• Department of Psychology
• BRANDEIS HOME

Director

Margie Lachman
Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University
(781) 736-3300
lachman@brandeis.edu

Margie E. Lachman, Ph.D. is professor and chair of psychology and director of the Lifespan Developmental Psychology Lab at Brandeis University. She is co-director of the NIH-funded pre and postdoctoral training program, Cognitive Aging in a Social Context. She was editor of the Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences (2000-2003), and has edited two volumes on midlife development. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, Division 20 and the Gerontological Society of America. Lachman’s research is in the area of life-span development, with a particular focus on how the sense of control is related to memory, physical activity and health. With funding from NIA, her current work examines changes in personality (e.g., perceived control, attributional style) and memory in adulthood and old age. She is also conducting research focused on physical exercise, with a particular emphasis on the links between self-efficacy, control beliefs and physical activity.

Lachman has published numerous chapters and journal articles on these topics. Lachman was a member of the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Midlife Development and is currently collaborating on a 10-year longitudinal follow-up of the original MacArthur midlife sample. She has conducted intervention studies designed to enhance the sense of control over memory and physical exercise, and one of the programs designed to increase control over falling won the Archstone Award for Excellence in Program Innovation from the American Public Health Association. Lachman has served as an advisor to organizations such as the AARP and the Boston Museum of Science for the traveling exhibit on the Secrets of Aging. She has presented her research on the CBS evening news and the NBC Today show. In 2003, she received the Distinguished Research Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association, Division on Adult Development and Aging.

Recent Publications

Lachman, M.E., Agrigoroaei, S., Murphy, C., & Tun, P. (in press). Frequent Cognitive Activity Compensates for Education Differences in Episodic Memory. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Cotter, K. & Lachman, M.E. (in press). Psychosocial and behavioral contributors to health: Age-related increases in physical disability are reduced by physical fitness. Psychology and Health.

Agrigoroaei, S., and Lachman, M.E. (in press, 2009). Personal control and aging: How beliefs and expectations matter. In Cavanaugh, J. C., & Cavanaugh, C. K. (Eds.), Aging in America: Psychological, Physical, and Social Issues. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Lachman, M.E. & Agrigoroaei, S. (in press, 2009). Optimizing Health: A Lifespan Approach. In Rothstein, P. & Schull, D.D. (Eds.), Libraries and Longevity: Unexpected Voices, American Library Association.

Lachman, M.E., Röcke, C., & Rosnick, C. (2009). The rise and fall of control beliefs in adulthood: Cognitive and biopsychosocial antecedents and consequences of stability and change over nine years. In H. Bosworth and C. Hertzog (Eds.), Cognition in Aging: Methodologies and Empirical Advances , Washington, DC: American Psychological Association

Neupert, S. D., Lachman, M.E., Whitbourne, S. B. (2009). Exercise efficacy and control beliefs predict exercise behavior during and after an exercise intervention. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 16, 1-16.

Lachman, M.E., Röcke, C., Rosnick, C., & Ryff, C. D. (2008). Realism and illusion in Americans’ temporal views of their life satisfaction: Age differences in reconstructing the past and anticipating the future. Psychological Science, 19, 889-897.

Tun, P.A., & Lachman, M.E. (2008). Age differences in reaction time and attention in a national telephone sample of adults: Education, sex, and task complexity matter. Developmental Psychology, 44, 1421-1429.

Lachman, M.E., & Tun, P.A. (2008). Cognitive testing in large-scale surveys: Assessment by telephone. In S. Hofer & D. Alwin (Eds.). Handbook on Cognitive Aging: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (pp. 506-522). Thousand Oaks, CA: SagePublishers.

Whitbourne, S., Neupert, S., & Lachman, M.E. (2008). Daily physical activity: Relation to everyday memory in adulthood. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 27, 331-349.

Neupert, S.D., Miller, L.S., & Lachman, M.E. (2006). Individual differences in physiological reactivity to cognitive stressors: Variations by age and socioeconomic status. International Journal of Aging and Human Development.62, 221-235.

Lachman, M.E., & Andreoletti, C. (2006). Strategy use mediates the relationship between control beliefs and memory performance for middle-aged and older adults. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 61B, P88-P94.

Andreoletti, C., Veratii, B., & Lachman, M.E. (2006). Age differences in the relationship between anxiety and recall. Aging and Mental Health, 10, 265-271.

Lachman, M.E., Andreoletti, C., & Pearman, A. (2006). Memory control beliefs: How are they related to age, strategy use, and memory improvement? Social Cognition, 24, 359-385.

Yun, R.J., & Lachman, M.E. (2006). Perceptions of aging in two cultures: Korean and American views on old age. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology. 21 55-70.

Lachman, M. E. (2006). Perceived control over aging-related declines: Adaptive beliefs and behaviors. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15, 282-286.

Tun, P.A., & Lachman, M.E. (2006). Telephone assessment of cognitive function in adulthood: The Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT). Age and Ageing, doi: 10.1093/ageing/afl095, 629-632.

Wrosch, C., Heckhausen, J., & Lachman, M.E. (2006). Goal management across adulthood and old age: The adaptive value of primary and secondary control. In D. Mroczek & Little, T. (Eds.), Handbook of Personality Development (pp. 399-421). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Lachman, M.E., Neupert, S. D., Bertrand, R., & Jette, A. M. (2006). Does strength training affect memory in older adults? It depends on resistance level. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 15, 59-74.

Lachman, M.E. (2005, January). Aging under control? Psychological Science Agenda, Vol. 19, No. 1.

Andreoletti, C., & Lachman, M.E. (2004). Susceptibility and resilience to memory aging stereotypes: Education matters more than age. Experimental Aging Research, 30, 129-148.

Blatt-Eisengart, I., & Lachman, M.E. (2004). Attributions for memory performance in adulthood: Age differences and mediation effects. Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, 11, 68-79.

Lachman, M.E. (2004). Development in midlife. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 305-331.

Lachman, M.E., & Prenda, K.M. (2004). The adaptive value of feeling in control during midlife. In O. G. Brim, C. D. Ryff, & R. Kessler (Eds.), How healthy are we?: A national study of well-being at midlife (pp. 320-349). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Markus, H., Plaut, V., & Lachman, M.E. (2004). Place matters: The cultural patterning of well-being in America. In O. G. Brim, C. D. Ryff, & R. Kessler (Eds.), How healthy are we?: A national study of well-being at midlife, (pp. 614-650). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Bertrand, R. & Lachman, M.E. (2002). Personality development in adulthood and old age. In R. M. Lerner, M.A. Easterbrooks, & J. Mistry (Eds.), Comprehensive Handbook of Psychology: Vol. 6. Developmental Psychology, NY: Wiley.

Plaut, V.C., Markus, H.R., & Lachman, M.E. (2002). Place matters: Consensual features and regional variation in American well-being and self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 160-184.

Andreoletti, C., Zebrowitz, L., & Lachman, M.E. (2001). Physical appearance and control beliefs in young, middle-aged, and older adults. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 969-981.

Lachman, M.E. (Ed.). (2001) Handbook of midlife development. NY: John Wiley. Preface and Introduction (PDF)

Prenda, K., & Lachman, M.E. (2001). Planning for the future: A life management strategy for increasing control and life satisfaction in adulthood. Psychology and Aging, 16, 206-216.

Maier, H., & Lachman, M.E. (2000). Consequences of early parental loss and separation for health and well-being in midlife. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 24, 183-189

Miller, L.S., & Lachman, M.E. (2000). Cognitive performance and the role of control beliefs in midlife. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 7, 69-85.

Walen, H., & Lachman, M.E. (2000). Social support and strain from partner, family and friends: Costs and benefits for men and women. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 17, 5-30.

Wrosch, C., Heckhausen, J., & Lachman, M.E. (2000). Primary and secondary control strategies for managing health, work, and financial stress across adulthood. Psychology and Aging, 15, 387-399.

Jette, A.M., Lachman, M.E., Giorgetti, M.M., Assmann, S.F., Harris, B.A., Levenson, C., Wernick. M., & Krebs, D. (1999). Exercise: It's never too late. American Journal of Public Health, 89, 66-72.

Peterson, L., Howland, J., Kielhofner, G., Lachman, M.E., Assmann, S., Cote, J., & Jette, A. (1999). Falls self-efficacy and occupational adaptation among elders. Physical and Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics, 16, 1-16.

Howland, J., Lachman, M.E., Peterson, E.W., Cote, J., Kasten, L., & Jette, A. (1998). Covariates of fear of falling and associated activity curtailment. The Gerontologist, 38, 549-555.

Jette, A.M., Rooks, D., Lachman, M.E., Lin, T.H., Levensen, C., Giorgetti, M.M., & Harris, B.A. (1998). Home-based resistance training: Predictors of participation and adherence. The Gerontologist, 38, 412-421.

Lachman, M.E., & Weaver, S.L. (1998a). Sociodemographic variations in the sense of control by domain: Findings from the MacArthur Studies of Midlife. Psychology and Aging, 13, 553-562.

Lachman, M.E., & Weaver, S.L. (1998b). The sense of control as a moderator of social class differences in health and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 763-773.

Tennstedt, S., Howland, J., Lachman, M., Peterson, E.W., Kesten, L., & Jette, A. (1998). A randomized, controlled trial of a group intervention to reduce fear of falling and associated activity restriction in older adults. The Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 538, 384-392. (Winner of The American Physical Therapy Association Geriatrics Research Publications Award, February, 2000)

Lachman, M.E., & James, J. (Editors) (1997). Multiple paths of midlife development. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Awards

2003 Distinguished Research Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association, Division 20 on Adult Development and Aging.

Archstone Foundation Award for Excellence in Program Innovation from the American Public Health Association.