Cognitive Development Lab

Faculty and student researchers from Wesleyan's Cognitive Development Lab recently received a $3,000 stipend from the National Living Laboratory® Initiative, which receives support from the National Science Foundation. The award will support an ongoing collaboration between Wesleyan and the the Connecticut Science Center. Hilary Barth, associate professor of psychology, associate professor of neuroscience and behavior, oversees a Living Laboratory® site at the science center's museum. For the past year and a half, Wesleyan researchers have visited the museum on Saturdays to collect data for current studies, talk with children and their families about child developmental research, and guide visitors in hands-on activities that demonstrate important findings in developmental psychology. The…

Wesleyan’s Cognitive Development Labs hosted Family Math Night at Edna Stevens Elementary School in Cromwell, Conn. on April 9. The event was full of games and activities for preschool children to play and get them excited about math while showing families activities that they can do at home to prepare their children for kindergarten. Assistant Professor of Psychology Anna Shusterman’s students designed the math games as part of a research methods class. (more…)

Wesleyan’s Cognitive Development Labs are bringing their research on how young children think and learn to local museum visitors, thanks to a new partnership with the Connecticut Science Center in Hartford. The partnership provides the public with a rare opportunity to learn about child development and psychological science—topics not often represented at science museums—at the Connecticut Science Center, while allowing the Wesleyan researchers access to a wide pool of subjects to include in their studies. “It’s basically bringing the lab research out into the public, making the science accessible to kids and families, and also collecting data in the process,”…

Wesleyan's Psychology Department hosted the second annual Cognitive Development Undergraduate Research Conference on July 18. Faculty, research assistants and undergraduates from Wesleyan, Smith College, Wellesley College and Barnard College attended the conference to discuss their research. Seven labs from the four schools presented their work at the event. "This conference is a great opportunity for faculty and students to discuss research, for the faculty to catch up on new work, and for students in this field to connect with each other," says Shusterman, who organized the conference. Photos of the event are below: (more…)

Anna Shusterman, assistant professor of psychology; Hilary Barth, assistant professor of psychology, assistant professor of neuroscience and behavior; and Emily Slusser, a postdoctoral fellow in psychology, received a grant worth $25,000 from Mattel Philanthropy Programs. The grant was awarded on March 24. The grant allows the group to explore children's ability to learn from independent play with toys. Children will receive one of four kinds of toys for a period of two months, and their parents will be asked to bring the toys out daily. At the beginning and end of the study, children will participate in a series of brief measures, many of which…

Grant Supports Partnership between Cognitive Development Lab, CT Science Center

Cognitive Development Lab Designs Games for Family Math Night

Psychology Students Seek “Child Scientists” at Connecticut Science Museum

4 Institutions Participate in Cognitive Development Research Conference

Mattel Supports Cognitive Development Study