SPOTLIGHT - PROFESSOR CHERNYAK
This week's spotlight was with Professor Chernyak. She is a professor in the Cognitive Sciences and teaches courses PSYCH H111A/112A and PSYCH H111C/112C. Her current research is on cognitive development and developmental psychology.
Here's what she has to say!
What research lab do you work in?
She is the Primary Investigator of the Development of Social Cognition Lab (DoSC) lab. In this lab, she works with children, their families, and occasionally adult participants to answer broad philosophical questions regarding how we learn about morality.
Researchers in her lab are interested in learning how we learn prosocial behaviors like cooperation, equality, justice, etc. while also learning antisocial behaviors such as in-group favortism and prejudice. How early do we learn these concepts, and do our views on morality change as we age?
Is there a project that you are particularly proud of, or received special recognition for?
She is especially proud of her projects that explore relationships between number cognition and aspects of morality. For example, does learning how to count and group numbers at a young age help us understand quantitative fairness?
Do you have any advice for students who want to pursue research in this field, or join your lab?
Every year, her lab looks for undergraduates who are motivated and passionate about understanding the developing mind. She is continuing to do research during COVID via Zoom, which has not hindered her work! Zoom interviews will continue after COVID, as it expands the geographical area to gather participants.
If you want to pursue this research long term, go for it! Do not be afraid of being "wrong" - this field is vastly understudied and has a lot to be discovered. Being comfortable with venturing into unknown territory and generating incorrect hypotheses will greatly help you pursue this area of research.
What careers in industry can you pursue with this line of research?
There are a number of careers that you can pursue with a research background in cognitive development and developmental psychology: speech pathology, therapy, social work, industrial-organizational psychology, and more!
Her advice for you:
Keep doing what you are doing! She knows how hard everything has been on students as well as other professors, but don't let that impact your relationships with your professors and other students.
Do not be afraid to reach out to professors, they enjoy hearing from students that they have helped or inspired in some way. If you need a letter of reccomendation, you should ask for one while you are still working with the professor, not when you need one, since professors typically work with many students. Help them out and write a materials list of things you've accomplished together, and you'll have a much better letter.
|
