Susan Krauss Whitbourne (born 1948) is a developmental clinical psychologist known for her work on personality and identity over the lifespan.
[2] She subsequently finished a clinical psychology postdoctoral re-specialization program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Whitbourne's research program has examined a variety of issues related to people's experiences of identity over the lifespan.
[19] Whitbourne and her colleagues have conducted research to evaluate the theory that older people experience physical, psychological, and social role changes that threaten their sense of self and ability to live happily, as well as being bombarded with negative ageist stereotypes.
[20] She has used a variety of methodologies to examine ageism in society, including a study of ageist stereotypes in undergraduate psychology textbooks.