Emily Wen

October 23, 2015

Connected Emotions: A Summer of Research at the Early Childhood and Family Lab

This summer, I had the opportunity to work at the Early Childhood and Family Research Lab at Mills College in Oakland, California. This lab looks at social and emotional development in infants and young children; the study that I collected data for, Connected Emotions, seeks to understand how emotions develop in young children, and what factors influence their emotional responses to others. As a research assistant, I collected data by videotaping participants, transcribed audio and video interviews, and administered tasks to our child participants. Ultimately, the lab hopes to supplement the literature surrounding early childhood development, and to question and assess intervention programs for infants, children, and families. This presentation will focus on the aforementioned study, life in a research lab, and how this experienced has clarified my future aspirations.