CCS Faculty
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Gartley 105A: 956-6268
Fax: 956-4700
Email: yiyuan@hawaii.edu
BS 1996, East China Normal University
PhD 2004, University of Southern California
Dr. Xu's primary research involves the investigation of children's social development with a particular interest in culture. He is especially interested in applying a goodness of fit model to examine how the culture/biology interface shapes human development. The goodness of fit model proposes that children’s developmental outcomes are largely contingent upon whether their individual attributes, fit the contextual demands or norms set up by the local socio-cultural conditions. Recently, Dr. Xu has applied the goodness of fit framework to study shyness in Chinese children. Dr. Xu's other research interests include violence in school peer groups (aggression and peer victimization), and children’s peer relationships in varying cultural contexts.