Welcome to my academic page!

Darcia Narvaez (Pronunciation: DAR-sha Narv-EYES)

by Matt Cashore University of Notre Dame

I am a Professor Emerita of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame with a Puerto Rican and German-American background. My work focuses on moral development and flourishing from an interdisciplinary perspective. I am especially interested in how early life experience and societal culture interact to influence wellbeing and virtuous character in children and adults.

I have identified

The Evolved Nest as a millions-year-old heritage of ancestral wisdom critical for forming the foundations of health, wellbeing, prosociality and compassionate morality.
Triune-ethics meta-theory (TEM) as a framework for how moral mindsets can shift or become dispositional from (early life) experience.
The critical need for Indigenous wisdom for fostering human flourishing and optimal moral functioning (relational attunement and communal imagination).
Integrative ethical education (via RAVES: relationship, apprenticeship, virtue exemplars, ethical expertise, self-authorship) for fostering compassionate moral character in classrooms.

FILMS

6-minute film, Breaking the Cycle (in Spanish & Subtitled in 16 languages at YouTube)

8-minute film, The Evolved Nest: Nature’s Way of Raising Children

(in Spanish & Subtitled in 16 languages at YouTube)

12-minute film: Reimagining Humanity (in Spanish & Subtitled in 16 languages) Watch 2-minute trailer

Curriculum Vitae12.23

BOOKS

Download Published Papers by Topic

En español: LINK

WORKSHOP Materials For Educators

RESEARCH TOOLS (for teachers and researchers)

See also EvolvedNest.org

DarciaNarvaez.com

Kindred Media

ARCHIVED BLOG AT PSYCHOLOGY TODAY

BLOG POST LIST with LINKS

YouTube Playlist

Twitter: @MoralLandscapes, @EvolvedNest

Facebook: Moral Landscapes, EvolvedNest

SoundCloud: Evolved Nest

RESEARCH TOPICS

Triune Ethics Meta-Theory (and measures)

The Evolved Nest (Evolved Developmental Niche)

Indigenous Wisdom

Conference: Sustainable Wisdom: Integrating Indigenous Knowhow for Global Flourishing

For Life to Continue on Earth, Every Day Must Be Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Moral Complexity/Mature Moral Functioning

Education for Virtue, Ethics, Morality

Moral Discourse Processing/Comprehension

Moral Self and Identity
Diversity and Culture
Moral & Political Judgment
College and Professional Education
Other Areas of Interest

OTHER LINKS

Center for the Study of Ethical Development at the University of Alabama (information about the Defining Issues Test)

Collaboration for Ethical Education

Minnesota Community Voices and Character Education Curriculum Materials

Wikipedia Page

About my spouse, Dan Lapsley

Evolved Nest

Who/What is “Indigenous”?
People sometimes ask or wonder about how to be respectful of Native Peoples while desiring to adopt Indigenous ways. I find it helpful to approach the term “Indigenous” in four ways. First, as some argue, we are all indigenous to Earth. True. We are Earthlings with layers of being that are shared with the rest […]
From Ego-Wilding to Eco-Wilding and Re-Wilding
Although in the USA today, many residents are ego-wilding (see prior post), this is not humanity’s heritage. Eco-wilding is our heritage. Eco-wilding deeply contrasts with ego-wilding. People often misunderstand “wildness,” as if it refers to ego-wildness—unfettered impulsive or planned antisociality. But we are not born to be ego-wild. Ego-wildness comes from undercare (unnestedness), inherited epigenetic […]
Wilding: Eco or Ego?
The term, wilding, emerged as a description of random youth violence. A sign of failed socialization. But in recent decades, this kind of wilding has been appearing in previously unexpected quarters—in business and political leaders. Instead of aiming for the common good with common sense about what that means, “wilders” follow their impulses to be […]
Can We Create A Village In A Competitive Culture? Reimagining and Rebuilding with the Evolved Nest and Partnerism
“We are stuck in the wrong story.” — Riane Eisler “The Evolved Nest helps us remember what being human really means.” — Darcia Narvaez (from the recorded conversation below) In this powerful conversation, Riane Eisler and Darcia Narvaez explore the synergy between Eisler’s Partnerism framework and Narvaez’s Evolved Nest model. Narvaez’s and Eisler’s lifelong […]
How the Corporate Consumption Complex Confuses Us by Promoting Pleasure as Happiness
Corporations sell us hedonic pleasures (tobacco, alcohol, processed “food”) and behavior triggers (guns, cars, energy) by using advanced science about how to hook us to their products (Freundenberg, 2014). They tap into neurobiological functions, like the brain’s reward pathway. As you know the processed food you eat is designed to ‘keep you hooked.’ Sugar does […]
A Tribute to James Prescott, PhD
Watch the video tribute below. From Darcia Narvaez, PhD Dr. James Prescott is one of my founding mentors for the work I do today. His papers were an alert, a wake up call, an inspiration that lit up my intuitions about the world having gone wrong. I discovered his origins of violence video and his […]
Welcoming the Mother of Medicine: Our Special Issue’s Letter from the Editors
Editor’s Note: This letter from the editor is a part of the Special Issue of Kindred Magazine celebrating The Mother of Medicine for Mother’s Day 2025. Kindredwelcomes Stephanie Mines, PhD, as guest editor for this issue. Watch the Welcoming the Mother of Medicine video discussion with Lisa Reagan and Stephanie Mines below. See the overview […]
What Is The Mother Of Medicine? A Poetic Response
Editor’s Note: This post is a part of the forthcoming Special Issue of Kindred Magazinecelebrating the Mother of Medicine for Mother’s Day 2025. Kindred welcomes Stephanie Mines, PhD, as guest editor for this issue. Watch the Welcoming the Mother of Medicine video discussion with Lisa Reagan and Stephanie Mines. See the overview of the Mother […]
The Origins of the Mother of Medicine Movement
Editor’s Note: This post is a part of the forthcoming Special Issue of Kindred Magazine celebrating the Mother of Medicine for Mother’s Day 2025. Kindred welcomes Stephanie Mines, PhD, as guest editor for this issue. Join the LIVE week-long events for the Mother of Medicine, May 12-16, 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time, by […]
Are You Securely Attached? The Planet Cares.
John Bowlby’s insights about the importance of attachment was a revelation to a western world dominated by left-brain orientations of non-relational individualism and treating mothers as milk machines instead of nurturers. Attachment is a psychological concept that caught on among researchers and interventionists, and spread to the public. It usually refers to the type of […]

Contact Info

Address:

Darcia Narvaez

Professor of Psychology Emerita

Department of Psychology

University of Notre Dame

390 Corbett Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556

Email: dnarvaez@nd.edu