Brian R. Vandenberg, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Psychology
University of Missouri-St. Louis
211 Stadler Hall
8001 Natural Bridge Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63121-4499
Phone: (314)-516-5476
Fax: (314) 5165392
Email: BVanden@umsl.edu
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Curriculum Vitae
Clinical Issues in Developmental Context
I am interested in clinical issues that influence the process of development. My research, in collaboration with students, has addressed various topics including the impact of parental death and divorce on children’s subsequent adjustment; factors influencing parental grief after the death of a child; issues in child abuse; and factors influencing the cause and remediation of learning disabilities.
Psychology and Religion
The conflict between science and theology has resulted in an uneasy relation between psychology and religion. One consequence is that psychological research has often overlooked the importance of religious issues in the study of such basic issues as mental illness, psychological coping and cognitive processes. This has prompted me, in collaboration with students, to investigate a number of questions, including: How are diagnostic distinctions made between psychiatric processes (e.g., hallucinations) and authentic religious experience (e.g., hearing the voice of God)? Does religious belief aid coping with traumatic experiences? What religious practices are employed when facing difficult times in life? Are they effective? What circumstances are more likely to prompt magical thinking, as opposed to rational thought? How do individuals reconcile beliefs in religion with beliefs in science?
Issues in Human Development
I have sought to identify key assumptions and limitations in the contemporary idea of development and to offer an alternative approach emphasizing the importance of existential issues. These issues, which are often overlooked in psychological theory, arise from fundamental questions about our lives: How do we explain the randomness and wonder of finding ourselves alive? Why are we here? Why is there something rather than nothing? What happens when we die? I have used hypnosis to gain insight into the process of development. Hypnosis demonstrates that deeply held beliefs, perceptions and memories can be altered through a brief conversation. This exposes the radical contingency of our lives. Hypnosis also reveals the process of inculcating beliefs, how interpersonal influence and communication affects the nature of intrapsychic experience. This sheds light on the process of development, whereby authoritative adults socialize their children, anchoring them in the meanings, rituals and perceptions of an apparent ready-made world.