Education

• Ph.D., Applied Developmental Psychology, University of Toronto
• M.A., Experimental Psychology, University of Toronto
• B.S., Faculty of Science, McGill University

About

Paul Hastings is a developmental psychologist and Professor of Psychology, past Chair of Psychology, and past Interim Dean of the School of Education at the University of California Davis. He completed his studies in Canada at McGill University (B.S.), the University of Toronto (M.A., Ph.D.) and the University of Waterloo Ontario (post-doc), and then worked at the National Institute of Mental Health intramural program (Bethesda, Maryland) and Concordia University (Montreal, Quebec) before moving to UC Davis. He is a member of the UC Consortium on the Developmental Science of Adolescence, and at UC Davis, the Center for Mind and Brain (CMB), the Center for Poverty Research, and the Institute for Global Nutrition. At the CMB, he directs the Healthy Emotions, Relationships and Development Laboratory (HERD Lab). With his colleagues and students, Professor Hastings has conducted developmental research in the U.S. (California, Maryland, New York, North Carolina), Bangladesh, Canada, Chile, Ghana, India, Jordan and other countries. Professor Hastings is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, an Associate Editor for the journal Child Development, and a member of several professional organizations, including the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology, International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development, Society for Psychophysiological Research, Society for Research on Adolescence, and Society for Research in Child Development.

Research Focus

In his research, Professor Hastings charts the development of physiological, social and emotional functioning from early childhood into adulthood, and explores the factors contributing to individual differences in functioning and developmental trajectories. He examines the intersecting contributions of “context” through cultural and socioeconomic conditions, "nurture" through close family and peer relationships, and "nature" through autonomic, neuroendocrine, immune and brain systems. His research focuses on understanding how these factors shape developmental trajectories toward adaptive functioning, like empathy, compassion and social competence, and maladaptive functioning, like depression, anxiety and aggression. 

Lab

Health Emotions, Relationships & Development (HERD) Lab (Hastings)

Publications

• Clayton, M., Giletta, M., Rudolph, K., Hastings, P. D., Slavich, G., Cole, S., Nock, M. K., & Prinstein, M. (2025). Proinflammatory gene expression is associated with prospective risk for adolescent suicidal thoughts and behaviors over twelve months. Development and Psychopathology, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095457942400186X 
• Her, H., Ugarte, E., Weissman, D. G., Robins, R. W., Guyer, A. E., & Hastings, P. D. (2025). Warm parenting throughout adolescence predicts basal parasympathetic activity among Mexican-origin youths. Developmental Psychobiology, 67, e70012, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.70012
• Aryee, L. M. D., Adu-Afarwuah, S., Prado, E. L., Guyer, A. E., Arnold, C. D., Dewey, K. G., Amponsah, B., Manu, A., Oaks, B. M., Bentil, H. J., Nti, H., * Ayete Labi, F. B., Mensah, M. O., Adjetey, E., & Hastings, P. D. (2024). Effects of early-life lipid-based nutrient supplement and home environment on autonomic nervous system regulation at 9-11 years: Follow-up of a randomized controlled trial. Maternal & Child Nutrition, e13789, 1-12. DOI: 10.1111/mcn.13789
• Partington, L. C., Mashash, M., & Hastings, P. D. (2024). Pandemic-induced economic hardship in an otherwise-privileged sample predicts parents’ socialization of child prosociality and parent coping. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 1-15. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01650254241293996
• Risbud, R. D., Guyer, A. E., Robins, R. W., & Hastings, P. D. (2024). Development of comorbid alcohol use and depression problems during late adolescence: Examining the role of emotion regulation and sex differences. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-024-01251-4
• Hastings, P. D., Miller, J. G., Weissman, D. G., * Hodge, R. T., Robins, R. W., Carlo, G., & Guyer, A. E. (2024). Parasympathetic regulation and support from family and friends predict prosocial development in U.S. Mexican-origin adolescents. Developmental Psychology, 60(8), 1384-1400. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001780
• Gonzalves, L. C., Ferrer, E., Robins, R. W., Guyer, A. E., & Hastings, P. D. (2023). Psychosocial predictors of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in Mexican-origin youth: An 8-year prospective cohort study. Clinical Psychological Science, 11, 425-443. DOI: 10.1177/21677026221102924
• Hastings, P. D., & Hodge, R. T. (2023). Considering the experiences and adjustment of sexual and gender minority youths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Current Opinion in Psychology, 53, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101660  
• Hastings, P. D., Parra, L. A., & Guyer, A. E. (2022). Conceptualizing the influence of social and structural determinants of neurobiology and mental health: Why and how biological psychiatry can do better at addressing the consequences of inequity. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience & Neuroimaging, 12, 1215-1224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.06.004

Teaching

Professor Hastings teaches courses in the areas of Social and Personality Development, Developmental Psychophysiology, and Prosocial Development.

Awards

Professor Hastings has earned grants from numerous agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, the MacArthur Foundation, the Lego Foundation, and others. In 2022, he received the UC Davis Distinguished Graduate and Postdoctoral Mentorship Award.