In the Social Developmental Neuroscience (SDN) Lab, we seek answers to questions about the understanding of the social world. We focus on how this understanding changes across our lifespan, varies depending on our mental health and how it shifts based on the contexts we find ourselves in. We do this by measuring behavior, brain function (through fMRI and EEG), attention (through eye-gaze monitoring) and emotions (through coding facial expressions) during social interactions. Our ultimate goal is to identify mechanisms that promote positive social functioning in order to improve people's lives and inform broader policy decisions.

We're privileged to work with a wide range of children and adults in the Philadelphia community. This work has led to important discoveries about learning, motivation, reward processing and aggression in the social domain. Currently, we're conducting an fMRI study to determine how adolescents learn about their peers via online interactions. We're interested in whether being accepted or rejected by one's peers influences brain function that may facilitate or impair social learning in adolescents with and without social anxiety. Our previous studies using fMRI, EEG and eye-gaze monitoring have helped us predict which children are most likely to develop chronic social anxiety; identify adolescents most likely to aggress after social interactions; and discover how the social reward of being right outweighs negative peer feedback in adolescents. 

We've also had the privilege of working directly with the Temple University community to conduct longitudinal research that characterizes the impact of COVID-19. Policies put in place in response to COVID-19 have caused dramatic shifts in our social context. We're examining how factors such as race, socioeconomic status, knowledge, beliefs and moral stances about COVID-19 and related policies impact mental and physical health. Additionally, we look at system-level factors such as policy changes, climate change and racial injustice, and their unique impact on marginalized or underrepresented groups. We aim to shed light on factors that predict positive outcomes to inform policymaking that ameliorates disproportionate harm.    

The SDN Lab, directed by Dr. Johanna Jarcho, includes graduate and undergraduate students as well as staff members. We place a strong emphasis on mentorship by providing opportunities for lab members, particularly undergraduates, to gain skills in grant writing and research design, data collection, processing and analysis, as well as presenting and publishing empirical research. We prioritize inclusion and access to resources for anyone looking to gain research experience or apply to graduate school. Undergraduate students are encouraged to work in the lab for course credit and to complete an honors thesis.

Lastly, we believe in serving our community through enhancing our scientific understanding of the social world and its impact on mental and physical health. Through a collaboration with the Temple Public Policy Lab, we author policy briefs based on our research aimed at improving responses to events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. We also connect our participants with resources based on specific needs identified through our studies.

If you're interested in joining the lab or participating in research please visit our lab website!