Psychology and Neuroscience Graduate Students Database
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Cathi Propper, Graduate Student    Edit

Cathi Propper

Research Summary:
My primary research interest is the development of emotion regulation over the first year of life. During this period of time, the most salient aspect of the infants' world is their relationship with primary caregiver. Therefore, I am interested in examining the influence of this dyadic relationship on the development of self-regulation of emotion from both a behavioral and physiological (i.e., vagal tone) perspective. I am also interested in the interplay of genetic factors and early social experience as bi-directional contributors to long-term emotion development. Using a multi-level psychobiological approach, I plan to look at relevant social experiences over the first year of life (e.g., maternal sensitivity, exposure to marital conflict, maternal depression) as they influence, and are influenced by, genetic expression. I am currently involved in the Durham Child Health and Development Study. This study follows infants and their parents from the age of 3-months-old to 3-years-old in order to examine the normative development of various psychological domains, such as cognitive, socio-emotional, and biological functioning. In the upcoming months I plan to work with these data to examine the molecular genetics of emotional development.


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