Lab Director

Kathryn Amey Degnan, Ph.D.

Education, Training, & Professional History:

B.S. in Psychology, Mary Washington College

M.A./Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology (PI: Susan Calkins), UNC Greensboro 

Predoctoral Fellow, Center for Developmental Science (PI: Susan Calkins), UNC Chapel Hill

Postdoctoral Trainee, Child Development Laboratory (PI: Nathan Fox), UMD - College Park

Research Assistant Professor, Human Development & Quantitative Methodology, UMD - College Park

(current) Faculty member, Department of Psychology, Catholic University of America

My research centers around identifying, defining, and investigating individual differences in emotion and behavior, with a particular focus on the developmental processes of individuals within their social context that contribute to a variety of outcomes, across the lifespan. I prefer to examine multi-level (i.e., biological, individual, and family) measures of the individual and their environment to more clearly identify the myriad skills, contexts, and systems that support success and human flourishing for all  individuals. 

As Co-Investigator for a robust, federally-funded, longitudinal study of temperament, spanning infancy to young adulthood (TOTS), recent work focuses on the role of parenting behavior in mitigating risk for temperamentally inhibited or exuberant children through the development of executive functioning skills. While behaviorally inhibited children find it difficult to approach new situations, exuberant children tend to approach very quickly and with excitement. This positive approach brings many benefits, but also some challenges, across development. Parents and teachers can assist these children by understanding this drive, and by scaffolding flexible regulation of their enhanced emotions and behavior, supporting positive, adaptive behavior across development. To more fully understand these processes, many ongoing PDL projects are analyzing archival data from this impressive study.

New research conducted here at CUA extends this longitudinal work by exploring the roles of emotion, self-regulation, and social context in the successful adaptation (e.g., positive risk-taking; social engagement; mental health) of temperamentally exuberant young adults as they transition to the University setting and prepare for adulthood. To this end, multiple levels of measurement (e.g., psychophysiology; self-report; behavior) are collected whenever possible in order to more clearly define our key constructs.  Soon, we'll be adding EEG/ERP to our concert of assessment tools!

Exciting independent research projects by stellar undergraduate and graduate students also are supported by the Positive Development Lab team. Check out the Projects page for more information!

Curriculum Vitae [updated Summer 2025]