Michael Willoughby

Michael Willoughby, PhD, is an expert in the development of self-regulation in children, with an emphasis on executive functions (cognitive abilities that are involved in the control and coordination of information in the service of goal-directed activities). He is involved in the development and psychometric evaluation of performance-based measures of executive function. His work is also focused on developmental causes, course, and consequences of individual differences in executive function, with a specific interest in how executive function skills support children’s transition to elementary school readiness and their risk for disruptive behavior disorders.

Currently, Dr. Willoughby leads the Coding and Programming in Elementary School project, which is evaluating the impacts of an educational robotics program on children’s fluid cognitive skills. He also leads the Computer Games for Learning Study, which is evaluating an individualized, computer-based social skills program. He previously led a project to develop and rigorously evaluate a computerized assessment of executive functions for use with preschool-aged children. He has been a principal investigator, co-investigator, and methodologist on grants funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Institute of Educational Sciences.

Dr. Willoughby maintains an appointment of Research Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.