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William Fabricius

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Psychology
Associate Professor
Faculty, TEMPE Campus, Mailcode 1104
Biography

Research Lab: 

https://psychology.clas.asu.edu/research/labs/theory-mind-father-and-div...

Associate Professor, Department of Psychology (Social), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

 

Education

Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1984

Research Interests

One of Fabricius' areas of research is children’s social cognitive development, in particular the development of children’s “theory of mind”. The topics he studies include young children’s early linguistic references to mental states, preschoolers’ reasoning about knowledge and belief and how that relates to their social behavior, and school-age children’s and high schoolers’ understanding of the interpretative nature of mental processes and how that relates to their understanding of conflict and their aggressive behavior.

Another area of research is father-child relationships, especially in divorced families. Fabricius is interested in the impact of these relationships on children’s health and well–being, and in the implications this research can have for social policy. Part of this work is in the context of a funded longitudinal study of fathers and stepfathers, and includes both quantitative and qualitative methods such as narrative analysis.

Education

Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1984

Publications
  • Eggum, N. D., Eisenberg, N., Kao, K., Spinrad, T. L., Bolnick, R., Hofer, C., Kupfer, A. S., & Fabricius, W. V. Emotion understanding, theory of mind, and prosocial orientation: Relations over time in early childhood. Journal of Positive Psychology (2011).
  • Leidy, M.K., Schofield, T.J., Miller, M.A., Parke, R.D., Coltrane, S., Braver, S. L., Cookston, J., Fabricius, W., Delia Saenz, D., Adams, M. Fathering and adolescent adjustment: Variations by family structure and ethnic background. Fathering (2011).
  • Fabricius, W.V., Boyer, T., Weimer, A.A., & Carroll, K. True or false: Do 5-year-olds understand belief?. Developmental Psychology (2010).
  • Fabricius, W.V., Braver, S.L., Diaz, P., & Velez, C. Custody and Parenting Time: Links to Family Relationships and Well-Being After Divorce. The Role of the Father in Child Development (2010).
  • Schenck, C.E., Braver, S.L., Wolchik, S.A., Saenze, D., Cookston, J.T., Fabricius, W.V. Relations between mattering to step- and non-residential fathers and adolescent mental health. Fathering (2009).
  • William Fabricius, L Luecken. Post-divorce living arrangements, parent conflict, and long-term physical health correlates for children of divorce. Journal of Family Psychology (2007).
  • William Fabricius, Sanford Braver. Relocation, parent conflict, and domestic violence: Independent risk factors for children of divorce. Journal of Child Custody (2006).
  • J Denton, William Fabricius. Reality check: Using newspapers, police reports, and court records to assess defensive gun use. Injury Prevention (2004).
  • William Fabricius, J Denton. Authors' Reply. Injury Prevention (2004).
  • William Fabricius, S Braver. Expenditures on children and visitation time: A reply to Garfinkel, Mclanahan and Wallerstein. Family Courts Review (2004).
  • J Alexander, William Fabricius, V Fleming, M Zwahr, S Brown. The development of meta cognitive causal explanations. Learning and Individual Differences (2003).
  • L Luecken, William Fabricius. Physical health vulnerability in adult children from divorced and intact families. Journal of Psychosomatic Research (2003).
  • Sanford Braver, I Ellman, William Fabricius. Relocation of children after divorce and children's best interests: New evidence and legal considerations. Journal of Family Psychology (2003).
  • William Fabricius. Listening to children of divorce: New findings on living arrangements, college support and relocation that rebut Wallerstein, Lewis and Blakeslee (2000). Family Relations (2003).
  • William Fabricius, S Braver. Non-child support expenditures on children by nonresidential divorced fathers: Results of a study. Family Courts Review (2003).
  • William Fabricius, S Kahlil. False beliefs or false positives? Limits on children's understanding of mental representations. Journal of Cognition and Development (2003).
  • Fabricius, William Van (Author) ,Parke, R D (Author) ,Coltrane, S (Author) ,Powers, J (Author) ,Adams, M (Author) ,Braver, S (Author) ,Saenz, D A (Author) . Measuring father involvement in Mexican-American families. Conceptualizing and Measuring Father Involvement (2003).
  • William Fabricius, J Hall. Young adults' perspectives on divorce: Living arrangements. Family and Conciliation Courts Review (2000).
  • Fabricius, William Van (Author) ,Imbens-Bailey, A L (Author) . False beliefs about false beliefs. Children's reasoning about the mind (2000).
Research Activity
Spring 2018
Course NumberCourse Title
PSY 399Supervised Research
PSY 499Individualized Instruction
Fall 2017
Course NumberCourse Title
PSY 399Supervised Research
PSY 499Individualized Instruction
Summer 2017
Course NumberCourse Title
PSY 341Developmental Psychology
Spring 2017
Course NumberCourse Title
PSY 341Developmental Psychology
PSY 399Supervised Research
PSY 499Individualized Instruction
Fall 2016
Course NumberCourse Title
PSY 341Developmental Psychology
PSY 399Supervised Research
PSY 499Individualized Instruction
Summer 2016
Course NumberCourse Title
PSY 341Developmental Psychology
Spring 2016
Course NumberCourse Title
PSY 341Developmental Psychology
PSY 399Supervised Research
PSY 499Individualized Instruction
Fall 2015
Course NumberCourse Title
PSY 341Developmental Psychology
PSY 399Supervised Research
PSY 499Individualized Instruction
Summer 2015
Course NumberCourse Title
PSY 341Developmental Psychology
Spring 2015
Course NumberCourse Title
PSY 341Developmental Psychology
PSY 399Supervised Research
PSY 499Individualized Instruction
Fall 2014
Course NumberCourse Title
PSY 341Developmental Psychology
PSY 399Supervised Research
PSY 499Individualized Instruction
Spring 2014
Course NumberCourse Title
PSY 341Developmental Psychology
PSY 399Supervised Research
PSY 499Individualized Instruction
Fall 2013
Course NumberCourse Title
PSY 399Supervised Research
PSY 499Individualized Instruction
Presentations
  • Fabricius, W. V., Bolnick, R.R., Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T.L., & Weimer, A.A. A bigger, better test of understanding belief. Biennial Meeting of the Cognitive Development Society (Sep 2009).
  • Fabricius, W. V., Carroll, K., Weimer, A. A., & Boyer, T. Removing belief information from false belief tasks does not affect young children’s performance. Biennial Meetings of the Society for Research in Child Development (Apr 2009).
  • Finlay, A.K., Cookston, J.T., Saenze, D., Baham, M.E., Parke, R.D. Fabricius, W.V. Attributions of fathering behaviors among adolescents: The role of depressive symptoms, ethnicity, and family structure. Biennial Meetings of the Society for Research in Child Development (Apr 2007).
  • Schenck, C. E., Braver, S. L, Wolchik, S. A., Saenz, D., Cookston, J. T., Fabricius, W. V. Relations between mattering to step- and non-residential fathers and adolescent mental health. Biennial Meetings of the Society for Research in Child Development (Apr 2007).
  • Weimer, A. A., Fabricius, W. V. Family background differences in Mexican- and Anglo-American adolescents' theory of mind development. Biennial Meetings of the Society for Research in Child Development (Apr 2007).
  • Bolnick, Rebecca, Walters, H., Spinrad, Tracy, Eisenberg, Nancy, Fabricius, William. Longitudinal contributions of social competence and inhibitory control to children's reasoning about beliefs. Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (Mar 2007).
  • Fabricius, William, Horowitz, K. A biopsychosocial model of stress-related health outcomes in young adults from divorced families: The roles of parent conflict and time with father. Paper presented at the International Conference on Children and Divorce (Jul 2006).
  • Bolnick, R, Walters, H, Weimer, A, Fabricius, William. Children's understanding of beliefs: Evidence from epistemic terms. Poster presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Cognitive Development Society (Oct 2005).
  • Fabricius, William. Invited presentation: Perspectives on Parental Alienation. Maricopa County Bar Association, Seminar: New Family Court (May 2005).
  • Fabricius, William, Luecken, L. Time with father, parental conflict, and long-term health consequences for children of divorce. Examining the impact of fathers on child adjustment following divorce: The role of inter parental conflict, (B.A. McBride, Chair) to the meetings for the Society for Research in Child Development (Apr 2005).
  • Weimer, A, Fabricius, William, Sokol, K, Cookston, J, Saenz, D. First findings on a new narrative instrument for assessing the father-child relationship in young adolescents. Poster presented to the meetings for the Society for Research in Child Development (Apr 2005).
  • Bolnick, R, Fabricius, William. What does Maxi think? Children's answers in explanation belief tasks. Poster presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Cognitive Development Society (Oct 2003).
  • Weimer, A, Fabricius, William. Young children's understanding of false beliefs using modified tasks. Poster presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Cognitive Development Society (Oct 2003).
  • Fabricius, William, Cookston, J, Saenz, D. A new narrative instrument for measuring father involvement and its meaning to young adolescents. Poster presented to the meetings for the Society for Research in Child Development (Apr 2003).
  • Fabricius, William. New thoughts on relocation. Workshop presented at the Arizona Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Annual Conference (Feb 2003).
  • Fabricius, William. Research review: The latest research in family law, part II. Workshop presented at the Arizona Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Annual Conference (Feb 2003).
  • Fabricius, William. Research update. Workshop presented at the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Fifth International Congress on Parent Education and Access Programs (Nov 2002).
  • Braver, S, Fabricius, William, Sandler, I, Ahrons, C. The legacy of divorce: Controversies, clarifications, and consequences. Workshop presented at the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (Jun 2002).
  • Schwanenflugel, P, Perault, S, Fabricius, William, Hsieh, J. Constructivist Theory of Mind and Social Problem Solving in High Schoolers. Poster presented at the Second Biennial Meeting of the Cognitive Development Society (Oct 2001).
  • Fabricius, William, Boyer, T. False beliefs or false positives? Limits on children's understanding of mental representation. True or False: Do 4- & 5-Year-Olds Really Understand Belief? Second Biennial Meeting of the Cognitive Development Society (Oct 2001).
  • Fabricius, William, Boyer, T. Young Children's Difficulty With True Beliefs. Poster presented to the meetings for the Society for Research in Child Development (Apr 2001).
  • Fabricius, William. Discussant's Comments. The Future of the False Belief Task (O. Friedman, & E. Winner, Chairs) to the meetings for the Society for Research in Child Development (Apr 2001).
  • Parke, R, Coltrane, S, Powers, J, Adams, M, Fabricius, William, Braver, S, Saenz, D. Measurement of Father Involvement In Mexican-American Families. Paper presented at the Workshop on Measuring Fathers' Involvement (Feb 2001).
  • Braver, S, Fabricius, William, Guidubaldi, J, Pasley, K. Divorced dads: What the latest research shows. Workshop presented at the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (Jun 2000).
  • Fabricius, William. Invited presentation. AZ Judicial Conference
Service
  • AZ State Supreme Court, Invited presentation to the "Families in Arizona’s Courts 2010" Conference (2010 - Present)
  • Southern Arizona Family Law Judicial Conference, Tucson, AZ, Invited presentation to continuing education conference for AZ Family Law judges and Commissioners (2010 - Present)
  • Arizona Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Invited Plenary Presentation at the Annual Conference, Sedona, Jan 2010 (2010 - Present)
  • National Institutes of Health / Center for Scientific Review, Reviewer for Psychosocial Development, Risk, and Prevention Study Section (2009 - Present)
  • Committee on Committees / Academic Senate, member (2008 - Present)
  • Committee on Committees / Academic Senate, member (2008 - Present)
  • ASU Family Resources Advisory Board, member (2008 - Present)
  • ASU Family Resources Advisory Board, member (2008 - Present)
  • ASU Family Resources Advisory Board, member (2008 - Present)
  • Developmental Psychology Program, Area Head (2006 - Present)
  • Various journals in developmental and family psychology, Ad hoc reviewer (2005 - Present)
  • Various journals in developmental and family psychology, Ad hoc reviewer (2005 - Present)
  • Academic Senate, Department Representative from Psychology (2004 - Present)
  • Academic Senate, Department Representative from Psychology (2004 - Present)
  • Academic Senate, Department Representative from Psychology (2004 - Present)
  • College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Senate, Senator from Psychology (2004 - Present)
  • College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Senate, Senator from Psychology (2004 - Present)
  • College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Senate, Senator from Psychology (2004 - Present)
  • Domestic Relations Committee, AZ State Supreme Court, Member (2003 - Present)
  • Domestic Relations Committee, AZ State Supreme Court, Member (2003 - Present)
  • Domestic Relations Committee, AZ State Supreme Court, Member (2003 - Present)
  • Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice About Men as Fathers, Editorial Board Member (2003 - Present)
  • Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice About Men as Fathers, Editorial Board Member (2003 - Present)
  • Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice About Men as Fathers, Editorial Board Member (2003 - Present)
  • Developmental Psychology Program, Area Head (2006 - 2009)
  • Faculty Senate/Provost Retention Task Force, member (2008 - 2008)
  • Developmental Psychology Program, Area Head (2004 - 2007)
  • School of Family and Human Dynamics, Faculty search committee member (2006 - 2006)
  • Faculty Evaluation Committee, Department of Psychology, Member (2005 - 2005)
  • Developmental Psychology Graduate Training Program, Area Head (2004 - 2004)
  • Search Committee Southwest Boardlands Initiative, Member (2004 - 2004)
  • Beta of Arizona chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at Arizona State University, Vice President (2002 - 2003)
  • Search Committee in Developmental Psychology, Chair (2002 - 2003)
  • AZ Concilliation Court Roundtable, Invited member of a debate on custody reform (2003)
  • Phi Beta Kappa Society, ASU Chapter, Vice President (2003)
  • Beta of Arizona chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at Arizona State University, President (2001 - 2002)
Expertise Areas
Psychology
Developmental Psychology