PhD in Psychological Sciences - Developmental Science in Nashville United States | Vanderbilt University

The Developmental Sciences faculty is united by a shared goal: exploring how environmental influences and fundamental social-cognitive mechanisms foster learning and growth throughout early childhood. Our diverse team examines environmental aspects from infant reaching opportunities to preteen mathematical problem-solving scenarios, while analyzing internal processes spanning emotional regulation to theory of mind. We study foundational mechanisms underlying sophisticated behaviors and cognition, including action coordination, linguistic skills, symbolic comprehension, and mathematical reasoning. Employing experimental approaches, we pinpoint causal relationships and assess developmental changes through behavioral and neurological lenses. This collective focus has enabled extensive interdisciplinary collaborations among our faculty and with scholars across various fields.