Professor Elaine Reese Research Interests, Research, Department of Psychology, University of Otago, New Zealand

Associate Professor Elaine Reece

Email elaine.reese@otago.ac.nz
Tel 64 3 479 8441
Visit Professor Reese's profile

Social Influences on Children’s Development

One way that parents shape their children’s learning and development is through their talk. Whether they are talking to children as they play, telling or reading them stories, or talking to them about the past or future, parents’ conversation matters for children’s development.

Children's Development Aided by Parents' Talk

Father reading to son in Assoc Prof Elaine Reese's Research Lab I study the way that parents’ talk creates change in children’s language, narrative, memory, literacy, and self-understanding. I am especially interested in the role of parents’ storytelling with their children. Parents’ stories range from ready-made versions available in books to stories that they tell about their own lives and their children’s lives. Both the quantity and the quality of these stories make a difference in children’s development. The sheer quantity of words that parents use affects their children’s language development. However, the quality of parents’ speech is equally important. Parents who ask their children open-ended questions about their experiences, such as, “What was your favourite part of the zoo?” are encouraging their children to put their experiences into words. This practice helps children’s language development but also enriches their memory development, their narrative skills, and even their reading acquisition.

Delving into the Emotional Aspects of Stories Creates a More Coherent and Positive Sense of Self in Children

Mother, Child, Aunty telling stories in Assoc Prof Elaine Reese's Research Lab Parents who delve into the emotional aspects of stories and past events, especially the negative aspects, also have children with a more coherent and more positive sense of self. Critically, there are differences between boys and girls in their narrative skills and self-understanding from a young age. We are finding that parents need to continue to help boys understand their emotions and past experiences into middle childhood, whereas girls are mastering these skills at a younger age.

The Importance of Early Emotional Relationships in Children's Learning

The basis for these effects of parental talk on children’s development is grounded in the child’s relationship with the parent from a young age. Those toddlers who are securely attached to their caregivers benefit more from their parents’ talk, whereas children who are insecurely attached to their parents show fewer benefits from their parents’ talk over early childhood. Thus, the early emotional relationship with the parent is essential in children’s learning.

Storytelling in Early Childhood Evokes Earlier Memories as Adolescents

Father and teenage daughter participants in Assoc Prof Elaine Reese's Research walking across bridge In my lab, we are now assessing the outcomes of these early parent-child conversations as we follow the children in our longitudinal studies into adolescence. We are finding that children whose parents told elaborative stories with them in early childhood have earlier memories and stronger self-concepts as adolescents. We are extending these investigations to other cultures to explore whether Maori adolescents, who have the earliest memories of any culture studied, develop a coherent life story at a younger age than Chinese or European New Zealand adolescents, who tend to have later memories. Across cultures, we expect adolescents’ life stories to be linked to their self-concept and to their psychological well-being.

Supported by

Marsden Fund of the Royal Society of New Zealand
National Institute of Child Health and Development
Foundation for Research in Science and Technology

Collaborators

Professor Robyn Fivush (Emory University)
Professor William Friedman (Oberlin College)
Professor Wendy Grolnick (Clark University)
Professor Harlene Hayne (University of Otago)
Associate Professor Qi Wang (Cornell University)
Dr Elizabeth Schaughency (University of Otago)
Dr Mele Taumoepeau (University of Otago)
Dr Catherine Haden (Loyola University)
Professor Peter Ornstein (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
Professor Lynne Baker-Ward (North Carolina State University)
Professor Patricia Bauer (Emory University)
Professor Marjorie Taylor (University of Oregon)

Other Affiliations

Leader of Education Domain, Growing Up in New Zealand
University of Auckland
School of Population Health
www.growingup.co.nz

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Publications

Reese, E., Macfarlane, L., McAnally, H., Robertson, S.-J., & Taumoepeau, M. (2020). Coaching in maternal reminiscing with preschoolers leads to elaborative and coherent personal narratives in early adolescence. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 189, 104707. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2019.104707

Leyva, D., Reese, E., Laible, D., Schaughency, E., Das, S., & Clifford, A. (2019). Measuring parents' elaborative reminiscing: Differential links of parents' elaboration to children's autobiographical memory and socioemotional skills. Journal of Cognition & Development. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/15248372.2019.1668395

Hazan, H., Reese, E. J., & Linscott, R. J. (2019). Narrative self and high risk for schizophrenia: Remembering the past and imagining the future. Memory. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/09658211.2019.1642919

Van Bergen, P., Barnier, A. J., Reese, E., & McIlwain, D. (2019). “There were spooks in the park”: Children's reminiscing with parents and siblings following a staged Halloween event. Journal of Applied Research in Memory & Cognition. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.jarmac.2019.10.003

Atatoa Carr, P. E., Reese, E., Bird, A. L., Bandara, D. K., Grant, C. C., & Morton, S. M. B. (2019). Caring for our infants: Parents’ antenatal childcare intentions and nine-month reality. Early Years, 39(1), 17-35. doi: 10.1080/09575146.2017.1323186

Authored Book - Research
Edited Book - Research
Chapter in Book - Research
Chapter in Book - Other
Journal - Research Article

Authored Book - Research

Reese, E. (2013). Tell me a story: Sharing stories to enrich your child's world. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 241p.

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Edited Book - Research

Suggate, S., & Reese, E. (Eds.). (2012). Contemporary debates in childhood education and development. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 352p.

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Chapter in Book - Research

Reese, E. (2017). Encouraging collaborative remembering between young children and their caregivers. In M. L. Meade, C. B. Harris, P. Van Bergen, J. Sutton & A. J. Barnier (Eds.), Collaborative remembering: Theories, research, and applications. (pp. 317-333). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780198737865.003.0018

Reese, E. (2015). What good is a picturebook? Developing children's oral language and literacy through shared picturebook reading. In B. Kümmerling-Meibauer, J. Meibauer, K. Nachtigäller & K. J. Rohlfing (Eds.), Learning from picturebooks: Perspectives from child development and literacy studies. (pp. 194-208). Hove, UK: Routledge.

Reese, E., Taumoepeau, M., & Neha, T. (2014). Remember drawing on the cupboard? New Zealand Māori, European, and Pasifika parents’ conversations about children’s transgressions. In C. Wainryb & H. E. Recchia (Eds.), Talking about right and wrong: Parent-child conversations as contexts for moral development. (pp. 44-70). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Reese, E. (2014). Taking the long way: Longitudinal approaches to autobiographical memory development. In P. J. Bauer & R. Fivush (Eds.), Wiley handbook on the development of children's memory. (pp. 972-995). Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell.

Reese, E. (2014). Practical tips for conducting longitudinal studies of memory development. In P. J. Bauer & R. Fivush (Eds.), Wiley handbook on the development of children's memory. (pp. 1044-1050). Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell.

Reese, E. (2013). Culture, narrative, and imagination. In M. Taylor (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of the development of imagination. (pp. 196-211). Oxford University Press.

Reese, E., Sparks, A., & Suggate, S. (2012). Assessing children's narratives. In E. Hoff (Ed.), Research methods in child language: A practical guide. (pp. 133-148). Chichester, UK: Wiley Blackwell.

Reese, E. (2012). The tyranny of shared book-reading. In S. Suggate & E. Reese (Eds.), Contemporary debates in childhood education and development. (pp. 59-68). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Reese, E., Yan, C., Jack, F., & Hayne, H. (2010). Emerging identities: Narrative and self from early childhood to early adolescence. In K. C. McLean & M. Pasupathi (Eds.), Narrative development in adolescence: Creating the storied self. (pp. 23-43). New York: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-0-387-89825-4

Schaughency, E., & Reese, E. (2010). Connections between language and literacy development. In J. Low & P. Jose (Eds.), Lifespan development: New Zealand perspectives. (2nd ed.) (pp. 59-71). Auckland, New Zealand: Pearson.

Reese, E. (2009). The development of autobiographical memory: Origins and consequences. In P. Bauer (Ed.), Advances in child development and behavior (Vol. 37). (pp. 145-200). The Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/s0065-2407(09)03704-5

Bird, A., & Reese, E. (2008). Autobiographical memory in childhood and the development of a continuous self. In F. Sani (Ed.), Self continuity: Individual and collective perspectives. (pp. 43-54). NY: Psychology Press.

Reese, E., Newcombe, R., & Bird, A. (2006). The emergence of autobiographical memory: Cognitive, social, and emotional factors. In C. M. Fletcher-Flinn & G. M. Haberman (Eds.), Cognition and language: Perspectives from New Zealand. (pp. 177-190). Brisbane: Australian Academic Press.

Reese, E., & Farrant, K. (2003). Social origins of reminiscing. In R. Fivush & C. A. Haden (Eds.), Autobiographical memory and the construction of a narrative self: Developmental and cultural perspectives. (pp. 29-48). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Reese, E., Cox, A., Harte, D., & McAnally, H. (2003). Diversity in adults' styles of reading books to children. In A. van Kleeck, S. A. Stahl & E. B. Bauer (Eds.), On reading books to children: Parents and teachers. (pp. 37-57). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Reese, E. (2002). A model of the origins of autobiographical memory. In J. W. Fagen & H. Hayne (Eds.), Progress in Infancy Research (Vol. 2). (pp. 215-260). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Fivush, R., & Reese, E. (2002). Reminiscing and relating: The development of parent-child talk about the past. In J. D. Webster & B. K. Haight (Eds.), Critical Advances in Reminiscence Work. (pp. 109-122). New York: Springer Publishing.

Haden, C. A., Fivush, R., & Reese, J. E. (1998). Narrative development in social context. In A. Smorti (Ed.), Narrative Development. (pp. 133-152). Florence, Italy: Giunti.

Fivush, R., Pipe, M.-E., Murachver, T. S., & Reese, J. E. (1997). Events spoken and unspoken: implications of language and memory development for the recovered memory debate. In M. A. Conway (Ed.), Recovered Memories and False Memories. (pp. 34-62). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Fivush, R., Haden, C., & Reese, E. (1995). Remembering, recounting, and reminiscing: The development of autobiographical memory in social context. In D. C. Rubin (Ed.), Remembering our past: Studies in autobiographical memory. (pp. 341-359). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Fivush, R., & Reese, E. (1992). The social construction of autobiographical memory. In M. A. Conway, D. C. Rubin, H. Spinnler & W. A. Wagenaar (Eds.), Theoretical perspectives on autobiographical memory. (pp. 115-132). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic.

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Chapter in Book - Other

Reese, E. (2006). Foreword. In J. Low & P. Jose (Eds.), Lifespan development: New Zealand perspectives. (pp. v). Auckland, New Zealand: Pearson Education.

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Journal - Research Article

Fivush, R., Habermas, T., & Reese, E. (2019). Retelling lives: Narrative style and stability of highly emotional events over time. Qualitative Psychology, 6(2), 156-166. doi: 10.1037/qup0000150

Reese, E., Gunn, A., Bateman, A., & Carr, M. (2019). Teacher-child talk about learning stories in New Zealand: A strategy for eliciting children’s complex language. Early Years. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/09575146.2019.1621804

Reese, E., Meins, E., Fernyhough, C., & Centifanti, L. (2019). Origins of mother-child reminiscing style. Development & Psychopathology, 31(2), 631-642. doi: 10.1017/s0954579418000172

Riordan, J., Reese, E., Rouse, S., & Schaughency, E. (2018). Promoting code-focused talk: The rhyme and reason for why book style matters. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 45, 69-80. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.05.004

Corkin, M. T., Dando, E., Peterson, E. R., Andrejic, N., Waldie, K. E., Reese, E., & Morton, S. M. B. (2018). “The way she smiles brightens me up”: Highlights of parenting an infant in a large nationally diverse cohort. Current Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s12144-018-0014-5

Suggate, S., Schaughency, E., McAnally, H., & Reese, E. (2018). From infancy to adolescence: The longitudinal links between vocabulary, early literacy skills, oral narrative, and reading comprehension. Cognitive Development, 47, 82-95. doi: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2018.04.005

Reese, E., & Robertson, S.-J. (2018). Origins of adolescents' earliest memories. Memory. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/09658211.2018.1512631

Reese, E., Keegan, P., McNaughton, S., Kingi, T. K., Atatoa Carr, P., Schmidt, J., … Morton, S. (2018). Te Reo Māori: Indigenous language acquisition in the context of New Zealand English. Journal of Child Language, 45(2), 340-367. doi: 10.1017/s0305000917000241

Peterson, E. R., Andrejic, N., Corkin, M. T., Waldie, K. E., Reese, E., & Morton, S. M. B. (2018). I hardly see my baby: Challenges and highlights of being a New Zealand working mother of an infant. Kōtuitui, 13(1), 4-28. doi: 10.1080/1177083X.2017.1391852

Corkin, M. T., Peterson, E. R., Andrejic, N., Waldie, K. E., Reese, E., & Morton, S. M. B. (2018). Predictors of mothers’ self-identified challenges in parenting infants: Insights from a large, nationally diverse cohort. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 27(2), 653-670. doi: 10.1007/s10826-017-0903-5

Peterson, E. R., Waldie, K. E., Mohal, J., Reese, E., Atatoa-Carr, P. E., Grant, C. C., & Morton, S. M. B. (2017). Infant Behavior Questionnaire: Revised very short form: A new factor structure's associations with parenting perceptions and child language outcomes. Journal of Personality Assessment, 99(6), 561-573. doi: 10.1080/00223891.2017.1287709

Reese, E., Fivush, R., Merrill, N., Wang, Q., & McAnally, H. (2017). Adolescents' intergenerational narratives across cultures. Developmental Psychology, 53(6), 1142-1153. doi: 10.1037/dev0000309

Schaughency, E., Suggate, S., & Reese, E. (2017). Links between early oral narrative and decoding skills and later reading in a New Zealand sample. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties, 22, 109-132. doi: 10.1080/19404158.2017.1399914

Robertson, S.-J. L., & Reese, E. (2017). The very hungry caterpillar turned into a butterfly: Children’s and parents’ enjoyment of different book genres. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 17(1), 3-25. doi: 10.1177/1468798415598354

Reese, E., Myftari, E., McAnally, H. M., Chen, Y., Neha, T., Wang, Q., Jack, F., & Robertson, S.-J. (2017). Telling the tale and living well: Adolescent narrative identity, personality traits, and well-being across cultures. Child Development, 88(2), 612-628. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12618

Peterson, E. R., Mohal, J., Waldie, K. E., Reese, E., Atatoa Carr, P., Grant, C. C., & Morton, S. M. B. (2017). A cross-cultural analysis of the infant behavior questionnaire very short form: An item response theory analysis of infant temperament in New Zealand. Journal of Personality Assessment, 99(6), 574-584. doi: 10.1080/00223891.2017.1288128

Reese, E., Peterson, E. R., Waldie, K., Schmidt, J., Bandara, D., Atatoa Carr, P., … Morton, S. M. B. (2016). High Hopes? Educational, socioeconomic, and ethnic differences in parents' aspirations for their unborn children. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 25(12), 3657-3674. doi: 10.1007/s10826-016-0521-7

Schaughency, E., Riordan, J., Das, S., Carroll, J., & Reese, E. (2016). Embracing the principle of ako: Growing partnerships between parents, early childhood educators and researchers. Early Childhood Folio, 20(2), 31-36. doi: 10.18296/ecf.0028

Salmon, K., O'Kearney, R., Reese, E., & Fortune, C.-A. (2016). The role of language skill in child psychopathology: Implications for intervention in the early years. Clinical Child & Family Psychology Review, 19(4), 352-367. doi: 10.1007/s10567-016-0214-1

Bird, A. L., Reese, E., Taumoepeau, M., Schmidt, J., Mohal, J., Grant, C., … Morton, S. (2016). “You are our eyes and ears”: A new tool for observing parent-child interactions in large samples. Longitudinal & Life Course Studies, 7(4), 386-408. doi: 10.14301/llcs.v7i4.381

Salmon, K., & Reese, E. (2016). The benefits of reminiscing with young children. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 25(4), 233-238. doi: 10.1177/0963721416655100

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