Sigma Xi Lectures to address Children’s Peer Relationships

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass, Nov. 1, 2010 — Williams College Professor of Psychology Marlene Sandstrom will present this year’s Sigma Xi lectures in a two-part talk on Thursday, Nov. 11, and Friday, Nov. 12, in Wege Auditorium (Chemistry Building Room 123) from 4:15-5:30 p.m. both days. The events are free and open to the public.

The two-day talk series titled “They Like Me, They Like Me Not: Peer Relations in Childhood.” In the first talk, “Out goes Y-O-U: Causes, consequences of peer rejection,” Sandstrom will discuss how children’s social relationships can be studied empirically, with a particular focus on what is known about the emergence, stability, and long-term trajectories of peer rejection. The second talk, “The view from inside: How children process social rejection,” will highlight some of Sandstrom’s own research examining how children perceive and respond to negative feedback from peers.

marlene sandstromSandstrom is a clinical psychologist whose research interests include childhood peer relationships and adjustment, the ways children cope with negative treatment from peers, and aggression and bystander behavior in school environments. At Williams she teaches courses on psychological disorders, childhood peer relations, and statistics.

Before coming to Williams, Sandstrom worked as a clinical fellow in psychology at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where she specialized in community mental health. She also acted as a clinical assistant for the Families and Schools Together Track Project, an intervention program for children at risk for the development of behavioral and social difficulties.

In 2009, Sandstrom was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to study bullying and bystander behavior in schools. She has published extensively in academic publications such as Child Development, Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, and the Merrill-Palmer Quarterly. She contributed to a recent book titled “Narcissism and Machiavellianism in Youth,” and is also a contributor to a soon-to-be published book titled “The Power of Popularity: Influence Processes in Childhood and Adolescence.” Sandstrom has also written on bullying and cyber-bullying for the New York Times.

Sandstrom received her B.A. from Yale University and earned her Ph.D. at Duke University. She completed her postdoctoral work at the Duke University Medical Center.

Published November 1, 2010