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USC College > Faculty > Departments > Department of Psychology > Laura Baker
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Laura Baker

Associate Professor of Psychology

Contact Information
Office: SGM 623
Phone: (213)740-2261
E-mail: lbaker@usc.edu

LINKS
Personal Website
 

Education
B.A. Psychology, University of Kansas, 1978
M.A. Psychology, University of Colorado, 1982
Ph.D. Psychology, University of Colorado, 1983
 

Academic Appointment, Affiliation, and Employment History
Associate Professor, University of Southern California, 09/01/1990-  
Assistant Professor, University of Southern California, 01/01/1984-08/31/1990  
 

Description of Research

Summary Statement of Research Interests
Professor Baker studies how heredity and the environment affect individual differences in human behavior, including cognitive abilities, personality, and psychopathology. Baker is particularly interested in the roots of aggression and antisocial behavior and their underlying social and biological risk factors. She is Director of the USC Twin Project, which investigates the genetic bases of reading disabilities, attention deficit disorders, and conduct behavior problems in childhood and adolescence. She is currently elected President of the Behavior Genetic Association (2006-2007).
 

Research Specialties
Behavioral genetics; development of conduct problems in youth.
 

Affiliations with Research Centers, Labs, and Other Institutions
Southern California Twin Project,http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~lbaker/twins.html
 

Publications

Book Chapter
Raine, A., Baker, L. A., Liu, J. (2006). Biological risk factors for antisocial and criminal behavior. pp. 83-108. New York: Crime and schizophrenia: Causes and cures./Nova Science Publishers.
Baker, L. A. (2006). Methods for understanding genetic and environmental influences in normal and abnormal personality. pp. p 257-282. Differentiating Normal and Abnormal Personality—Second Edition./Springer New York.
 

Journal Article
Baker, L. A., Jacobson, K., Raine, A., Bezdjian, S., Lozano, D. I. (2007). Genetic and environmental bases of antisocial behavior in children: A multi-rater twin study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. Vol. 116 (2), pp. 219-235.
Baker, L. A. (2007). The biology of family relationships: What behavior genetic studies tell us about interactions within families. DePaul Law Review/Darby. Vol. 56, pp. 857-866.
Zumberge, A., Baker, L. A., Manis, F. R. (2007). Focus on words: Genetic and environmental influences in reading and inattention. Behavior Genetics/Kluwer Academic Press. Vol. 37, pp. 284-293.
Baker, L. A., Barton, M., Fowler, J., Raine, A. (2006). The Southern California Twin Register at the University of Southern California: II. Twin Research and Human Genetics/International Society for Twin Studies. Vol. 9 (6), pp. 933-940.
Baker, L. A., Bezdjian, S., Raine, A. (2006). Behavioral Genetics and Crime: The Science of Antisocial Behavior. Journal of Law and Contemporary Problems/Duke University Press. Vol. Volume 69 (1-2), pp. pp 7-46.
Baker, L. A., Vernon, P. A., Ho, H. (1991). The genetic correlation between intelligence and speed of information processing. Behavior Genetics. Vol. 21, pp. 351-367.
 

Proceedings
Villatoro, A. P., Baker, L. A. (2004). The questionable truth of childhood aggression: Effects of parental monitoring and child IQ on interrater agreement. Proceedings of the 19th Annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research/University of North Carolina Press.
 

Honors and Awards
Past President, Behavior Genetics Association, 2007-2008   
President, Behavior Genetics Association, 2006-2007  
President-Elect, Behavior Genetics Association, 2005-2006  
Elected Treasurer, Behavior Genetics Association, 1990-1993  
Helen Putnam Invited Scholar, Radcliffe, 1990-1991  
Society for Multivariate Research, Elected member, 1988  
 

Service to the Profession

Editorships and Editorial Boards
Editorial board, Behavior Genetics, 1995-2010  
Associate Editor, Encyclopedia of Violence in America, 1996-1999  
Guest editor, Journal of Counseling and Development, 1990  
Consulting Editor, Behavioral Neuroscience, 1987-1989  
 

Professional Offices
Past President, Behavior Genetics Association, 2007-2008   
President, Behavior Genetics Association, 2006-2007   
President-Elect, Behavior Genetics Association, 2005-2006   
 

Professional Memberships
Society for Psychophysiological Research, 2002-  
American Society of Human Genetics, 1998-  
American Psychological Society, 1990-  
Society for Multivariate Experimental Psychology, 1988-  
American Psychological Association, 1984-  
Behavior Genetics Association, 1981-  
 
 
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