Rate My Professor Julien Dunsmore

Julie C. Dunsmore is a Professor and Program Director of the Human Development and Family Sciences program in the Department of Psychological, Health, and Learning Sciences at the University of Houston, where she directs the Social Development Lab. She earned a B.A. in Psychology from Emory University in 1990, an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Duke University in 1992, and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Duke University in 1994. Her career includes a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychology at North Carolina State University from 1994 to 1996, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Hamilton College from 1996 to 2003, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech from 2003 to 2010, Associate Professor of Psychology and Health Sciences at Virginia Tech from 2010 to 2020, Director of the Graduate Program in Psychology at Virginia Tech from 2012 to 2017, and Affiliated Faculty in the Department of Human Development & Family Science and Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Virginia Tech from 2017 to 2020.

Dunsmore's research examines emotion socialization processes embedded within, shaped by, and conveying meaning for multilayered socio-cultural contexts such as culture, race/ethnicity, social class, geographic location, and gender, across development from early childhood through adolescence. Her lab investigates what children learn about emotions from parents, grandparents, teachers, and friends, how others' emotions communicate values, and patterns of emotional communication that promote social skills, positive relationships, and healthy outcomes. Key publications include Hernandez Acton, E., et al. (2025), "Grandparents as overlooked agents for emotion socialization: A two-study investigation of adult grandchildren and grandmothers with young grandchildren," Current Psychology; Zhu, D., et al. (2024), "Etch the emotional life: Mother-child emotion socialization from age 3 to 6 years," Journal of Child and Family Studies; Hernandez, E., et al. (2023), "Patterns of Latina mothers’ emotion-related beliefs and behaviors: Associations with consejos in the family," Journal of Latinx Psychology; Miller-Slough, R.L., & Dunsmore, J.C. (2023), "Parents’ and friends’ socialization of positive emotions: Associations with adolescent emotion regulation," Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology; and Zhu, D., & Dunsmore, J.C. (2022), "Family functioning and emotion socialization in Chinese two-parent households: A person-centered approach," Social Development. She has been elected Fellow of the American Psychological Association (2020) and received the Distinguished Career Award from the University of Houston College of Education, among other honors including the College of Science Diversity Award from Virginia Tech (2015) and Certificate of Teaching Excellence (2008). Dunsmore serves on editorial boards for Early Education and Development, Journal of Genetic Psychology, and Social Development, and partners with community organizations to deliver parent education workshops and child development programming.