R. Bruce Thompson, Ph.D.

For a complete version of his Curriculum Vitae, please visit this page.

Education

University of Edinburgh, Psychology, Ph. D. (January, 1997)
Developmental Psychology (language and social development)

University of St. Andrews, M.A.
Psychology M.A. (July 1989)
Art History M.A. (July 1989, Joint Honours)

Areas of Specialization

Life-Span Development, Infancy and Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood and Aging, and Social-Linguistic Development.

Teaching/Research Interests

Language acquisition and social development. Specific interests include gender and SES differences in pragmatic development and communicative competence, particularly in problem-solving contexts. A related interest is teacher evaluation of children's competence and self-reliance within problem-solving contexts. Wider interests include the philosophy of language and social cognition.

Courses Taught

Select Publications

Books

Thompson, R. B. (1994). Gender Differences in Communication: Possible Consequences for the Learning Process, in Group and Interactive Learning. H. Foot, C. Howe, A. Anderson, A. Tolmie, D. Warden, (eds.) Computational Mechanics Publications, Boston and Southampton.

Articles

Thompson, R. B., & Thornton, B. (2007). Exploring Theory-of-Mind as a Social-Cognitive Developmental Mechanism for Social Loafing in Children. Journal of Social Psychology.

Thompson, R. B., & Williams, D. (2006). Exploring diversity within "poverty:" The role of education and emotional well-being in mothers' metacognitive questions to children. Research in Human Development, 3, 191-209.

Thompson, R. B., & Arsenault, S., & Williams†, D. (2006) The effects of preschool girls' and boys' help-seeking on adult evaluations of dyadic problem-solving. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 25, 146 – 166.

Thompson, R. B., & Williams, D. (2005) Socializing advanced thought: Exploring the effects of poverty on mothers' metacognitive questions to their children. Southern Maine Review, 1, 274-287.

Thompson, R. B., & Moore, K. (2000). Collaborative speech in dyadic problem-solving: Evidence for preschool gender differences in pragmatic development. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 19, 248-255.

Thompson, R. B., (1999). Gender Differences in Preschoolers’ Help-Eliciting Communication. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 160, 357-368.

Marshall, I., Thompson, R. B., Moore, K., & Cuttle, M. (1997) The Feasibility and Efficacy of Computer Network Teaching in Psychology: Report to the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council, Edinburgh University, Scotland.

Thompson, R. B. (1995). Children's Problem-Solving Language: Evidence for Early Pragmatic Competence, Proceedings of the Conference on Children and Social Competence, University of Surrey, Guilford, England.

Reviews

Gleason, J. B., & Thompson, R. B. (2002). Review of The CHILDES Project, Vol 1, Tools for Analyzing Talk Transcription Format and Programs. Vol. 2: Tools for Analyzing Talk The Databases. Brian MacWhinney. Contemporary Psychology, 47, 391-394.

Thompson, R. B., & Tenenbaum, H. (2002). Review of Culturally Speaking: Managing Rapport Through Talk Across Cultures H. Spencer-Oatey (Ed.). London, England and New York, NY: Continuum Press (2000). Journal of Language and Social Psychology.

Thompson, R. B., & Gleason, J. B., (2001) Review of Language Death, David Crystal. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Journal of Applied Psycholinguistics.