Lawrence , J. A., & Dodds , A. E. (2000). Understanding Human Development. Interactive CD-Rom. Sydney: Pearson Education Australia, Pty. Ltd. ISBN No. 1 74009588X.

Resource: Professional Development and Ethics
This teaching interactive resource was developed by Jeanette Lawrence and Agnes Dodds (of FEU), with a grant from the University T&LMec Grant 

PhD Students under Supervision:

Rowena Phillips