Aletha C. Huston facts for kids

Aletha C. Huston is an American developmental psychologist. She is a professor known for her important research. Her work looks at how poverty affects children. She also studies how child care and money support policies impact kids' growth. Dr. Huston did groundbreaking research on how television and media use affect children's development. She is a professor emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin. This means she is a retired professor who still holds her title.

Dr. Huston has won many awards for her research. These include the APA Urie Bronfenbrenner Award. She also received the APA Nicholas Hobbs Award. The SRCD gave her an award too. She has also taught many famous media researchers. Some of these include Sandra L. Calvert, Rosemarie Truglio, and Ellen Wartella.

About Aletha C. Huston

Aletha C. Huston earned her first degree in psychology from Stanford University in 1960. She then got her Ph.D. in Psychology and Child Development. This was from the University of Minnesota. From 1961 to 1965, she had a special fellowship. It was with the National Institute of Mental Health.

After her studies, she worked at several universities:

• From 1963 to 1964, she was an intern at the University of Minnesota Children's Hospital.
• From 1965 to 1968, she taught at Cornell University.
• From 1968 to 1976, she was at Pennsylvania State University. There, she helped start the Women's Studies Program.
• Later, she joined the University of Kansas. She was a professor in Human Development and Psychology. She also helped lead a research center there. This center studied how television affects children.
• From 1973 to 1974, she was a visiting professor at Temple University.

Dr. Huston has been part of many important groups. These include the American Psychological Association (APA). She was also part of the Society for Research in Child Development. She served on advisory boards too. One was for the National Academy of Sciences. In 1976, the APA named her a Fellow. This is a special honor for experts in their field.

She has also been a leader in her field. She served as President of the Developmental Psychology division of the American Psychological Association. She was also President of the Society for Research in Child Development. Her career has focused on understanding child development. She studied how media, gender roles, and child care affect kids. She also researched how poverty impacts children's growth.

Dr. Huston's Research

Dr. Huston's research mainly focuses on how poverty affects children. She studies how it impacts their development.

• New Hope Project: She is a main researcher in this project. It studies a program that helps families reduce poverty.
• Next Generation Project: She also works on this project. It looks at how child-care, income, and job policies affect families.
• Early Child Care Study: She was a researcher in the NICHD Study. This study looked at early child care and how young people develop.
• Television and Children: She led a research program on television and children. She helped direct the Center for Research on the Influences of Television on Children (CRITC). This center studied how TV affects kids.

Awards and Honors

Dr. Huston has received many awards throughout her career.

• In 1988, she received the Irvin Youngberg Award. This was for her great achievements in applied sciences. She received it at the University of Kansas.
• In 1990, she got a Special Recognition Award. This was for her service to the field. It came from the American Alliance for Theater and Education.