She received her baccalaureate degree from the University of California at Riverside, with a double major in psychology and human development, and earned her doctorate in developmental psychology from Duke University. Before joining the faculty at USD, she completed a postdoctoral research position at the Yale University Child Study Center. Dr. Molitor's teaching interests include infancy, child and adolescent development, and developmental research methods. Her research interests center around the social and emotional development of infants and toddlers. The topics of her research include the dynamics of mother-infant interactions, the impact of these interactions on emotional and social behavior, the problems encountered by at-risk infants and toddlers, and the role of culture in structuring developmental goals and motherchild exchanges.