Joy Roos

Joy Roos serves as a Research Fellow in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at the University of Missouri, working under Dr. Christi Bergin in the Prosocial Development and Education Research Lab. She leads the Institute of Education Sciences (IES)-funded vSchool Project, which develops a game-based assessment tool to measure prosocial behavior in 4th-6th grade students and evaluate social-emotional learning interventions.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Science, University of Missouri

Her research examines prosocial behaviors as markers of positive youth adjustment across diverse cultural contexts, with expertise in Moral Development, Adolescent Psychology, Cultural Influences, Stress and Resilience mechanisms, and Social-Emotional Learning applications. The vSchool Project represents a significant effort to create practical, school-friendly assessment instruments that bridge research and educational practice.

As principal investigator of the vSchool Project, Dr. Roos oversees a multidisciplinary team focused on validation and implementation. Her work has direct implications for understanding cross-cultural prosocial development and improving measurement tools in educational settings.

Laboratory Affiliations:

• Prosocial Development & Education Research Lab
• vSchool Project Team