Intellectual Humility Conference Presentation with Judith Danovitch and Jason Moser

Team research directors, Judith Danovitch and Jason Moser attended the Intellectual Humility Conference in May of 2015 to discuss the final results from our initial research study. In the video below, they talk about the specific measures that were used to assess children's intellectual humility in addition to specific findings and results regarding the development of intellectual humility and related neurophysiological measures.

Please click here to watch the full presentation.

Again, thank you to all of the families who participated in our study to make all of our work possible!

Thank you!

The team members of the Michigan State University M.A.P. Project are very pleased to announce that we have finished our initial data collection for the study! We hope to continue pursuing our goals in developing a better understanding of children's thought processes and how these processes relate to their patterns of brain activity. For those of you who participated in our study, please be on the lookout for another project newsletter later this fall where we will describe the final results!

It has been a wonderful experience working with each and every one of you! So we would like to say thank you to all of the families that participated over the last year and a half, we couldn't have done it without your help!

Q&A with Judith Danovitch!

1. What inspired you to become a psychologist? 

I think I was always interest in cognitive development (although I didn't know it was called that) because I grew up speaking three languages at home, and I often wondered how that was possible and why it was easy for me. In college, I worked in a psychology lab and taught children in different settings and I realized how much I loved working with children and how interesting it would be to try to understand their thinking processes.

2. What is your favorite part about doing research?

My favorite part of research is collecting data and seeing the results. It is so much fun to hear what children have to say, and it is exciting to discover new aspects of how their minds work.

3. What research finding do you think is most important for parents to know?

I think the research on temperament is extremely valuable for parents. Temperament basically means that different children react to the same experience in different ways. So, for example, one child might experience a roller coaster ride as fun while another child finds it terrifying. I think if parents understood this better, they would be more appreciative of their child's individuality and be less likely to compare their child to other children.

4. What goal do you hope to accomplish with your research?

I hope to give parents, educators, and the general public new insights into how children think at different points in their development. 

Positive and Negative Thinkers' Brains

Research conducted by Michigan State University psychologist, Jason Moser, shows that positive and negative thinking may actually be hardwired in the brain. To read more about these findings in the MSU Today, please click here . Dr. Moser also develop the neurophysiological measures used here at the MSU M.A.P. Project! 

Picture of the Week!

Welcome to the Jungle Room! 

The Jungle Room is located inside the MSU KID lab. All child participant sessions for the MSU MAP Project take place here! 

Infants Learn By Doing

   We know that our minds control our actions, but do our actions influence our minds? Psychology researchers have recently tackled this question by looking at how physical movements influence learning in infants and young children.
    One new study examined how three-month-olds learn about others’ goals based on their own actions. Infants sat for a few minutes and either played with some toys themselves using Velcro “sticky” mittens that helped them move the toys around or they just watched the experimenter play with the toys. Afterwards, infants watched the experimenter pick up one of the two toys until the infant lost interest. The position of the toys was then switched, and infants saw the experimenter do one of two things: either perform the same action as before (the hand reached out and grabbed the toy on the left) but the outcome was different (a different toy was picked up than before), or the experimenter’s hand performed a different action (the hand reached out and grabbed the toy on the right) but the outcome was the same as before (the same toy was picked up as before). The researchers measured how long the infants looked at each event to determine whether they found either one surprising.
    Infants who played with the toys themselves looked longer at the event with the different outcome than event with the same outcome. What does this mean? Infants are able to learn about others’ desires by applying what they know about how they perform actions in the world. They learn that their actions can be directed toward specific outcomes, although this learning is still limited. So what’s the takeaway? Passive learning is not very effective learning, therefore it is crucial that children – and even young babies – act on their own world while learning – i.e., active learning – in order to gain the most knowledge.

To read a more details description of this study and its finding, please click here:


Also, to watch a brief video demonstrating the infants’ use of the Velcro mittens, please click here:

Combating the Vocabulary Gap Between Rich and Poor Children

          Recent research has raised concerns that the vocabulary gap is widening between children from families of varying socioeconomic status. By 18 months, socioeconomic status differences in language processing skills and vocabulary are already visible. By the time a child is three-years-old, those growing up in lower-income families may hear up to 30 million fewer words than children from higher-income families. What does this mean for these children as they grow up? By the time a child is ready to attend school, those from lower-income families have been shown to score two years behind on standardized language development tests.

            What is causing this gap to emerge as early as infancy? Researchers believe parenting styles and home learning environments are the two most crucial factors contributing to income-related gaps in school readiness. Many parents don’t realize the power they hold to foster learning in their children prior to beginning formal education. The good news is that if parents are given the proper knowledge and skills, they can help close this vocabulary gap starting with their own children.

Toddlers learn vocabulary through context, so the faster a child recognizes words they already know, the better they can figure out and learn the following words in the sentence. A parents’ best bet to combating this language and vocabulary gap is to turn off the television, read to their child, and use more child-directed speech. These simple techniques have shown greater efficacy in children’s language processing, therefore increasing a child’s vocabulary. Researchers have created a simple method for parents and caregivers to use to expand a child’s vocabulary:

·      Tune In: pay attention to what the child is focused on or is communicating to you

·      Talk More: use lots of descriptive words to build their vocabulary

·      Take Turns: engage in conversations with the child

By utilizing these three simple methods, parents can help increase their children’s

vocabulary at an early age. High school achievement gaps between socioeconomic statuses are already visible in kindergarten. Since most language development and vocabulary gaps are already evident by age two, it is critical to encourage development early on to prevent a ripple effect throughout the rest of the child’s life. However, parent education intervention studies with low-income families have shown very promising results. By using techniques to foster language development early, parents have the ability to change their child’s life trajectory.  

To read more details about this article and the studies discussed, please click here.