Holger Elischberger

Professor of Psychological Science

Elischberger has taught at Albion since 2005 with research interests focusing on attitudes toward and beliefs about transgender youth, transgender politics, attitudes toward gay and lesbian parents, and opinions on a range of child-related social policies.

His most recent publications include such research articles as “Science v. Fiction: Gen Z’s Skepticism of Disinformation Used to Justify Anti-Trans Legislation in the USA” and “Boys Don’t Cry: Adult Attitudes Toward and Beliefs About Transgender Youth.”

He has served as chair or co-chair of the Psychological Science Department between the fall of 2013 and the spring of 2019. The courses he has taught include Child & Adolescent Development, Lifespan Development, Cross-cultural Psychology, Research Methods and Statistics, and Introduction to Psychology.

Education

B.A., University of Würzburg, 1993
M.A., University of Würzburg, 1998
Ph.D., University of North Carolina, 2004

Appointed 2005

Courses

PSYC 204: Research Methods & Statistics I (lecture & laboratory)
PSYC 251: Child & Adolescent Development
PSYC 254: Lifespan Development
PSYC 289: Cross-Cultural Psychology

Publications

Elischberger, H. B. (2024). Science v. fiction: Gen Z’s skepticism of disinformation used to
justify anti-trans legislation in the USA. Sexuality Research & Social Policy.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-024-01035-x
Elischberger, H. B., Glazier, J. G.*, Hill, E. D. & Verduzco-Baker, L. (2018). Attitudes toward and
beliefs about transgender youth: A cross-cultural comparison between the United States
and India. Sex Roles, 78, 142-160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0778-3
(*Student)
Foster, S. D.*, Elischberger, H. B., & Hill, E. D. (2017). Examining the link between
socioeconomic status and mental illness prejudice: The roles of knowledge about mental
illness and empathy. Stigma and Health, 3(2), 139–151.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/sah0000084 (*Student)
Elischberger, H. B., Glazier, J. G.*, Hill, E. D. & Verduzco-Baker, L. (2016). “Boys don’t cry” – or
do they? Adult attitudes toward and beliefs about transgender youth. Sex Roles, 75,
197-214. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0609-y (*Student)
Haden, C. A., Ornstein, P. A., O’Brien, B. S., Elischberger, H. B., Tyler, C. S., & Burchinal, M.
(2011). The development of children’s early memory skills. Journal of Experimental Child
Psychology, 108, 44-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2010.06.007
Cole, M. A., Jr.*, & Elischberger, H. B. (2010, September). Directed forgetting of real-life events
in school-age children. Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences, 9.
Retrieved from http://www.kon.org/urc/v9/cole.html. (*Student)
Ornstein, P. A., Haden, C. A., & Elischberger, H. B. (2010). Learning to talk about the past:
Evidence from longitudinal and experimental approaches. In H.-P. Trolldenier, W.
Lenhard, & P. Marx, (Eds.), Brennpunkte der Gedächtnisforschung: Entwicklungs- und
pädagogisch-psychologische Perspektiven [Current Issues in Memory Research:
Perspectives from Developmental and Educational Psychology] (pp. 129-145).
Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe & Huber Publishers.
Ornstein, P. A., Haden, C. A., & Elischberger, H. B. (2006). Children’s memory development:
Remembering the past and preparing for the future. In: Craik, F., & Bialystok, E. (Eds.),
Lifespan Cognition: Mechanisms of Change (pp. 143-161). Oxford University Press.
Elischberger, H. B. (2005). The effects of prior knowledge on children’s memory and
suggestibility. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 92, 247-275.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2005.05.002
Ornstein, P. A. & Elischberger, H. B. (2004). Studies of suggestibility: Some observations and
suggestions. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 18, 1129-1141.
https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1081
Roebers, C. M., & Elischberger, H. B. (2002). Autobiographische Erinnerung bei jungen
Kindern: Möglichkeiten und Grenzen bei der Verbesserung ihrer freien Berichte. [Young
children’s autobiographical memory: Methods to improve their free narratives and
limitations.] Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psychologie, 34,
2-10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1026//0049-8637.34.1.2
Elischberger, H. B. & Roebers, C. M. (2001). Improving young children’s free narratives about
an observed event: The effects of unspecific verbal prompts. International Journal of
Behavioral Development, 25, 160-166. https://doi.org/10.1080/01650250042000203

Awards

Visiting Scholar, Center for Developmental Science at UNC Chapel Hill (Spring 2013)
Great Lakes College Association New Directions Initiative grant to support attendance of
Multilevel Modeling workshop at UNC in preparation for sabbatical research (Asking
New Questions of Extant Data; 2012; $3,310)
Albion College Faculty Development small grants:
– Linking Student Knowledge of Human Development to Attitudes about Social Policy
(Fall 2009; $335.55)
– Scientific Reasoning in Young Adults (Fall 2009; $75)
– Directed Forgetting of Real-Life Events (Spring 2009; $650)
– Do Young Children Rely on Scripts in Recounting Multiple Instances of Abuse?
(Summer 2006; $1,400)
Smith Graduate Research Grant at UNC Chapel Hill for project Examining the Linkages
Among Knowledge, Memory, and Suggestibility (Spring 2004; $1,000)
Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid-of-Research for project Examining the Linkages Among
Knowledge, Memory, and Suggestibility (Spring 2004; $800)