Home Department of Psychology People Robert Cohen, Ph.D.

Robert Cohen, Ph.D.

Professor, Developmental Psychology

Phone
901.678.4679
Email
rcohen@memphis.edu
Fax
901.678.2579
Office
Psychology Building. Room 340
Office Hours
Contact
Robert Cohen, Ph.D.


Education

Ph.D., Miami University
M.A., Miami University
B.A., University of Virginia

Research Interests

As a developmental psychologist, Dr. Cohen’s research focuses on elementary school aged children’s peer relations.  General topics include:

  • Children's Traditional and Cyber Aggression/Victimization
  • Cultural and Contextual Influences on Peer Relations
  • Peer Status and Popularity
  • Friendship Relationships
  • Self and Peer Relations: Loneliness, Respect, Optimism, Self esteem

Recent Publications

  • Yarbrough, E. R., Cohen, R, Deptula, D. P., & Ray, G.E. (2024). A short-term longitudinal examination of the relation of forms of antipathy relationships to children’s loneliness, peer optimism, and peer sociability behaviors.  The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 1–18.
  • Cohen, R., Ray, G. E., Deptula, D. P., & Lubin, A. H. (2024). The social contexts of behaviors and relationships: The relation of classroom and cyber victimization to number of classroom and cyber friends. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 
  • Sisco, A. D., & Cohen, R. (2023). A short-term longitudinal examination of willingness to confide in a friend about being cyber victimized. Journal of Genetic Psychology. 185, 65-76.
  • Salton, M. R., Cohen, R., Deptula, D. P., & Ray, G. E. (2023). Willingness to self-disclose cyber victimization to friends or parents: Gender differences in cyber victimization a year later. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 17, Article 2.
  • Cohen, R., Newman, S., & Washington, R. (2022). What should a teacher do when classroom friendships are noticeably strained or disrupted? In M. Jones (Ed.), Peer Relationships in Classroom Management: Evidence and Interventions for Teaching, Routledge.
  • Deptula, D. P., Banks, G. G., Barnes, S. E., & Cohen, R. (2021). A person‑centered analysis of change in children’s peer optimism and its relation to peer social competence. Journal of Happiness Studies, 22, 1217-1238.
  • Zhang, H., Stapleton, C. M., Hsueh, Y., & Cohen, R. (2019). Three pathways from anger dysregulation to lower social status among Chinese boys. Interpersona: An Interpersonal Journal of Personal Relationships, 13, 187-204. 
  • Ray, G. E., Washington, R., Cohen, R., Hsueh, Y., Zhou, Z. (2018). The relation of reciprocated and non-reciprocated friendship nominations to peer social competence for Chinese elementary school children. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 179, 385-398.
  • Washington, R., Cohen, R., Berlin, K. S., Hsueh, Y., & Zhou, Z. (2018). The relation of cyber aggression to peer social competence in the classroom for children in China. Social Development, 27, 715-731. 
  • Stapleton, C. M., Zhang, H., Kitzmann, K. M., & Cohen, R. (2018). Children’s social status and anticipated shame and guilt experiences. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 1-24.