Our Research

Purpose

    The purpose of our research is to learn why some children become depressed and anxious and other children seem protected even in the face of considerable risks. We hope that our research will ultimately improve accurate identification of at-risk children and inform prevention and early intervention efforts.

Procedures

  • Electrodes 1 We observe and rate children’s emotions and behaviors as they interact with their parents to learn about their empathy, altruism, and helping behaviors.

  • We record children's heart rate as they observe others’ sadness, anger and happiness to measure their physiological responses to others’ emotions.

  • We ask children to interpret and rate the intensity, causes, and consequences of their own and others’ emotional experiences to assess emotion-processing biases.

  • We use MRI scans to record neural activation as children observe others’ happiness, sadness, and anger.