Sarah A. McCormick, Ph.D.

Learning to navigate social relationships and interactions is a fundamental skill in early development. As these interactions become increasingly complex, they require the development of social cognition, including skills ranging from processing facial expressions, to developing language and communication, and building an awareness of others’ mental states. 

How do these early building blocks interact over development to shape emerging social cognitive skills? 

How are these skills supported in the brain as it develops during this period? 

What aspects of the environment help shape individual differences in social cognitive outcomes? 

My research program addresses these key questions over infancy and early childhood. In particular, I seek to understand how the mechanisms supporting different facets of social cognition change with time and experience and how external environmental factors interact with these processes to predict individual differences in development and behavior. 

I use multiple methods to answer my research questions, including behavioral approaches (cognitive tasks and eye-tracking) and electrophysiological (EEG/ERP) methods. My research program ultimately seeks to enrich our understanding of the factors that can support or hinder social cognitive development early in life.

Get in touch at sa.mccormick@northeastern.edu