Joyce Benenson
Associate Professor of Psychology
B.S., Duke University; Ph.D., Harvard University
Office hours: TBD
Office: Administration Building Room 354
Phone: 617-735-9707
Email: benensjo@emmanuel.edu
I received my Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Duke University and a Doctorate in psychology from Harvard University. I have taught in Canada and England and arrived at Emmanuel in the fall of 2005.
My research interests lie in understanding the biological and ecological factors that influence cooperation and competition between human beings. Much of the theory behind my research stems from findings from research on humans' closest genetic relatives, common chimpanzees and bonobos. To this end, I work one day per week with biological anthropolgoists at Harvard University. My own research examines the influence of age, sex, kinship, social structure, mating system, dominance status, and familiarity on degree of cooperation and competition that occurs between individuals ranging in age from infancy through adulthood. Most of my research occurs in preschool and elementary schools where I examine sex differences in the use of various cooperative and competitive strategies. I employ methods drawn from the fields of animal behavior, evolutionary biology, cognition, economics, anthropology, neuroscience, sociology, and developmental psychology. I strongly encourage students interested in working on my research projects to contact me early in the Fall to discuss opportunities for collaboration.
Currently, I am an Associate Editor of The British Journal of Developmental Psychology. I also serve as an ad hoc reviewer for many developmental psychology journals. I am a member of the Association for Psychological Science, American Psychological Association (Developmental Psychology section), the American Anthropological Association (Evolutionary Anthropology section), the Society for Research in Child Development, Sigma Xi, and the Human Behavior and Evolution Society.
Courses
PSYCH2303 Child and Adolescent Psychology
PSYCH2304 Adulthood and Aging
PSYCH2701 Research Methods in Psychology
PSYCH4100 Experimental Psychology
FYS1101 War: What is it good for?
Recent Publications & Professional Activity
Benenson, J. F., & Koulnazarian, M. (in press). Sex differences in help-seeking appear in early childhood. British Journal of Developmental Psychology.
Benenson, J. F., Carder, H. P., & Geib, S. (in press). The development of boys’ preferential pleasure in physical aggression. Aggressive Behavior.
Benenson, J. (in press). Competition. In N. Salkind (Ed.), Encyclopedia of educational psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Benenson, J. F., Markovits, H., Muller, I., Challen, A., & Carder, H. P. (in press). Explaining sex differences in infants’ preferences for groups. Infant Behavior and Development.
Benenson, J.F., Pascoe, J., & Radmore, N. (2007). Children’s altruistic behavior in the dictator game. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28, 168-175.
Benenson, J. F., Sinclair, N., & Dolenszky, E. (2006). Females expect aggressive responses to a hostile act to be strongest within a compatible dyadic relationship. Social Development, 15, 65-81.
Benenson, J. F., & Heath, A. (2006). Boys withdraw more in one-on-one interactions whereas girls withdraw more in groups. Developmental Psychology, 42, 272-282.
Markovits, H., Benenson, J. F., & White, S. (2006). Gender and gender priming: Differences in speed of processing of information relating to dyadic and group contexts. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 42, 662-667.
Benenson, J. F. (2005). Sex differences. In B. Hopkins & R. Barr (Eds.), Cambridge encyclopedia of child development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Benenson, J. F., & Schinazi, J. (2004). Sex differences in reactions to outperforming same-sex friends. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 22, 317-334.
Benenson, J. F., & Alavi, K. (2004). Sex differences in children's investment in same-sex peers. Evolution and Human Behavior, 25, 258-266.
Benenson, J. F., Duggan, V., & Markovits, H. (2004). Sex differences in infants' attraction to group versus individual stimuli. Infant Behavior and Development, 27, 173-180.
Benenson, J. F., & Christakos, A. (2003). The greater fragility of females' versus males' closest same-sex friendships. Child Development, 74, 1123-1129.
Benenson, J. F. (2003). Book review: Is Asperger Syndrome a form of the extreme male brain? Nature, 424, 132-133.
Markovits, H., Benenson, J. F., & Kramer, D. L. (2003). Children and adolescents' internal models of food sharing behavior include complex evaluations of contextual factors. Child Development, 74, 1697-1708.
Benenson, J. F., Markovits, H., Roy, R., & Denko, P. (2003). Behavioral rules underlying learning to share: Effects of development and context. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 27, 116-121.
Simpson, A., & Benenson, J. (2003). The potential buffering effects of group interaction on emotional responses to differential outcomes. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 17, 45-60.
Benenson, J. F., Maiese, R., Dolenszky, E., Dolensky, N., Sinclair, N., & Simpson, A. (2002). Group size regulates self-assertive versus self-deprecating responses to interpersonal competition. Child Development, 73, 1818-1829.
Benenson, J. F., Roy, R., Waite, A., Goldbaum, S., Linders, L., & Simpson, A. (2002). Greater discomfort as a proximate cause of sex differences in competition. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 48, 225-247.
Roy, R., & Benenson, J. F. (2002). Sex and contextual effects on children's use of interference competition. Developmental Psychology, 38, 306-312.
Benenson, J. F., Nicholson, C., Waite, A., Roy, R., & Simpson, A. (2001). The influence of group size on children's competitive behavior. Child Development, 72, 921-928.
Markovits, H., Benenson, J., & Dolenszky, E. (2001). Evidence that children and adolescents have internal models of peer interactions that are gender differentiated. Child Development, 72, 879-886.
Professional Affiliations
Associate, Harvard University Department of Biological Anthropology