Decaan Sociale Wetenschappen

Prof. dr. Willem Koops

Decaan faculteit Sociale Wetenschappen,
Hoogleraar Ontwikkelingspsychologie

Heidelberglaan 1
3584 CS Utrecht
Tel. (030) 253 34 44

Biography:

Prof dr Willem Koops (1944) studied psychology at the University of Groningen (The Netherlands) and served as an assistant and associate professor in Developmental Psychology at the same University from 1968-1981. In 1980 he successfully defended his dissertation entitled “Social development and naivety of experimental subjects”. His dissertation was based on methodological research in social cognitive development.

He was a professor of Developmental Psychology at the Free University of Amsterdam (1981-2002). In 2000 he moved to Utrecht University to occupy the chair in Developmental Psychology. Since 2007 he is a so-called University Professor (“distinguished professor”) at Utrecht University. His chair was renamed into: “Foundations and history of developmental psychology and pedagogy”.

Willem Koops was the leader of many research-projects on cognitive and social development of children and adolescents and published and still publishes frequently on a broad range of subjects in national and international scientific journals. Over the last years his research moved more and more to the field of the development of aggression. Furthermore, in line with his distinguished professorship, he has and still is publishing books and chapters on the cultural historical context of childhood and child development.

On an international level Willem Koops was a professor in Developmental Psychology from 1991-1993 at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA (as the Netherlands Visiting Professor and as Fulbright Fellow). During shorter time spans he taught at several Universities in the USA, Japan and Indonesia.

At present professor Koops is:

• member and past-President of the board of the European Society for Developmental Psychology (ESDP)
• editor (and founder) of the European Journal of Developmental Psychology (EJDP)
• chair of the ADNG (Archive and Documentation center Dutch Behavioral Sciences)
• dean of the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
• fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA)
• member of the History Committee of the Society for Research in Child Development. 

Curriculum Vitae >>
Summary of the scientific career of Willem Koops >>