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.

Raising Successful Children

           Everyone wants to be a great parent, but what are some of the best ways to raise happy and successful children? The optimal parent is one who is involved, but not too involved, one who is responsive to their child’s needs and sets high expectations, but respects their child’s independence. Children of these “authoritative” parents perform better academically, physically, and socially. By not being overly involved, your child will develop higher confidence and motivation.

In one study, a researcher gave children a simple puzzle to solve and only some of the children were told how bright and capable they were. Children who were not given the praise were more motivated to tackle more difficult puzzles, showed higher levels of confidence and greater overall progress in puzzle-solving. These results show that praising talents and abilities actually decreases a child’s confidence because they risk losing their status by trying more difficult puzzles. Other studies have shown similar findings, for example, supporting a child’s independence and limiting parental involvement results in better academic and emotional outcomes.

Parents of successful and happy children did not do for the child what the child could do or could almost do themselves. Children face challenges everyday that they must learn to overcome on their own without their parent taking over. Parents must understand that their children need to experience successful failures, or failures that the child can live with and grow from. Depriving children of challenges also deprives them from learning the skills they’ll need to survive in life. Not everything in a child’s life is always going to go according to plan, so parents must learn to accept this and allow their child to be independent.

Overparenting can be detrimental to a child’s confidence, motivation, and independence. Children flourish when their environment is reliable, consistent, available, and noninterfering. Allowing children to make mistakes can be anxiety-provoking for parents, but parents must learn to control their anxiety to allow their children to manage the given situation on their own. Unhappy and unfulfilled parents are more likely to be prone to overparenting, so make sure your needs are also met in order to be the very best parent you can be. Happy parenting!

Click here to read a more in-depth article on this topic from the New York Times! 

Picture of the Week!

Below is a silly picture of a recent participant! 

Excessive Praise May Actually Be Harmful to Children

    Over the years, more and more research has focused on the effects of praise across a variety of situations. Praise has been used as a motivator and it often acts as a reward for children, but recent research raises questions about the effects of excessive praise on children's behavior. Turns out that excessive praise may be detrimental to children with low self-esteem. Adults are twice as likely to use excessive praise towards children with low self-esteem, in comparison to children with high self-esteem. This makes sense because adults often want to give additional praise to the children that seem to need it most, however, this appears to have the opposite effect on children with low self-esteem.
    In one recent study, children drew a Van Gogh picture, and were either given: inflated praise (e.g. "You did an incredibly great job!"), non-inflated praise (e.g. "You did a great job!"), or no praise by a professional painter. Then, children were given the choice to draw one of two types of pictures: an easier picture where they wouldn't learn much, or a difficult picture where they would make lots of mistakes but would also learn a lot. Children with low self-esteem who received inflated praise were more likely to choose the easier picture to draw.
    So what exactly is inflated praise doing to children with low self-esteem? Praise sends a message about future standards and expectations. When a child with low self-esteem hears excessive, inflated praise, they feel that they must do exceptionally well or else they will disappoint others, therefore they shy away from challenges that could result in failure. So, it seems that, like with many things, the best practice is to praise in moderation - don't overdo it.

    To learn more about these studies and what others are saying about them, please visit the following links:

“Stop Heaping Praise on Your Kids”  

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/on-parenting/stop-heaping-praise-on-your-kids/2014/01/06/84a9a2fe-7710-11e3-8963-b4b654bcc9b2_story.html

“When Praise Hurts: The Psychology of Gushing”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wray-herbert/when-praise-hurts-the-psy_b_4269342.html

Understanding Children's Emotions

    Understanding the importance of emotions in children is crucial to understanding how emotions guide their thoughts and behaviors. Recent research has defined interest as a key emotion that may be the first to develop in infancy, then later stimulates children’s curiosity, motivating them to explore the world around them and to learn from their experiences.  Parents are encouraged to respond enthusiastically to their children’s interests, increasing opportunities for meaningful conversations which builds stronger family relationships.

     Although some children don’t show “typical” interests (e.g. reading or school work), parents are encouraged to determine what does interest their child, and to engage in their interests. Over time, parents can help their child turn theses interests into constructive projects, but parents must meet them half way through support and encouragement.

To read a more detailed article about this concept of understanding children's emotions, click on the following link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kenneth-barish-phd/understanding-childrens-e_b_3594455.html .

What interests and activities do your children enjoy? How do you encourage your children to pursue their interests? Submit your comments below! 

Project Update!

The MSU Minds, Attitudes, and Parenting project is pleased to announce that we've reached the midpoint of our study, and have had a great turn out thus far! Over 65 children and their parents have participated in our study over the last six months. Interesting results between children's behaviors, their brain activity, and their parents' attitudes are beginning to emerge. We will be presenting some of these findings at the upcoming meetings of the Association for Psychological Science in San Francisco and at the Intellectual Humility conference in Saint Louis. We're very excited about the data we have collected already and are even more excited to see what the next six months will bring! Thank you to everyone who has already participated in this study and to those that have helped spread the word about our research! It has been a pleasure working with the families and we hope the results of our study will provide helpful information in return in the not too distant future. In the coming year, we hope to begin posting results from our study and, begin providing workshops and events to inform the public about our research. Until then, we are still looking for children and parents to participate over the next six months, so please continue spreading the word about the MSU MAP project. For more details about this research study, feel free to e-mail us at msukidlab@gmail.com or visit our website at www.msumap.org .