Carolyn Saarni, PhD

Carolyn Saarni received her PhD from the University of California at Berkeley, specializing in developmental psychology. She began her academic career at New York University, but after a number of years returned to the West Coast. Since 1980, she has been on the faculty of the Department of Counseling at Sonoma State University in California, where she trains prospective marriage, family, child, and school counselors. Professor Saarni's research has focused on how children learn that they can...See more

Carolyn Saarni received her PhD from the University of California at Berkeley, specializing in developmental psychology. She began her academic career at New York University, but after a number of years returned to the West Coast. Since 1980, she has been on the faculty of the Department of Counseling at Sonoma State University in California, where she trains prospective marriage, family, child, and school counselors. Professor Saarni's research has focused on how children learn that they can adopt an "emotional front," that is, what they express emotionally need not match what they really feel. She has also investigated how children use this knowledge strategically in their interpersonal relations with others as well as when coping with aversive feelings. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Spencer Foundation, among others. In addition to Lying and Deception in Everyday Life (with Dr. Michael Lewis), Dr. Saarni's other edited volumes include The Socialization of Emotion (also with Dr. Michael Lewis) and Children's Understanding of Emotion (with Dr. Paul L. Harris). She has also written numerous chapters and articles on children's emotional development. Dr. Saarni is a licensed clinical psychologist and is regularly consulted by the popular media on topics concerning emotional development in children and youth. See less