Research Projects
- Application of Cattell’s Investment Theory to reading development across the lifespan. We are interested in the role that fluid reasoning plays in the development of crystallized knowledge and academic skills (e.g., vocabulary, reading, respectively). We have examined this question among children with and without neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., ADHD). More recently, we examined fluid reasoning and reading in typically developing preschoolers and adults, with preliminary findings leading to new and exciting research questions. We aim to continue this line of research and expand upon it by developing theoretical models for academic intervention that involve fluid reasoning.
- Cognition-emotion interactions in relation to functional outcomes. We are interested in determining how the interaction between cognition and emotion relate to important functional outcomes (e.g., social, academic). Recent research, for example, has examined how test anxiety disrupts cognitive functions that are important for reading comprehension among adults referred for learning disability evaluations.
- Mindfulness. We are interested in examining the cognitive mechanism(s) through which mindfulness exerts its beneficial effect onto various functional outcomes (e.g., academic functioning). Mindfulness, though variously defined, involves intentionally directing attention to experiences occurring in the present moment without judgment. Mindfulness has been shown to have a positive effect on several important behavioral outcomes (e.g., reducing anxiety, improving academic functioning), and represents a central component to several evidence-based psychotherapies. However, many questions remain as to the cognitive mechanisms that link mindfulness with functioning.
- Statistical learning and reading development. Humans have the capacity to develop sensitivity to the regularities within their environment. It turns out that within written language (i.e., orthography), there is also a “textual environment” that is rich in regularities. For example, some letter combinations occur more regularly than other letter combinations. Evidence suggests that our brains develop sensitivity to the regularities of the textual environment. In our lab, we are interested in determining the role of such statistical learning in relation to broader reading development. One way we are doing this is to develop new measures that can be administered to children and adults alike.