Research Topic: Understanding the Neural Mechanisms and Family Processes supporting Social-Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

Understanding the neural mechanisms and family processes supporting social-cognitive development in these critical preschool years has enormous potential to improve communication and functioning within families, especially those struggling to understand and overcome differences in social behavior and cognition. Sarah’s research will investigate the influence of family language use of such phrases as “I know” and “she feels”, on the development of young children’s ability to understand internal mental states and how they motivate behavior.  A more thorough understanding of the influence of proximal family factors in the early development of social cognition may lead to potential avenues for early intervention.

Sarah’s research will investigate the influence of growing up in chaotic home environments (e.g., lack of schedules, loud, lack of supervision) on the development of young children’s internal mental states and how they motivate behavior (theory of mind abilities, a core component of healthy development). Through examining the behavioral context of household chaos and concurrent neural development, she seeks to understand how the unpredictability of crucial caregiver-child social interactions associated with household chaos might serve to disrupt normative theory of mind development and the neural mechanisms that support it.

Her aim is that this work leads to interventions aimed at reducing chaos in the home, potentially improving interactions within families and social-cognitive outcomes for children. This research also has implications for understanding the impacts of environmental context in atypical development characterized by deficits or differences in theory of mind and social cognition (e.g. social anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, or schizophrenia).