An Interview with Robert Lickliter: The Influence of Developmental Systems Theory on Developmental Psychology

Robert Lickliter is a developmental psychobiologist who has spent much of his career advocating for the use of the developmental systems framework in human and non-human animal research designs studying early perceptual, cognitive, and social development. He initially received tenure at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and is currently a professor of developmental science and cognitive neuroscience at Florida International University. Prior to his academic positions, he earned a B.S. and M.S. in human development and a Ph.D. in animal behavior at the University of California Davis. His postdoctoral work at the University of North Carolina Greensboro with Gilbert Gottlieb significantly influenced his theoretical perspective in developmental science. He has a keen interest in the developmental origins of individual differences in behavior, and how developmental and evolutionary theory inform said differences. His support of the developmental systems framework has positioned him as a critic of nativistic Neo-Darwinism and evolutionary psychology perspectives on the origins of behavior.