Biography
Professor Evans is an environmental and developmental psychologist interested in how the physical environment affects human health and well being among children. His specific areas of expertise include the environment of childhood poverty, children's environments (housing, schools, playgrounds, toys), cumulative risk and child development, environmental stressors, and the development of children's environmental attitudes and behaviors.
Gary Evans is the author of over 350 scholarly articles and book chapters plus five books. Current research is focused on children's environments (e.g. schools, housing), and the environment of childhood poverty. He is also doing work on the development of environmental attitudes and behaviors in children. Professor Evans' work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Mac Arthur Foundation, the W. T. Grant Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Swedish Work Environment Fund.
We underestimate the role of affect and motivation in university teaching. My approach is to try and link course materials to students' own interests and backgrounds. When I am able to do this well, students learn.
DEA/COGSCI/PSYCHOLOGY 1500 : Introduction to Environmental Psychology
DEA/HD 6650: Poverty, Children, and the Environment
HE 3100 : Mentoring in Higher Education
Evans, G.W. & De France, K. (2022). Childhood poverty and psychological well-being: The mediating role of cumulative risk exposure. Development and Psychopathology, 34, 911-921.
Evans, G.W (2021). The Physical Context of Child Development. Current Directions in Psychological Science 30 (1) 41–48
Evans, G.W., Farah, M.J. & Hackman, D.A. (2021). Early childhood poverty and adult executive functioning: Distinct, mediating pathways for different domains of executive functioning. Developmental Science, 24, e13084
Evans, G.W. (2019). Projected Behavioral Impacts of Global Climate Change. "Annual Review of Psychology, 70", 1, 449-474.
Evans, G.W., Otto, S. & Kaiser, F.G. (2018). Childhood origins of young adult environmental behavior. "Psychological Science, 29", 679-687.
Evans, G.W. (2017). Childhood poverty and adult psychological well-being. "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113", 14949-14952.
Kim, P., Evans, G.W., Angstadt, M., Ho, S., Sripada, C.S., Swain, J.E., Liberzon, I., & Phan, K.L. (2013). Effects of childhood poverty and chronic stress on emotional regulatory brain function in adulthood. "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110," 18442-18447.
Evans, G.W., Li, D., & Whipple, S.S. (2013). Cumulative risk and child development. "Psychological Bulletin, 139", 1342-1396.
Evans, G.W., & Kim, P. (2012). Childhood poverty and young adult allostatic load: The mediating role of childhood cumulative risk exposure. "Psychological Science, 23," 979-983.
Evans, G.W., & Kutcher, R. (2011). Loosening the link between childhood poverty and adolescent smoking and obesity: The protective effects of social capital. "Psychological Science, 22", 3-7.
Evans, G.W. & Schamberg, M.A. (2009). Childhood poverty, chronic stress, and adult working memory. "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106," 6545-6549.
Evans, G.W. (2006). Child development and the physical environment. "Annual Review of Psychology, 57," 423-451.
Evans, G.W., et. al. (2005). The role of chaos in poverty and children's socioemotional adjustment. "Psychological Science, 16," 560-565.
Evans, G.W. (2004). The environment of childhood poverty. "American Psychologist, 59," 77-92.
Academic Expertise: Professor Evans is an environmental and developmental psychologist interested in how the physical environment affects human health and well being among children. His specific areas of expertise include the environment of childhood poverty, cumulative risk and children, environmental stressors, and the development of children's environmental attitudes and behaviors.
Professor Evans received an Honorary Doctorate from Stockholm University in Sweden in 2006 and is a former member of the MacArthur Foundation Network on Socioeconomic Status and Health and of the Board of Children, Youth, and Families for the National Academy of Sciences. He is a Guggenheim Fellow, a Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and a recipient of the EDRA Career Award. Evans has received a Senior National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. He has a Ph.D. in environmental psychology with post-doctoral training in psychoneuroendocrinology and in human development. Professor Evans has given several hundred lectures and invited talks in over 40 different countries. He is also the recipient of numerous teaching awards.
Professor Evans actively supports Co-Operative Extension on issues related to poverty, risk, and child development. He is on the Advisory Board for Tompkins County Action agency, the county anti-poverty agency. He is also an advisor to the WHO and the EU on issues of children's health.
1971, AB Highest Honors, Psychology, Colgate University
1973, MS, Psychology, University of MA, Amherst
1975, PhD, Psychology, University of MA, Amherst
1988, Post Doctoral, Psychoneuroendocrinology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm Sweden