Barking up the Tree Series
with Cannoli the Terrier and Dr. Squirrel
Cannoli the Terrier loves squirrels.
Dr. Squirrel loves developmental psychology research.
Let's have some fun with Cannoli as she barks up the tree and chases down some of Dr. Squirrel's #researchacorns to learn more about developmental psychology!
Barking about attention
May 15, 2023
Cannoli's next research acorn from Dr. Squirrel's tree lab really resonates with her. After all, Cannoli and her very loud, distracting bark know all about the importance of attention! The study she read, written by Li and colleagues (2023), looks at the role of attention and if it can explain why math anxiety is bad for math performance. You can read about the theory behind this study and the study itself in the infographic below.
Thankfully Dr. Squirrel doesn't have science anxiety, because if she did then Cannoli's barking might be enough of a distraction for her not do well in her scientific studies!
Article citation:
Li, T., Quintero, M., Galvan, M., Shanafelt, S., Hasty, L. M., Spangler, D. P., ... & Wang, Z. (2023). The mediating role of attention in the association between math anxiety and math performance: An eye-tracking study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 115(2), 229. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000759
Barking about career aspirations
March 15, 2023
Cannoli is excited to share with you the first research acorn she found from Dr. Squirrel's tree lab! This study, written by Conlon, Barroso, & Ganley (2023), examines the different career aspirations that children have. You can read about the main study findings in the infographic below.
When Cannoli grows up, she wants to be a squirrel hunter. She's certain she'll use a lot of math in this job because, let's face it, squirrels probably use a lot of mental geometry themselves as they figure out the best angles to use to jump from tree to tree. Now to start learning about quadrilaterals and the difference between an obtuse triangle and an acute triangle...
Article citation:
Conlon, R. A., Barroso, C., & Ganley, C. M. (2023). Young children's career aspirations: Gender differences, STEM ambitions, and expected skill use. The Career Development Quarterly, 71, 15– 29. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12312