Child Development Lab, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
With the generous support through the Alumni Sponsored Internship Program, I had an opportunity to work full-time amongst psychology research assistants, graduate students, and postdoctoral staff at the University of Maryland’s Child Development Lab (CDL). The CDL is an infant and child research lab headed by, principal investigator and Williams alum, Dr. Nathan Fox ’71. Here, I learned the benefits of pursuing a graduate degree, increased my repertoire of skills particularly useful in child development labs, and acquired a variety of mentors from different paths of psychology academia and practice.
As an undergraduate research assistant at the CDL, my responsibilities generally centered on supporting the post-doctoral supervisors to which I was assigned. Due to my full-time schedule, I was designated two different supervisors and supported two different studies for the summer months. I was given a variety of responsibilities daily. The first project, Origin of Infant Temperament (OIT), was a short-term longitudinal study focused on uncovering the neural correlates of infant temperament. Primarily, my role was to recruit infant participants, schedule visits, code infant behavior from video records, and provide assistance during set up and visits. Through my work on the OIT project, I have gained ample experience recruiting participants and working with computer software used to code and organize data (i.e. Datavyu, SPSS, and Excel). With this project, I was also required to take a course in MRI-Level 1 training in order to assist with infants and other personnel throughout the university’s neuroimaging center.
The second project concentrated on understanding the function and development of the Mirror Neuron System (MNS). The MNS project was still in its preliminary stages of data collection. So, my role consisted of testing software, resolving task mistakes, and practicing the protocol to prepare for preliminary visits at the end of the summer. My help was not required every day of the week, unlike the other project, so to make the most of my experience I took on a brief independent study. Using preliminary data collected before my arrival, my small study focused on how well parent reported measures of social responsiveness predicted a child’s performance on an Inhibition of Imitation task with both biological and spatial cues. While the results of this inquiry produced no significant correlations, learning how to approach, analyze, and present data, as well as witnessing the beginning stages of research design were all invaluable experiences.
The CDL, located on the fourth floor of a building at the edge of University of Maryland, College Park campus, was small and intimate. Typically, research staff and students often occupy the same workspace. This tight knit and familial atmosphere was exemplified and encouraged by Dr. Fox. Biweekly, everyone assembled for a lab meeting about the larger projects and domestic issues. However, most days there were smaller meetings between post-docs and their colleagues about method collection, advising, and undergraduate support. This collaborative spirit made it easy to join in discussion, offer ideas, and form relationships with new mentors. From the members of the CDL, I have received instrumental advice about the costs and benefits of pursuing a graduate degree, tips on applying for post baccalaureate positions, and suggestions on how to navigate job interviews. I hope to maintain all of the professional relationships that I formed this summer, and look forward to hearing about their successes in the future.
Developmental psychology research, especially pertaining to the understanding of infant and child development, is essential to ensuring that we are best supporting the youngest members of our society. Naturally, this field of study also is crucial to our collective understanding of the origins of adult social, emotional, and behavioral health outcomes. After having coursework and acquiring a variety of work experiences in the field, I have come to understand the impact of this work. However, the time and money that goes into developing research studies seems to be extreme considering how infrequently significant conclusions are reported. This along with greater underlying problems in the research world (i.e. test-retest reliability, generalizability to the greater population, etc.) drive my continued sense that more urgent efforts are needed in work that directly supports subsets of our population that are systematically underrepresented in psychology research. There is an immediate issue pertaining to the lack of resources and support provided to these populations, and whether it be in person or in the lab, understanding how to best help children who enter the world on the bottom of our social system and putting that into action should be our top priority.
Post-graduation, I have acquired the skills to present as a competitive candidate for a psychology research assistantship, however my passion continues to point me towards a future in an applied psychology field. From my experience at the CDL, I have learned the benefits of earning a graduate degree in psychology and the flexibility it will afford me in determining my long-term career. I plan to pursue a graduate degree in either developmental psychology, clinical psychology, or special education. Though, along the way, I hope to be able to challenge the very concerns that I have witnessed and mention above in my own research. I hope to focus specifically on underrepresented populations and to possibly work towards inspiring others to do the same.
As I continue on to complete my BA in psychology, I am grateful for the opportunity to join the CDL at University of Maryland. I would like to thank Ms. Anne O’Herron Burleigh P09, P13, P16, as well as the Williams College ’68 Center for Career Exploration for supporting me with this internship. I would like to also extend my gratitude to the members of the CDL, especially Professor Amie Han for introducing me to Dr. Fox and his lab in College Park, Md. This support has greatly impacted my career trajectory and, most importantly, allowed me to spend the summer working alongside some wonderful people in a renowned developmental psychology research lab.