Category Archives: Developmental Psychology

Where do our relationship expectations come from?

Imagine you’re walking through the mall and see a mom with her son. As you get closer to them, you notice that the little boy is upset and crying. How would you expect the mom to respond to her crying … Continue reading

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Are you smarter than a 6-month-old? Evidence from an iconic memory capacity test

Imagine several colored stars appear in front of you for 1 second, how many stars can you remember and tell its color based on that one glance? Do you know if you can perform better than a 6-month-old infant in … Continue reading

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Going to child care: a “popular” path?

What kind of children would you guess to be popular at school? You may intuitively assume children’s popularity is related to their being stylish, good looking, athletic, funny, or wealthy. One factor that you probably won’t think of is how … Continue reading

Posted in Developmental Psychology, Educational psychology | 3 Comments

Should a disaster occur, do you know how your children would perceive it?

The escalating chaos in the Middle East is shocking as well as heartbreaking. As media technology advances, we gain more access to world news about all kinds of disasters – human, natural or technical disasters. We also become more concerned … Continue reading

Posted in Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Community Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Educational psychology | 1 Comment

Can babies read your mind?

Mind reading is sometimes considered as a mysterious, all-mighty powerful and supernatural ability, glorified by the Hollywood movies, televisions and people’s fantasy. Here I am not talking about that kind of mind reading. I am focusing on the day-to-day mind-reading … Continue reading

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Why Do Early Experiences Continue to Influece Our Relationships?

How often do you think about your early experiences with your parents? Perhaps you’re thinking: not all that often. Although you might not think about those formative years, they continue to influence you even in adulthood.

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Can the Tiger-Mom Approach Explain the Math Learning Gap Between America and China?

Educators have long been concerned about the math learning gap between America and China: children in China and other East Asian countries outperform their American peers on various math tasks (e.g., counting, arithmetic, algebra, & geometry). To maintain America’s national … Continue reading

Posted in Developmental Psychology, Educational psychology | 2 Comments

Effortless language learning: not just for kids

Most people believe that adult language learning is slow and effortful, in stark contrast to how children “automatically” learn languages. Recent research flies in the face of this conventional wisdom by showing that adults, too, have a fast and flexible … Continue reading

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Are you becoming your mother?

When interacting with your child, have you ever had that moment of utter shock when the words your mother said to you as a child come tumbling out of your mouth before you can stop them? At that moment, you’re … Continue reading

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Is Your Child Genuinely Helpful?

Even after years of research experience with young children, I was still amazed by toddlers’ helping behavior elicited by the host Alan Alda in “the Human Spark series” on PBS. The researchers from the Max Planck Institute recently found that … Continue reading

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