Category: Research Conferences

ECL Heads to Lisbon! Memories and Insights from the ISSBD 2024 Biennial Meeting

Posted on by Meryl Yu in Research Conferences

The Early Cognition Lab presented 14 posters at the 2024 Conference of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development. Let’s hear from our team of undergraduates, graduate students and research staff as they reflect and look back on what they learnt.

Petrina Low, Ph.D. Candidate:
“This was my second overseas conference, and there was a lot to learn from ISSBD. It was helpful to experience doing a poster session, which I had not done previously, and it was a different format of sharing our research. I also learnt more about communicating about our research on the spot, as the poster sessions were more spontaneous. I think that this also made it more interactive, which I hope to do more of! This experience has helped me a lot in practicing communicating my research in conversational settings, and I think it would help with future opportunities in science communication.”

Sharon Ting, Project Officer:
“It was my second time attending a conference, but it was equally as memorable as the first. The views and local cuisine in Lisbon (particularly their pastries!) really added to the overall experience.

My favourite talk was by Dr. Rory Devine, who presented his team’s findings on how theory of mind and executive functioning uniquely predict various aspects of children’s early educational outcomes. Having read a lot of Dr. Devine’s work while writing my undergraduate thesis, it was nice to hear him share his research in person. I also really appreciated the diversity of topics and methodologies across the paper symposiums I attended. I’d say my poster sessions went really well – one of the highlights was having a brief but engaging conversation with another researcher who’s working on a similar project. Overall, I had a great time at ISSBD!”

Meryl Yu, Research Associate:
“It was a true honour to be immersed in an environment brimming with so much passion and curiosity! What struck me the most was the sense of academic community and shared purpose that defined the conference space; the meeting was not just about demonstrating individual accomplishments but about contributing to our collective knowledge and the larger discourse surrounding developmental sciences.

The keynote speech by Dr. Charissa Cheah left the greatest impact on me; her current research on ethnic minority cultural stress illuminated that the pandemic did not just exacerbate pre-existing inequalities but unveiled new layers of discrimination that warranted urgent addressing. Her talk re-affirmed my belief that research has to evolve in tandem with shifting global contexts in order to serve the needs of the most vulnerable.”

Carol Chan, URECA Student:
“A highlight and an academic milestone for me was the privilege to share with experts in the field about my study, titled “Maternal Stress and Negative Parenting: The Mediating Role of Stress Reactivity”. This study was a collaborative effort, supported by many lovely mentors from the Early Cognition Lab.

I was truthfully crawling with anxiety at my first international conference. With much encouragement from the other lab members who were on the trip, I worked on refocusing on learning.  I’m reminded again, of my biggest single take-home: “No one can limit you as effectively as you do yourself.”

Chloe Tan, Final-Year Project Student:
“I had the privilege of presenting a poster titled, “A Latent Profile Analysis of Callous-Unemotional Traits and Emotional Behavioural Problems in Early Childhood: Associations with Self-Regulation”. It was part of my Final Year Project (FYP, that I was working on as a final year Psychology graduate at Early Cognition Lab.

One of my greatest takeaways from the conference was learning about the various implications of research findings and how we can apply these findings. The roundtable discussion, “How can we share with parents the research findings they want?” presented by Michael E. Lamb and Julie Bower, sparked many conversations about the importance of communicating relevant research findings to parents through effective and innovative techniques. It reminded me of the value of research and how its impact are far-reaching. This educational milestone has indeed been a great closure to my educational journey in university!”

ECL’s Unforgettable Trip to SRCD 2023: Memories, Insights, and Adventures

Posted on by Meryl Yu in Research Conferences

The 2023 Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) conference, held in Salt Lake City, was a truly unforgettable experience for the members of the ECL Lab. Join us as each member shares their best memories and experiences during the trip.

Petrina:

I had a fantastic time at SRCD 2023, especially meeting fellow researchers studying similar topics. I learned a lot from the scholars, finding them kind and open to sharing their research. It was wonderful to connect with collaborators and researchers who organized the parental lies symposium, such as Prof Matthew Gingo, Prof Victoria Talwar and her team, and Prof Kang Lee. We discussed our research interests and ongoing projects. I am particularly grateful to connect with Prof Rianne and her students, who shared their exciting projects and engaged in helpful discussions about my research directions.

Mioko:

I loved Prof. Matthew Gingo’s talk on children’s perceived legitimacy of parental lies. Gingo’s engaging presentation style and relatable content captivated me, inspiring me to think about how I could convey my research findings effectively. I was surprised that he had thoroughly captivated my attention despite his research topic being out of my expertise, plus the extent I was jetlagged, sleepy, and fatigued during that time. Gingo’s talk also motivated me to think further about how I could convey my research topic and findings in the most exciting and impactful manner.

 Another memorable part of the trip for me was traveling with my labmates. We had challenging experiences: having bad jetlag during the conference or experiencing multiple flight delays and changes on our trip back to Singapore, but we could get through it together. I found it super lovely when my labmates brought me cheesecake after my symposium talk, showing that small gestures of kindness can be impactful. I also found it funny and sweet that another speaker and I were looking at photos and animations of cute animals to calm ourselves down before our talks. I always thought that one of my biggest weaknesses was getting nervous easily, so it was a relief to know other people can get nervous too.

Meryl:
I’m glad I got to spend my first conference travel with warm and supportive lab mates! I appreciated the variety and quality of sessions, with “Stopping the Clock: Evidence Suggests Psychosocial Interventions Attenuate Pediatric Biological Ace Acceleration” and “Social Class in Education: Children’s Beliefs About Who is Smart, Hardworking, and Praiseworthy” as my top choices. I was impressed by the very creative and rigorous methodologies and the speakers’ infectious passions.

Yena:
My favorite session was on STEM inequity. I admired how Dr. Allison Master synthesized the presented papers and highlighted their common themes. One prominent theme in the session was the importance of belonging in promoting inclusivity for minoritized groups in the STEM field. This made me think about how classes are set up in many formal educational settings and how these subjects are depicted in media. I also liked the Emotion pre-conference experience, where people could form close and small research groups/communities in such a big conference setting.

I believe that the lab formed the best travel buddy group ever. Despite the long hours of travel and some unforeseen circumstances, everyone was cheerful and cared for one another. As one of the newer members in the lab, I appreciated this opportunity to get to know my lab mates better and spend some quality time with them! During the trip, I also reunited with my friends and mentors from my previous school, whom I hadn’t seen in person for a while due to the pandemic. It was a precious experience to catch up with them and see how everyone is in different career stages now. Relatedly, I was able to imagine how exciting it would be to meet up with ECL lab members at future conferences as well.

One of the funniest things for me was how my roommate, Meryl, and I had synchronous jet-lagged sleep schedules, waking up at the same time every morning (around 4:30 am)!

Ying Qing:

SRCD 2023 was my first in-person academic conference, which was truly an eye-opening experience for me. My favorite part was seeing the lab’s talks and posters happening live. After many practices and revisions, witnessing our research work reaching out to a wider audience was a source of contentment. I was also grateful to be able to receive feedback from others about the research that I have been working on for a considerable amount of time. The conference allowed me to engage with current research and learn about recent topics in child development research. Learning and interacting with researchers working on either similar or diverse topics was an enlightening and insightful experience for me.

I found Salt Lake City beautiful, but I appreciated it better with the supportive and great company I had. I was beyond grateful and fortunate for this opportunity and would like to thank Prof Setoh and all lab members for making this trip possible and amazing (despite several unforgettable delayed flights). 

Sharon:
This was my first SRCD conference as well, and the entire experience was very memorable. It was amazing to see so many researchers come together and share their insights and ideas in a collaborative and constructive environment. My favorite parts of the conference were the insightful exchanges between the presenters and the audience as they built off each others’ ideas! I especially enjoyed the poster sessions as they allowed me to network with other student researchers and learn more about their work. Overall, my experience at the SRCD conference was definitely academically enriching and personally fulfilling!

SRCD Conference 2019: Baltimore, USA

Posted on by Meryl Yu in Research Conferences

This March, the lab was off to take part in the biennial meeting hosted by Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD). We were able to learn about trending developmental research projects, catch up with our international collaborators, and share findings from four of our lab’s research projects.

 

How would you describe this year’s conference?
Michelle: Like other years, the research presented at this year’s biennial meeting for Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) was diverse and inspiring! All I can say is conference high, conference high!

Kristy: Falling into a rut is all too familiar to most academics, and it is sometimes possible to become less cognizant of the novel, interesting aspects of the research. An overseas conference provides the opportunity to refresh the mind and rejuvenate the senses. Conference aside, going abroad broadens your perspective because of the diversity of people, experiences and culture that you would not experience in your restricted social circle back home.

Siqi: I encountered several presentations that made me think, “This is marvellous. I wish I could construct a study like this in the future!” Listening to presentations of these studies truly provided me with fresh perspectives on how to design studies that are as innovative and insightful.

 

Why is the conference experience so valuable?
Michelle: Being able to discuss potential research projects with current and potential collaborators and presenting the Early Cognition Lab’s research on maternal mental-state-talk in Singaporean bilinguals at this premier conference allowed me to grow professionally by expanding my current knowledge and gaining new knowledge.

 

What was it like presenting your research to other researchers?
Kristy: When presenting my posters, having a third-person perspective from people who do not know about my project was truly valuable. I greatly appreciated their affirmation of my research’s significance, which helped greatly to quash doubts that I had about the meaningfulness of what I have been doing in the past year.

Siqi: I felt slightly nervous presenting my poster at as it was my first time presenting my project to others outside of the lab. I was both happy and surprised to find that visitors to my poster showed a great deal of interest about implicit gender bias. Researchers who were parents themselves were intrigued to see that their own implicit biases were related with that of their children’s.

 

What did you take away from attending other talks or poster exhibitions?

Siqi: I saw many novel graphics used to present data at talks. I developed a newfound appreciation for how good visualization of results can make a huge difference to the audience and to readers, ultimately increasing the quality of delivery.

Kristy: I was able to regain a sense of wonder in the field of child development. I really looked forward to attending talks every day, observing researchers from international labs (and drawing comparisons to local researchers), and soaking in the concentrate of ideas and possibilities at the conference.

SRCD Conference 2018: Philadelphia, USA

Posted on by Meryl Yu in Research Conferences

From October 18, 2018 to October 20, 2018, the Society for Research in Child Development, a premier child development research organization, hosted a special topic meeting on character strengths titled, “Promoting Character Development Among Diverse Children and Adolescents: The Roles of Families, Schools, and Out-Of-School-Time Youth Development Programs.”

The Early Cognition Lab’s very own Assistant Professor Setoh Peipei and Postdoctoral Research Fellow Cheng Michelle attended the special topics meeting held in Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A. to present the lab’s research on the relationship between Singaporeans’ character strengths and prosocial behavior. In addition to presenting research on Singaporean character, Drs. Setoh and Cheng attended workshops on the latest developments on measuring character strengths and the factors that contribute to effective character education. They also engaged in discussions with prolific researchers in character development and education such as Dr. Marc Bornstein and Dr. Marvin Berkowitz.