Mentor: Dr. Yang Wu
Assistant Professor
Project Description
The Affective Cognition Lab studies how infants and children perceive, understand, and reason about emotions. We use a range of methods, include behavioral experiments, exploratory play, eye tracking, and computational modeling.
The lab has several ongoing projects. We are looking at (1) how adults’ emotional feedback influences school-aged children’s motivation in learning contexts; (2) how parents’ emotional expressions influence infants’ learning; (3) how children learn to understand others’ emotions by integrating multiple sources of information; (4) how infants learn emotion words.
We customarily match students to projects based on their individual interests and the project’s overarching objectives. As a student within our lab, you will gain hands-on experience actively contributing to your assigned project. You will also have the opportunity to actively participate in lab meetings and develop a broad understanding of the research process.
Mentorship Statement
My mentorship philosophy is grounded in the belief that each student possesses unique strengths and untapped potential. As a mentor, my purpose is to guide and empower every student in discovering and nurturing their distinct abilities. I firmly understand that diversity transcends mere representation; it serves as an invaluable wellspring of creativity and innovation. Consequently, I am committed to fostering a nurturing and inclusive environment where all students can flourish, regardless of their backgrounds or prior experiences. I am particularly drawn to this internship opportunity because I am passionate about ensuring equal opportunities for all students. I recognize that underrepresented groups often face additional barriers in accessing educational and research opportunities. By participating in this internship, I aim to be part of the solution to this disparity. I want to actively contribute to creating a more equitable future where students from all backgrounds have the chance to excel.