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Alexa McDorman

@alexamcd.bsky.social
170 followers 384 following 6 posts

they/them | family foster care grad PhD researcher of child development and education

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Reposted by Alexa McDorman
ingmarvisser.bsky.social @ingmarvisser.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This was a fantastic team effort across 30+ labs 🌍 Paper (open access), data & code all public. > 📄 doi.org/10.1111/desc... > 💻 github.com/manybabies/m... > #ManyBabies #InfantCognition #OpenScience #DevSci, lead team: Andreea Geambaşu, Melanie Soderstrom, and Claartje Levelt
doi.org
ManyBabies 3: A Multi‐Lab Study of Infant Algebraic Rule Learning
The ability to learn and apply rules lies at the heart of cognition. In a seminal study, Marcus et al. (1999) reported that 7-month-old infants learned abstract rules over syllable sequences and were...
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Rachel Romeo @rachelromeo.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Senior colleagues -- my department (Human Development & Quantitative Methodology) at UMD is hiring a new chair! Best consideration Oct 23. Please share/repost! umd.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UMCP/d...
umd.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
Professor & Chair
Job Description Summary Organization's Summary Statement: The College of Education at the University of Maryland invites applications for the position of Chair of the Department of Human Development a...
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Ellie Taylor-Robinette @elliektaylor.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Belated @imbes.bsky.social celebratory post! 🥳 Such a joy to collaborate with @grammer.bsky.social to coordinate what was an amazing IMBES convening in San Diego earlier this month. Thank you to all for sharing your exciting science and practice and for allowing me to do the same. Cheers to 2028!
Panel photo of Jennie Grammer, Ellie Taylor-Robinette, Madeline Herrera, and Adam Green
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Gabriel Scheidecker @gabrielscheidecker.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
Finally out! For the first time, The Lancet has published a critical paper on the science of Early Childhood Development (#ECD). As an interdisciplinary team of authors, we call on the ECD field move beyond the widespread use of deficit-based models. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
thelancet.com
Beyond deficit models in early childhood development science
We appreciate the efforts of the Lancet Series, Early Childhood Development and the Next 1000 Days, to draw attention to the needs of young children in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs).1...
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Rachel Romeo @rachelromeo.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Hey academic Bluesky, do you have a lab AI policy? Would love to see it! We're working on drafting our own. Please and thank you!
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Ellie Taylor-Robinette @elliektaylor.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
#IMBES2026 is finally here! I'm presenting a poster (#22) at tonight's poster session, and I'm also thrilled to be a panelist in Friday's featured session "Building Relationships That Make Research Possible: Navigating Collaboration in Educational and Community Settings" Hope to see you there! 👋
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Rachel Romeo @rachelromeo.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I'm so honored to be recognized by @imbes.bsky.social! I've always been impressed by the MBE field's commitment to translating research to practice (& vice versa!) and I'm excited to share some of my work on this at IMBES next month. And I'm thrilled to share the honor with @ericdwilkey.bsky.social!
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Ellie Taylor-Robinette @elliektaylor.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
The #IMBES2026 program is live! As Executive Assistant to the Board of IMBES, I have had the pleasure of working closely with @grammer.bsky.social and team to coordinate what is sure to be an outstanding IMBES! We hope to see you there 👋
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Ellie Taylor-Robinette @elliektaylor.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
I am so grateful I had the opportunity to chair my first symposium at @infantstudies.bsky.social last week and present my first talk "Hatchlings – Community-Library Partnerships to Reduce Childhood Literacy Inequities: A Qualitative Investigation" #ICIS2026
Ellie standing in front of her title slide "Hatchlings - Community Library Partnerships to Reduce Childhood Literacy Inequities: A Qualitative Investigation" Darius, Rachel, Ellie, Rose, and Stephen standing in front of the symposium title slide "Community-Engaged Research Focused on Infant and Perinatal Populations"
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DocLB2 @doclb2.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
🌸🌸🌸
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Leher Singh @lehersingh.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Excited to be editing a Developmental Science special issue on Culture, Context, and Brain Development with Heather Bortfeld, Laura Katus, and Bruce Rawlings. Seeking papers from diverse contexts using novel approaches! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal... Please share!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Developmental Science Call for Papers Culture, context, and brain development
Developmental Science is an international journal publishing contemporary scientific developmental psychology and developmental cognitive neuroscience research.
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Ellen Roche @ellroche.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
I just got a sneak peek of this symposium and it is SO fantastic and inspiring! So sad to miss @infantstudies.bsky.social but if you’re there do not miss @elliektaylor.bsky.social @rachelromeo.bsky.social @dtandon.bsky.social and Rose Perry’s talks! #icis2026
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International Mind, Brain, and Education Society (IMBES) @imbes.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
We are grateful to announce that Dr. Dana Miller-Cotto will be presenting a keynote address entitled "The Context of Cognition: Educational Environments and Children's Thinking" at our upcoming meeting this September. #IMBES2026
Professional headshot of Dr. Dana Miller-Cotto. Dr. Miller-Cotto is wearing a white button down blouse.
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Society for Research in Child Development @srcdorg.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Submit to the new special section in Child Development: Centering Majority World Developmental Science. Help shape a more globally representative developmental science. Learn more & submit: bit.ly/4948xLU #ChildDevelopment #GlobalResearch #DevelopmentalScience
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Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
“terminations targeting…research for BIPOC and SGM communities have disproportionately targeted the careers of BIPOC, SGM, and female researchers and researchers from disadvantaged backgrounds. Ensuring the health of all Americans will require systematic re-investment in these topics and scientists”
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Association for Psychological Science @psychscience.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
“What is required instead is an intentional reorientation of departmental culture—one that moves beyond aspirational commitments to equity and toward practices that actively align ideals, policies, and norms,” says @lehersingh.bsky.social, professor and chair of #psychology at UMBC. #AcademicSky
psychologicalscience.org
The Unwritten Rules of Cultural Belonging in Academic Departments
Leher Singh discusses how power, privilege, and positionality thread themselves through the cultural ecology of academic life.
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Ellie Taylor-Robinette @elliektaylor.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
IMBES has joined BlueSky! Follow the new account for updates and cool science 🧠
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Ellen Roche @ellroche.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Come join the wonderful @umdleadlab.bsky.social as our new lab manager this summer! Our lab is inclusive, creative, fun, and we’re engaged in all kinds of cool early developmental neuro (fMRI and fNIRS) research focused on language, executive function. and socioemotional development.
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Dr. Joscelin Rocha-Hidalgo 🇧🇴🏳️‍🌈 @joscelinrocha.com · 21/02/2026
ManyBabies8: Screen Use 📱 MB8 aims to document early screen use across diverse cultural contexts & examine links to language & socio-emotional development in children under 3. We’re inviting you to join! Interested? 🔗 Fill out our short survey: forms.gle/7ASVadD7LT4j... More: manybabies.org/MB8/
manybabies.org
MB8
Screen Use
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Eric Hehman @erichehman.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Postdoc position! Myself and @jordanaxt.bsky.social are seeking applications for a shared post-doctoral researcher at McGill, beginning Fall 2026. Topic area broadly centered on intergroup dynamics, prejudice, discrimination Full description here: hehmanlab.org/ad 1/2
hehmanlab.org
ad
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The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Neuroscientist @clionamurray.com knows the power of community. Murray explains how @blackinneuro.bsky.social expanded from its humble beginnings as a Slack channel to connect Black neuroscientists across the diaspora. By @alainaglevine.bsky.social #neuroskyence
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Amy Diehl, Ph.D. @amydiehl.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Study of 8M biomed & life science articles finds those led by women spent 7 to 15 days longer in review than those led by men. Over a career, women's papers could spend 350 to 750 additional days in review. Delays could slow promotion, esp to full professor. www.the-scientist.com/women-s-rese...
the-scientist.com
Peer Review Timelines Show Gender Gap, Large Study Reports
A study of millions of life science papers revealed that manuscripts with women in key authorship roles spent longer between submission and acceptance.
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Ellen Roche @ellroche.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
👀 New paper out in Infancy! Mutual Sensitivity Between Caregivers Predicts Infant Affective State... @dougpiper.bsky.social & I co-led this analysis with Gabrielle Strouse, @proflaurenmyers.bsky.social @drzosh.bsky.social @geotro.bsky.social and Rachel Barr onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Mutual Sensitivity Between Caregivers Predicts Infant Affective State During Video Chat published in InfancyAbstract

Infancy is an extraordinary period of human development, in which babies turn sensory and environmental information into meaning in the cradle of their caregivers’ affective and attentional cues. Babies express what they are thinking and feeling through smiles and gazes long before they develop expressive language. Most developmental research focuses on mother-infant dyads within a controlled lab environment, despite the complexity of young children’s caregiving ecosystems, which range far beyond the mother-child dyad and include caregivers at a distance via technology like video chat. This study uses a novel state space approach to examine relations between the sensitivity of two caregivers — what we call “mutual sensitivity” — and infants’ real-time affective and attentional states during video chat sessions. How to read a state space (Hollenstein, 2013): This figure depicts a single infant’s affective states over three video chat sessions. Each grid square represents a unique affective state characterized by both valence (1-7, negative to positive) and arousal (1-7), high to low. For example, we can see that during the first video chat session, this infant briefly spent time in a high arousal, low valence state (distress). Background
Caregiver sensitivity - a caregiver’s responsive, warm, temporally contingent engagement with an infant - has been robustly linked to children’s development across cognitive and affective domains. 

Prior studies have shown that global caregiver sensitivity predicts both infant affective valence and infant engagement in JVA during in-person interactions (Braungart-Rieker et al., 2001; Mason et al., 2019) and during video chat (Roche et al., 2022; Myers et al., 2024). 

In this study we used the Biringen et al., 2000 scale (1-9) and coded all behavioral variables every 30 seconds.
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Ellen Roche @ellroche.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
👀 Fantastic new review of disparate literature on stress & development across cog, emo and phys domains. "Early Life Stress Effects on Children's Biology, Behavior, & Health: Evidence, Mediators, Moderators, & Solutions" @nicolebushphd.bsky.social @alliesullivan.bsky.social & Amanda Noroña-Zhou
Abstract: This review synthesizes and critiques research on early life adversity and stress effects on multidomain health outcomes in child samples to fill a gap in the literature that has largely focused on adults. Prioritizing evidence from meta-analytic and systematic reviews as well as findings from (quasi-)experimental or large prospective longitudinal studies, we integrate interdisciplinary findings to characterize patterns of evidence for stress associations with child outcomes, including mental, physical, and positive health; academic, social, and justice system–related domains; and intermediary phenotypes that may predict disease, including biomarkers. We note cohesive evidence for sensitive periods of susceptibility to stress exposure and describe key mediators and moderators of stress effects, especially family-level factors. Then we highlight interventions targeting malleable factors that hold promise for ameliorating the effects of stress on children. Leveraging a developmental lens, we conclude with field-wide limitations and propose future directions for stress and health research that centers child development.
Infographic of moderators linking childhood stress to cognitive, emotional and physical developmentSnapshot of evidence base for protective effects of policy interventions, eg Early Head Start
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
The district court injunction that prevented NIH from capping indirects at 15% was upheld today on appeal! www.reuters.com/world/trump-...
reuters.com
Trump administration cannot slash NIH research funding, court rules
District Judge Angel Kelley last year blocked the cuts, and on Monday the appeals court agreed.
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Science News @scinews.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
Income inequality and the erosion of democracy in the twenty-first century www.pnas.org/doi/epub/10....
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Alexa McDorman @alexamcd.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
♥️
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The American Academy of Pediatrics @ameracadpeds.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
“This irresponsible and purposely misleading guidance will lead to more hepatitis B infections in infants and children.” Read our full statement by AAP President Dr. Susan J. Kressly: www.aap.org/en/news-room...
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Sofiya Hupalo @sofiyahupalo.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
NIH grant applicants: October and November grant application submission *deadlines* will be rescheduled (🤯). Specific dates TBD. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
grants.nih.gov
NOT-OD-26-005: Interim Guidance on Reopening of NIH Extramural Activities
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Interim Guidance on Reopening of NIH Extramural Activities NOT-OD-26-005. NIH
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Cats of Yore @catsofyore.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Marcel’s camping skills have not improved. 😔
Photo of an adorable black white kitten trying to hide under a tiny toy tent but failing quite spectacularly.
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Daniel Kim, MD, DrPH @socialepi.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
Socioeconomic roots of academic faculty Tenure-track faculty are up to 25 times more likely to have a parent with a Ph.D. Moreover, this rate nearly doubles at prestigious universities and is stable across the past 50 years. #AcademicSky
nature.com
Socioeconomic roots of academic faculty - Nature Human Behaviour
Studying socioeconomic backgrounds and intergenerational transmission in the US academia, Morgan et al. find that faculty have a parent with a Ph.D. degree a striking 25 times more often than the gene...
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Oregon 🕎🎲 @oregonthedm.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
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Arianna Gard @arigard.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
🚨 New Paper Alert🚨 focused on #representation and #generaliability in #neuroscience. A real labor of love. Was rejected from [… checks list 🤔] SIX journals and originally presented in 2020 at FLUX to find a home at AMPPS #persistence
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Dr. Elizabeth Santos @lizmillermacroevo.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
2nd year grad students are no longer eligible to apply. Currently enrolled grad students must be in their first year, whether in a MS, BS-MS, or Ph.D.
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Society for Research in Child Development @srcdorg.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
Engage in policy work in bold new ways with SRCD. SRCD is building the nation’s go-to hub for trusted, evidence-based insight on child development, and we want you to be a part of it. www.srcd.org/child-policy-hub
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Flux Society @fluxsociety.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
🎓 FLUX is proud to spotlight Gavkhar Abdurokhmonova. Her research focuses on understanding how children's early language experiences shape their brain, cognitive, and socio-emotional development. Read about her journey, motivations, and advice for other young scientists: 👉 buff.ly/19APuWX
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Ellen Roche @ellroche.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
I am so excited to moderate this symposium at #flux2025. Please join us Saturday, 3pm in Hyde 1. Across 4 methods & stages (direct neural recording, EEG, fNIRS, fMRI | mice, babies, toddlers & adolescents) we'll explore whether neural synchrony represents a developmental mechanism. Please join us!
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Dana Miller-Cotto @damcotto.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
I’ve spent the last 15 years thinking about math skills that set kids up for success at school entry. Now, I’m excited to dive into new work on how math is conceived in California’s universal transitional kindergarten (UTK) funded through the Barbara White Bequest @berkeleyeducation.bsky.social
Picture of Dana Miller Cotto with captioned text.
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Drug Monkey @drugmonkey.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
commonfund.nih.gov/earlyindepen...
Note on the common fund website confirming cancellation of the Early Independence award for FY2026
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Dan Jagger @auditorynerves.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Bee news 🐝🍯🧪: Scientists have developed a honeybee "superfood" that could protect the animals against the threats of climate change & habitat loss. Bee colonies that ate the supplement during trials had up to 15 times more baby bees that grew to adulthood. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Scientists make 'superfood' that could save honeybees
We rely on honeybees to pollinate our crops and a new food could protect them from growing threats.
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Denis Wirtz @deniswirtz.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
The updated version of the database of PhD fellowships produced and maintained by my team can be downloaded by anyone here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-... For each of the 187 fellowships, you will find a short description, deadline, $ amount, link, etc. Good luck!
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Jenna Alton @jennaalton.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
In a second, we form expectations about the likely traits and behaviors of people we meet. How does this ability develop? How do others’ perceived gender factor into it? I’m thrilled to share a new paper now in press at Cognition with @andreicimpian.bsky.social and‪ @lucaspbutler.bsky.social. 1/6
drive.google.com
AltonCimpianButler_Cognition.pdf
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Rachel Romeo @rachelromeo.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
We are looking to hire a new post-bac MRI tech! Great opportunity pre grad school! umd.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UMCP/job/Uni...
umd.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
MRI Tech/Faculty Specialist
Job Description Summary Organization's Summary Statement: The Maryland Neuroimaging Center (MNC) is the home for neuroimaging research at the University of Maryland, www.mnc.umd.edu. The center brings...
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Philip N Cohen @philipncohen.com · 10/07/2025
I wrote for Columbia University Press: I would like to say that whether to engage with the public is a career choice reasonably left to the individual scholar. In today’s world, I don’t think so. Everyone needs to find a way to express how our work matters. cupblog.org/2025/07/10/w...
Why research is not enough
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AERA @aeraedresearch.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
NAEP science scores planned for release in June are now delayed, in the wake of Education Department cuts, via @hechingerreport.org @jillbarshay.bsky.social: hechingerreport.org/proof-points...
hechingerreport.org
Another Education Department delay: release of NAEP science scores
But administration relents on yanking data from researchers
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Tomo Nagashima @tomonag.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
🚨Hiring for a postdoc in HCI, LS, & EdPsych!🚨 Looking for a postdoc to join my lab tomonag.org as a Humboldt Research Fellow (www.humboldt-foundation.de/en/apply/spo...). This fellowship is unique and comes with many benefits. Please see more details and apply by July 25! tomonag.org/wp-content/u...
tomonag.org
tomo nagashima
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Julia Ditzer @juliaditzer.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
My first dissertation paper is out in Nature Mental Health! 🤩 With colleagues from @tudresden.bsky.social and @freieuniversitaet.bsky.social, we conducted a meta-analysis on the link between childhood trauma and interoception — our ability to sense internal bodily signals. rdcu.be/eu8bo 1/🧵
rdcu.be
A meta-analytic review of child maltreatment and interoception
Nature Mental Health - Interoception, the perception of internal bodily signals, is crucial for mental and physical well-being, yet the origins of disruptions in interoception are not well...
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Damien Fair @drdamienfair.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
Alert! ... for the child development world! @fluxsociety.bsky.social @fitngin.bsky.social ‪ The Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study has released its first data wave - it’s massive. Check here: docs.hbcdstudy.org and here: nbdc-datahub.org Here’s why it matters 🧠🍼
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Association for Psychological Science @psychscience.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Call for Manuscript Proposals! Special Issue on Intergroup Allyship in Current Directions @sylviapperry.bsky.social Submissions due July 18: www.psychologicalscience.org/publications...
psychologicalscience.org
Call for Manuscript Proposals: Special Issue on Intergroup Allyship
Current Directions in Psychological ScienceEditor: Dr. Sylvia PerryIntergroup allyship–referring to actions taken to support, advocate for, or stand in solidarity with members of marginalized groups b...
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Alexa McDorman @alexamcd.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
@angelicaalonso.bsky.social, @rachelromeo.bsky.social, and I wrote one of the top 10 papers (by citations) published in Child Development Perspectives in 2023! 🎉✨ How parent-child brain-to-brain synchrony can inform the study of child development: doi.org/10.1111/cdep...
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