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NEWS
NEWS
Welcome to the new PDL students! In particular:
Ariana Chalkias, 1st yr SCAN PhD student!
Lizzie Tandilashvili, 1st yr CL PhD student!
Check out our students on their Lab Team pages....
Summer is for Traveling...to conferences!
Summer is for Traveling...to conferences!
June 2025, Dr Degnan and multiple PDL graduate students & alumni traveled to Charleston, SC to present to the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood (SSEA)!
It was another great URD 2025! The PDL had 2 poster presentations to share with everyone:
Emma Heffron, Kim Oacan, & Daniel Saba: "The Effects of Positive Priming on Body Image"
Fatima Casiano-Agosto, Javier Oliver, Daniel Saba, Emma Heffron, Emily Fair, & Judy McDonald: "Exploring Adaptive & Maladaptive Risk-Taking behaviors among Emerging Adults"
Looking for research experience to add to your own positive development?
CUA students (BA/BS, MA, PhD) --> 📧 Email Dr. Degnan your resume/CV and a brief description of your specific interests in the PDL
to register for credit (1 credit = 4-5 hrs per week) for any academic session [ask Dr Degnan for permission to enroll]
to volunteer (1-3 hrs per week)
Non-CUA students or CUA Alumni may also volunteer (3+ hrs per week) - Contact Dr. Degnan to discuss options
Summer volunteer positions are also available!
Development and Psychophysiology Lab (DAP Lab)
a collaboration of faculty and students interested in the inter-relations among emotion, behavior, & biology across the lifespan - come join us!
Director: Kathryn A. Degnan, Ph.D.
Students throughout the Department of Psychology at The Catholic University of America collaborate in the PDL!
BA Psychology or BS Psychological & Brain Sciences undergraduate majors
Psychological Science MA Program
Developmental, SCAN, or Clinical Psychology PhD programs
Interested in furthering your education in positive development?
Consider applying to our MA program in Psychological Science
or one of our PhD programs in Developmental, SCAN, or Clinical Psychology!
Apply for fall 2026! (Deadlines: CL - Dec 1; DP/SCAN - Feb 1; MA - June 1)
Catholic's psychology programs offer a personalized approach to learning within a supportive environment -
mentoring students towards their specific career goals.
To explore the wide scope of the PDL's research, see our Projects page. Applicants whose research interests clearly fit with our current/future research goals will be prioritized. Experience in these areas or with similar research methods is a bonus!
Temperament and regulatory functions
Psychophysiological measures (i.e., RSA, PEP, EEG, ERPs) & Eye-Tracking (available in the DAP lab!) - we use Mindware, BioSemi, BrainVision Analyzer, and Tobii products
Developmental patterns & pathways from infancy through young adulthood
Adaptive (i.e., positive) social-emotional outcomes
Sociocultural contexts (i.e., relationship factors and cultural expectations)
Multi-domain assessments across levels of analysis (e.g., biological, psychological, social, cognitive, behavioral)
Did you know the Psychology Department at Catholic University is over 130 years old?
"In 1889, a 26-year old priest with a doctoral degree in sacred theology came across a secondhand copy of Wilhelm Wundt’s 1874 Principles of Physiological Psychology at a Paris bookstore. His name was Edward Pace and he was so inspired by Wundt’s ideas that he resolved to study with the author at the University of Leipzig in Germany, becoming the first Catholic priest and one of only six Americans to have studied directly with the founder of experimental psychology..."
Rev. Pace returned to Catholic University in 1891 to found the 1st Psychology Laboratory at a Catholic University, one of the first few established in America, and one of the founding Departments of Psychology accredited by the American Psychological Association.
See more about our rich history in Psychological Science here.
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