Lois Bloom Lecture

“Embodied and Embedded Learning: Moving Beyond Theoretical, Methodological, and Cultural Divides in Developmental Science”

Abstract: Infancy is a remarkable time. Each emerging skill generates perceptual and social feedback vital to learning. And although researchers of infancy each zero in on a specific domain of development, our work is grounded in core principles of learning. In this talk, Tamis-LaMonda spotlights fundamental tenets of developmental science and the need for researchers to surmount soundbites, theoretical divides, methodological assumptions, and the narrow approaches to culture that persist in the field. Tamis-LeMonda illustrates with examples of infant-parent everyday home activities in samples from different socioeconomic status households, language communities, and global sites. She shows that infant learning is the product of immense amounts of time-distributed, varied practice; that cognition is grounded in action; and that venturing beyond the lab and expanding inquiry to diverse cultural communities offers unique insights into learning processes.

“The Connection Effect: Understanding and Enhancing the Lifelong Implications of Adolescent Social Relationships“

Abstract: The adult world is deeply ambivalent about adolescent social relationships. We fear the power and effects of peer influence and worry about the impact of social media. Yet, our youth are remarkably lonely and have only grown more so over the past 15 years. This talk will address this ambivalence and make the case that forming strong bonds with peers is the key social developmental task of adolescence, with a surprising range of lifelong implications. The talk will then go on to describe a unique intervention, The Connection Project, designed to address youths’ growing need for (and difficulty establishing) the deep peer relationships needed to support their growth and development. Promising data from randomized trials will be presented, along with discussion of the issues involved in scaling successful interventions for youth.

“Perspectives in the Study of ‘Minoritized’ Children and Families: The Need for a Paradigm Shift”

Abstract: Historically, both theoretically and empirically, “minoritized” children and families have been predominantly studied from deficit perspectives. More recent theoretical frameworks identify shortcomings in our prevalent theories, constructs, and empirical approaches to these populations. A paradigm shift is needed that will start by examining critically our graduate training, our prevalent research methods, and our mechanisms for funding and publishing.

“Seeing the Lion: From Epidemiology to Digital Health in Search of Transformative Change in Early Childhood Mental Health”

Abstract: In this lecture, Dr. Egger will review her work in the science and practice of early childhood mental health during each of the decades of her thirty year career. From jokes early in her career that early childhood mental health involved “putting babies on couches” to advances in the nosology and methods for multi-modal assessment to application of machine learning and computer vision analytics to longitudinal data and video data to the decision to leave academia to co-found a venture-backed digital health start-up–Dr. Egger will bring this journey to the present where she will highlight current opportunities to continue to advance early childhood developmental psychopathology and to translate science into tools and care models that can scale and meet the needs of young children and their families.

“The End of Adolescence: Purpose, Insecurity, and Indecision on the Pathway to Adulthood”

Abstract: Even as youth often live ‘in the moment,’ adolescence is a time of preparation and transition. Youth are figuring out what they need from their adolescent years and from schools to be prepared for adulthood. In addition to academic preparation, youth need a broad set of skills and dispositions to navigate a complex and global economy. Whereas it is important to help youth envision themselves in careers and in college, focusing on college and careers as outcomes often misses the importance of helping youth hone their sense of purpose and develop the cognitive and analytical skills to make sense of and navigate the job market. Professor Hill will present research on the significance of these broader outcomes and the relational supports that are associated with their development. As there are entrenched inequities in access to high quality education, to college, and to the social capital needed to navigate a successful transition to adulthood, these processes are examined in a series of studies on diverse samples. By examining findings across samples from a range in economic and ethnic backgrounds, commonalities and divergences in goals and experiences will be highlighted. Further, as these studies are grounded in research-practice partnerships, the integration of findings across theory, policy and practice will be emphasized.

View Dr. Hill’s presentation here.

“Early Adversity and Intervention: Effects Over Time”

Abstract: Dr. Dozier will consider the effects of different types of early adversity on children’s functioning, and factors that affect children’s ability to recover behaviorally and biologically following adversity. The types of adversity considered will include parental neglect, maternal opioid dependence, foster care, and orphanage care. An intervention, Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC), has been developed and adapted for parents of young children who have experienced these various forms of adversity.  Recent findings from our randomized clinical studies will be presented, highlighting brain and behavioral outcomes from middle childhood.

“Early Stress and Psychological Development: What do the theories propose and what do the findings mean?”

Abstract: There is now a great deal of clinical and theoretical regard for the role that early stress may play in long-term behavioral and physical health outcomes. This area of research encompasses many broad and substantial models of human development (e.g., “developmental programming”), engages several competing and complementary biological mechanisms (e.g., stress physiology, [neuro]inflammation), and requires an impressive array of research techniques (e.g., neuroimaging, behavioral manipulations).  In the course of this presentation, we will consider some of these, and focus particularly on the goodness of fit between alternative models and available evidence. We will also consider how a trans-disciplinary approach, which is needed for this kind of study, presents practical challenges for research and training.

“Scaling up Evidence-Based Programs in Community Settings: Opportunities and Challenges”

Abstract: A plethora of empirically supported preventive interventions have been shown to avert and improve outcomes for children, youth, and families. Yet, evidence-based programs and practices (EBPs) often do not lead to large-scale and successful program implementation in real world settings. Advancing the impact of effective prevention programs requires addressing fundamental questions about novel ways that communities can adopt, adapt to their own cultural values, and subsequently own and deliver an EBP intervention with fidelity and sustainability. This presentation will address challenges and opportunities for scaling up EBP in community settings, demonstrating the potential widespread implementation and sustainability of technology as an effective program delivery platform.

“Age of Opportunity: Lessons From the New Science of Adolescence”

Abstract: Adolescence now lasts longer than ever, and the adolescent brain is surprisingly malleable. These new discoveries make this time of life crucial in determining a person’s ultimate success and happiness. In this lecture, Laurence Steinberg will discuss the teenage brain’s potential for change, the links between brain development and risk-taking in adolescence, the elongation of adolescence as a developmental stage, and the implications of each for how we parent, educate, and understand young people.

“Easy to Remember, Difficult to Forget: The Development of Fear Regulation”

Abstract: Fear extinction learning is a highly adaptive process that involves the integrity of frontolimbic circuitry. Its disruption has been associated with emotional dysregulation in stress and anxiety disorders. This presentation will examine how age, genetics and experiences shape our capacity to regulate fear in cross-species studies. Evidence for adolescent-specific diminished fear extinction learning will be presented in the context of immature frontolimbic circuitry. Evidence for less neural plasticity in fear regulation as a function of early life stress and genotype also will be presented. Finally, this work will be discussed in the context of exposure-based behavioral therapies for the treatment of anxiety and stress disorders, speculating on how such therapies may be optimized for the individual based on the patient’s age, genetic profile and personal history to move from standard treatment of care to personalized and precision medicine.

“Are There Sensitive Periods for the Effects of Early Experience on Cognitive and Social Competence? Lessons from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project”

Abstract: Developmental psychologists and educators assume that early experiences shape the brain and neural circuitry for emerging cognitive and social behaviors over the first years of life. Most of the evidence for these assumptions is based on rodent and non-human primate animal research. Far less has been published on the effects of early experience that is not correlational in nature. The Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP) is the first randomized trial of a family intervention for children who experienced significant psychosocial neglect early in their lives. A group of infants living in institutions in Romania were recruited and randomized to be taken out of the institution and placed into family/foster care homes or to remain in the institution. Follow up of these children occurred at 42 and 54 months of age and at 8 years of age. Multiple domains, including cognitive, socio-emotional, psychiatric, and brain imaging were assessed at each age. Three questions are posed in this study and this talk: first, are there lasting effects of early psychosocial deprivation as children develop over the school years. Second, is intervention successful in ameliorating deficits as a result of institutionalization. And third, are there sensitive periods in delivering the intervention that explain both success and failure to improve cognitive and socio-emotional behavior.

“Early Learning and the Emotional Brain”

“Early Life Stress and Development:  Studies of Children Adopted Internationally from Orphanages”

“The Biology of Misfortune: How Biology, Behavior and Environment Create the Social Partitioning of Health”

“ADHD: Endophenotypes, environmental risk factors, and causal models”