Bruce J. Ellis, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Division of Family Studies and Human Development
Scholarly Interests and Activities
Selected Publications
Courses
[MAILING ADDRESS]
PO Box 210033
Tucson, AZ 85721-0033
[CAMPUS ADDRESS]
Family and Consumer Sciences Bldg.
1110 East South Campus Drive Tucson, AZ 85721-0033
Phone: (520) 621-1075 Fax: (520) 621-3401
Email:bjellis@email.arizona.edu
Scholarly Interests and Activities
Perhaps the most enduring mystery surrounding human sexual development and behavior is its variation. Some individuals complete pubertal development by the 5th grade while others are still relatively undeveloped when they graduate from high school; some begin sexual activity and reproduction as teenagers while others delay having children until decades later; some pursue short-term relationships with multiple partners while others commit to a single partner for life.
My research seeks to understand the developmental causes and function of this variation. Using evolutionary theory as a framework for studying gene-environment interactions during development, my work concentrates on the following questions:
1. How do early experiences affect the timing of sexual development? This work focuses on the impact of family relationships on timing of pubertal development and first sexual and reproductive activity. Specifically, I am testing the hypothesis that stressful family relationships in early childhood (e.g., low paternal investment, parent-child conflict) provoke earlier sexual development and behavior in adolescence.
2. What are the neural and hormonal mechanisms that underlie variation in sexual development ? This research examines the role of biological stress reactivity in mediating and moderating relations between early childhood experiences and timing of pubertal development. The particular focus of this work is on differential susceptibility to rearing influence.
3. How do we regulate investment in dating and marital relationships? This research focuses on identifying the personality and cognitive processes that underlie decisions about investment in dating and marital relationships. The applied purpose of this research is to identify causes of both corrosive and adaptive patterns of investment behavior.
In approaching these questions, I bring to bear a variety of methodologies, including descriptive longitudinal work, behavioral observation, laboratory assessment of biological reactivity to stressors, experimental manipulations, direct interviews, and questionnaire measures using self- and peer-reports. An overarching theoretical framework that organizes my research is Evolutionary Developmental Psychology (Ellis & Bjorklund, 2005; see also Ketelaar & Ellis, 2000; Ellis & Ketelaar, 2000, 2002; Durrant & Ellis, 2003).
Core research areas: Adolescent development and transition to adulthood ; Social and Emotional development in early childhood ; Romantic and sexual relationships.
Ellis, B.J., & Essex , M.J. (in press). Family environments, adrenarche, and sexual maturation: A longitudinal test of a life history model . Child Development.
Bjorklund, D.F., Ellis, B.J., & Rosenberg , J.S. (in press). Evolved probabilistic cognitive mechanisms: An evolutionary approach to gene x environment x development interactions. Advances in Child Development and Behavior.
Healey, M.D., & Ellis, B.J. (2007). Birth order, conscientiousness, and openness to experience: Tests of the family-niche model of personality using a within-family methodology. Evolution & Human Behavior, 28, 55-59
Ellis, B.J., Jackson, J.J., & Boyce, W.T. (2006). The stress response systems: Universality and adaptive individual differences. Developmental Review, 26, 175-212.
Ellis, B.J., & Bjorklund, D.F. (Eds.) (2005). Origins of the social mind: Evolutionary psychology and child development. New York: Guilford Press.
Boyce, W. T., & Ellis, B. J. (2005). Biological sensitivity to context: I. An evolutionary-developmental theory of the origins and functions of stress reactivity. Development & Psychopathology, 17, 271-301.
Ellis, B.J., Essex, M.J., & Boyce, W.T. (2005). Biological sensitivity to context: II. Empirical explorations of an evolutionary-developmental theory. Development & Psychopathology 17, 303-328.
Ellis, B.J. (2004). Timing of pubertal maturation in girls: An integrated life history approach. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 920-958.
Ellis, B.J., Bates, J.E., Dodge, K.A., Fergusson, D.M., Horwood, J.L., Pettit, G.S., & Woodward, L. (2003). Does father absence place daughters at special risk for early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy? Child Development, 74, 801-821.
Keenan, T., & Ellis, B.J. (2003). Children's performance on a false belief task is impaired by activation of an evolutionarily-canalized response system. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 85, 236-256.
Ellis, B.J., Simpson, J.A., & Campbell, L. (2002). Trait-specific dependence in romantic relationships. Journal of Personality, 70, 611-659.
Ellis, B. J., & Ketelaar, T. (2002). Clarifying the foundations of evolutionary psychology: A reply to Lloyd and Feldman. Psychological Inquiry, 13, 157-164.
Ellis, B.J., & Garber, J. (2000). Psychosocial antecedents of variation in girls' pubertal timing: Maternal depression, stepfather presence, and marital and family stress. Child Development, 71, 485-501.
Ellis, B.J., & Malamuth, N.M. (2000). Love and anger in romantic relationships: A discrete systems model. Journal of Personality, 68, 525-556.
Ketelaar, T., & Ellis, B.J. (2000). Are evolutionary explanations unfalsifiable? Evolutionary psychology and the Lakatosian philosophy of science. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 1-21.
Ellis, B. J., & Ketelaar, T. (2000). On the natural selection of alternative models: Evaluation of explanations in Evolutionary Psychology. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 56-68.
Ellis, B.J., McFadyen-Ketchum, S., Dodge, K.A., Pettit, G.A., & Bates, J.E. (1999). Quality of early family relationships and individual differences in the timing of pubertal maturation in girls: A longitudinal test of an evolutionary model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 387-401.
Ellis, B.J. (1998). The partner-specific investment inventory: An evolutionary approach to individual differences in investment. Journal of Personality, 66, 383-442.
Undergraduate Teaching:
FSHD 447: Advanced Human Development
Graduate Teaching:
FSHD 537: Applied Statistical Analysis
Description of Research
FSHD Graduate Program Details