Lisa M. Dinella, Ph.D.

Professor
Principal Investigator of the Gender Development Laboratory
Alumni Coordinator
Executive Team Member of the Program for Gender and Intersectionality Studies (PGIS)

Department: Psychology

Office: James and Marlene Howard Hall 126

Lisa M. Dinella, Ph.D., investigates the relationship between gender, academic achievement, and career development. She studies children’s toy play and media exposure and takes an intersectionality theory approach to understand how gendered experiences shape academic and career pursuits across the lifespan. Her school-based research endeavors led to her edited book “Conducting Science-Based Psychology Research in Schools” and co-edited book “Gender Typing of Children’s Toys”. She has addressed the White House, Washington, D.C., on gender disparities in children’s toys and media. She also works with global toy companies and children’s media corporations, helping them apply cutting-edge research on gender and play.

Education

Ph.D., Arizona State University

M.S., Arizona State University

B.A., The College of New Jersey

Publications or Other Scholarly Work

Books

Dinella, L. M. (Ed.). (2009). Conducting science-based psychology research in schools. Washington D.C.: APA Books.

Weisgram, E. & Dinella, L.M. (Eds.) (Feb. 2018). Gender-typing of Children’s Toys: How Early Play Experiences Impact Development. Washington, D.C.: APA Books.

Publications

Dinella, L. & Weisgram, E. (2018). Special issue: Gender-typing of children’s toys: Causes, consequences, and correlates. Sex Roles: A Research Journal.

Dinella, L. M., *Pierce-Claps, J., & Lewandowski, G. (2017). Princesses, princes, and superheroes: Children’s gender cognitions and fictional characters. Journal of Genetic Psychology. doi: 10.1080/00221325.2017.1351417

Dinella, L.M. (2017). Cognitive theories of gender development. In Nadal, K. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender (Vol. 1, pp. 344-348). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Dinella, L.M. (2017). Halloween costume choices: Reflections of gender development in early childhood. Journal of Genetic Psychology. doi: 10.1080/00221325.2017.1295223

Dinella, L.M., Weisgram, E., & Fulcher, M. (2016). Children’s gender-typed toy interests: Does propulsion matter? Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46, 1295-1305. doi: 10.1007/s10508-016-0901-5

Ciarocco, N. J., Dinella, L. M., Hatchard, C. Y., & Valosin, J. (2016). Integrating professional development across the curriculum: An effectiveness study. Teaching of Psychology, 43, 91-98. doi: 10.1177/0098628316636217

Fulcher, M., Dinella, L. M., & Weisgram, E. (2015). Constructing a feminist reorganization of the heterosexual breadwinner/caregiver family model: College students’ plans for their own future families. Sex Roles, 73(3-4), 174-196. doi:10.1007/s11199-015-0487-8

Weisgram, E., Fulcher, M., & Dinella L. M. (2014). Pink gives girls permission: Exploring the roles of explicit gender labels and gender-typed colors on preschool children’s toy preferences. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 35(5), 401-409. doi: 10.1016/j.appdev.2014.06.004

Dinella, L. M., Fulcher, M., & Weisgram, E. (2014). Sex-typed personality traits and gender identity as predictors of young adults’ career interests. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 43, 493-504. doi: 10.1007/s10508-013-0234-6