Daniel Lapsley
Daniel K. Lapsley is an American developmental and educational psychologist who serves as Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame.[1] His research has focused on adolescent social cognition, identity development, moral psychology, and character education.[2][3] He has authored or edited nine books including Personality, Identity, and Character: Explorations in Moral Psychology and Moral Psychology (1996).
Education
Lapsley earned his Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1977, his Master of Science in psychology from the University of New Orleans in 1979, and his Ph.D. in educational psychology and human development from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1982.[3]
Career
His first faculty appointment was in the Department of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame in 1983, where he served until 1991 when he was appointed to the Department of Psychology at Brandon University in Canada.[4] He was named President of the Western Manitoba Mental Health Association and subsequently elected to the National Board of Directors of the Canadian Mental Health Association.[1] In 1996 he took up position in the Department of Educational Psychology at Ball State University, where he served as Department Chair for 8 years, and also the inaugural director of the Office of Charter School Research.[3]
Lapsley returned to Notre Dame in 2006 where he was appointed the ACE College Professor of Psychology. He served as chair of the psychology department from 2009 to 2016, and as coordinator of Academic Programs and other leadership roles for the Alliance for Catholic Education in Notre Dame’s Institute for Educational Initiatives.[5] He directed the Moral and Adolescent Psychology Lab at Notre Dame[3]; and in July 2024 was named Professor Emeritus.[1]
Research and scholarships
Lapsley’s scholarship explores adolescent risk behavior, invulnerability, separation–individuation, and the development of ego, identity, and moral character.[6] He has authored or edited nine books and more than 140 journal articles and book chapters, contributing substantially to the study of moral personality and virtue ethics.
Lapsley’s research has long centered on social cognitive and personality development during adolescence and emerging adulthood, with particular emphasis on moral psychology, identity development, and the individuation process.[7]
A recurring theme in Lapsley’s scholarship is adolescent invulnerability, decision-making, and risk-taking.[8] He has argued that the personal fables and imaginary audiences that adolescents are said to construct are better understood not in terms of cognitive egocentrism but as narcissistic outcomes of the individuation process.[9]
Through the Moral and Adolescent Psychology Lab (MAP Lab) at Notre Dame, he has developed scales such as the Adolescent Invulnerability Scale, the Subjective Omnipotence Scale, and the Personal Uniqueness Scale.[10] He has also worked on instruments for assessing dysfunctional separation-individuation and explored narcissism as a normative component of adolescent personality development.[11] In moral psychology, Lapsley has contributed to theoretical developments of moral identity and moral self-identity, often through a social-cognitive lens. He has written about the “judgment-action gap,” the integration of moral self identity into the working self-concept, and the ways situations, social relationships, and personal values influence moral character. For example, his chapter “Moral Self-Identity and the Social-Cognitive Theory of Virtue” explores how moral identity is organized within self-concept and how it motivates behavior.[12]
Another book, Personality, Identity, and Character: Explorations in Moral Psychology, bringstogether diverse empirical and philosophical perspectives on character education, moral personality, virtue, and the identity dimensions of moral conduct.[13] Moral Psychology (1996) is one of his earlier works, offering a comprehensive analysis of moral cognition, reasoning, prosocial behavior, moral self, and developmental theories beyond Kohlberg’s stage-based models.[14]
In addition to measurement and theory, Lapsley’s research touches on applied issues in educational psychology: school choice, teacher preparation, moral/character education programs[15], and questions about how to build and sustain fields such as Catholic education.[16] His lab also examines how emerging adults form identity narratives and moral purpose.[17] More recently Lapsley has explored the interface between the philosophical and empirical aspects of moral psychology, arguing that standard accounts of metacognition offers a suitable explanation of practical reasoning (phronesis) and facets of moral wisdom that better equip moral identity to cope with the permanent adversities of conflict, contingency and evil.[18]
Selected bibliography
- Lapsley, Daniel (2019-10-04), "Moral Formation in the Family", The Oxford Handbook of Parenting and Moral Development, Oxford University Press, pp. 392–418, ISBN 978-0-19-063869-6, retrieved 2025-11-08
- Lapsley, Daniel; Carlo, Gustavo; Davis, Alexandra; Fabes, Richard; Laible, Deborah (2025-01-07). "Editorial: Promoting a kinder and more just world: the development of prosocial, moral, and social justice behaviors in adolescence". Frontiers in Developmental Psychology. 2. doi:10.3389/fdpys.2024.1536381. ISSN 2813-7779.
- Narvaez, Darcia; Lapsley, Daniel K., eds. (2009-06-29). Personality, Identity, and Character. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511627125. Search this book on
- Power, F. Clark; Lapsley, Daniel K., eds. (2005). Character Psychology And Character Education. University of Notre Dame Press. ISBN 978-0-268-20287-3. Search this book on
- Lapsley, Daniel; Reilly, Timothy S.; Narvaez, Darcia F. (2020-02-05), "Moral Self-Identity and Character Development", The Oxford Handbook of Moral Development, Oxford University Press, pp. 683–707, ISBN 978-0-19-067604-9, retrieved 2025-11-08
- Lapsley, Daniel K. (2018-10-08). Moral Psychology. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-97845-6. Search this book on
- Power, F. Clark (1992). Challenge of Pluralism: Education, Politics, and Values. Daniel K. Lapsley (1st ed.). Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press. ISBN 978-0-268-00788-1. Search this book on
- Lapsley, Daniel K.; Power, F. Clark (2012-12-12). Self, Ego, and Identity: Integrative Approaches. Springer New York. ISBN 978-1-4615-7836-9. Search this book on
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Navickas, Tommy (2015-01-16). "Notre Dame professor to give Hesburgh Lecture, February 26 - News - Illinois State". Retrieved 2025-11-04.
- ↑ Narvaez, Darcia; Lapsley, Daniel; Hagele, Scott; Lasky, Benjamin (2006-12-01). "Moral chronicity and social information processing: Tests of a social cognitive approach to the moral personality". Journal of Research in Personality. 40 (6): 966–985. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2005.10.003. ISSN 0092-6566.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Rooney, Shannon. "FirstGen@ND: Daniel Lapsley, Professor of Psychology and ACE Collegiate Professor". UA. Archived from the original on 2024-02-20. Retrieved 2025-11-04.
- ↑ "Daniel Lapsley". Lumen Christi Institute. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
- ↑ "Daniel Lapsley is the ACE Collegiate Professor and former chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame". Lumen Christi Institute. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
- ↑ Baer, Drake (2016-07-11). "So, Maybe Freud Was Actually Pretty Right About How the Mind Is Structured". The Cut. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
- ↑ The Development of the Moral Personality
- ↑ Duggan, Peter M. (2014-09-08). The Adolescent Invulnerability Scale (Report). American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/t31051-000.
- ↑ Lapsley, Daniel K.; Jackson, Sara; Rice, Kenneth; Shadid, Gregory E. (1988-01-01). "Self-Monitoring and the "New Look" at the Imaginary Audience and Personal Fable: An Ego-Developmental Analysis". Journal of Adolescent Research. 3 (1): 17–31. doi:10.1177/074355488831003. ISSN 0743-5584.
- ↑ Forest, Sharita. "Young people's feeling of invulnerability has drawbacks – and benefits – News Bureau". Retrieved 2025-11-07.
- ↑ Hill, Patrick L.; Lapsley, Daniel K. (2011), Barry, Christopher T.; Kerig, Patricia K.; Stellwagen, Kurt K.; Barry, Tammy D., eds., "Adaptive and maladaptive narcissism in adolescent development.", Narcissism and Machiavellianism in youth: Implications for the development of adaptive and maladaptive behavior., Washington: American Psychological Association, pp. 89–105, doi:10.1037/12352-005, ISBN 978-1-4338-0845-6, retrieved 2025-11-07
- ↑ Lapsley, Daniel (2016-10-27), Annas, Julia; Narvaez, Darcia; Snow, Nancy E., eds., "Moral Self-Identity and the Social-Cognitive Theory of Virtue", Developing the Virtues, Oxford University Press, pp. 34–68, doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190271466.003.0003, ISBN 978-0-19-027146-6, retrieved 2025-11-07
- ↑ Maxwell, Bruce (2011-03-01). "Personality, identity, and character: explorations in moral psychology". Journal of Moral Education. 40 (1): 136–138. doi:10.1080/03057240.2011.541998. ISSN 0305-7240.
- ↑ Herman, William E. (1999-03-31). "Integrating Moral Development with Moral Behavior: Moral Psychology, by Daniel K. Lapsley. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, © 1996. 289 pages. ISBN 0-8133-3032-7". The Educational Forum. 63 (1): 87–88. doi:10.1080/00131729808984392. ISSN 0013-1725.
- ↑ Parylo, Oksana (2013). "Moral Education: A Handbook edited by F. Clark Power, Ronald J. Nuzzi, Darcia Narvaez, Daniel K. Lapsley, and Thomas C. Hunt". American Journal of Education. 119 (3): 475–478. doi:10.1086/669796. ISSN 0195-6744.
- ↑ Lapsley, Daniel; Kelley, Katheryn (2022-06-01). "On the Catholic Identity of Students and Schools: Value Propositions for Catholic Education". Journal of Catholic Education. 25 (1): 159–177. doi:10.15365/joce.2501072022. ISSN 2373-8170.
- ↑ Lapsley, Daniel K. (2010). "Moral Agency, Identity and Narrative in Moral Development". Human Development. 53 (2): 87–97. doi:10.1159/000288210. ISSN 0018-716X.
- ↑ "The Moral Purpose of Wisdom", Purpose In Life As Ancient but Nascent: Perspectives from Psychology, Philosophy, and Human Development, Cambridge University Press, pp. 13–44, 2025, retrieved 2025-11-08
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