Dr. John E. Bates

Professor of Psychology

Contact Information

Office: PY 146
Office Phone: (812) 855-8693
Lab: PY A304
Lab Phone: (812) 855-6961
E-mail:

Web site: Dr. Bates Social Development Lab

Educational Background

1973 - Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles

Areas of Study

Clinical Science
Developmental Psychology

Research Topics

Development of children's behavior problems and competencies
Child temperament, social, cognitive and affective characteristics
Family interaction processes

Research Summary:

My main research goal is to learn how children's behavior problems and social competencies develop. I am especially interested in family interaction processes and child temperament, but also consider child social cognitive and affective characteristics and broader socioeconomic variables. A recent interest concerns the role of children's sleep in their daily adjustment. We have studied these issues mostly through longitudinal research. We have learned, for example, that early child temperament and mother-child interaction characteristics are somewhat predictive of children's later adjustment, as measured especially by the parents' report of child behavior problems, and also by teachers and peers at school and by laboratory observers. We have been considering the effects of mother-child relationship and temperament as interacting predictors of later adjustment. We have found that in dyads where mothers are low in restrictive control, temperament is more predictive of later adjustment than in dyads where mothers are high in control. And we have found that regular sleep makes a bigger difference for preschool adjustment in children who are temperamentally more unmanageable and emotionally reactive. Ultimately, I hope to be able to identify developmental processes that will guide efforts to prevent the onset of serious behavior problems.

Representative Publications

2003 - Beyers, J.M., Bates, J.E., Pettit, G.S., & Dodge, K.A.. Neighborhood Structure, Parenting Processes, and the Development of Youth's Externalizing Behaviors: A Multilevel Analysis. American Journal of Community Psychology, 31, 35-53

2002 - Olson, S.L., Bates, J.E., Sandy, J.M., & Schilling, E.M.. Early Developmental Precursors of Impulsive and Inattentive Behavior: From Infancy to Middle Childhood. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43, 435-447.

2002 - Bates, J.E., Viken, R.J., Alexander, D.B., Beyers, J., & Stockton, L.. Sleep and Adjustment in Preschool Children: Sleep Diary Reports by Mothers Relate to Behavior Reports by Teachers. Child Development, 73, 62-74.