A famous psychological test asks children to sit in a room with a marshmallow or cookie for 15 minutes. Those who can delay gratification and endure the torture of temptation get a second sweet treat as reward. Their self-discipline is also likely to lead to success later in life. The Notre Dame Department of Psychology turns 50 next year, and its patience and growth will soon generate a significant reward —a new building attached to Notre Dame Stadium to call its home. The East building of the Campus Crossroads project will provide classrooms, offices, laboratories, and a student lounge for the Departments of Psychology and Anthropology. Construction is expected to start in November and be finished in 33 months.

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Laura Miller grew up in a big, loving family, but her research at Notre Dame focuses on children who were less fortunate.

“I learned from my own experiences how much your family and childhood experiences can profoundly affect your life,” Miller says. “While I have been very blessed in my own life, having an awareness of how a supportive and warm family affected my development motivated me to work with children who didn’t necessarily have the advantage of that experience.”…

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Structural equation modeling and factor analysis might be difficult concepts to grasp for most people outside the world of statistics, but one thing should be crystal clear: Professor Ke-Hai Yuan’s groundbreaking work in these areas is a driving force behind the nationally recognized success of the quantitative psychology program in Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters.…

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Kristin Valentino

The preschool years are the most formative for young brains. University of Notre Dame psychologist Kristin Valentino sees both the promise and vulnerability of children at this stage of life.…

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“As a clinical student, I can especially attest to the excellent training that I’ve received through that area,” says Allison Gaffey, a fourth-year student in the clinical psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Notre Dame. She also appreciates the Department of Psychology’s “very strong” quantitative program, allowing her to gain additional training in those methods.…

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Data, data everywhere. In genomics research, there is a data deluge, and so innovative ways to analyze all that information will play a critical role in future breakthroughs.

Gitta Lubke, associate professor of psychology at Notre Dame, is at the forefront of developing new statistical methods to help find DNA markers that are related to psychiatric disorders—and spur further research regarding individual patients’ conditions.…

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Wikipedia is often in the top results when people search for information online, but it isn’t always the most credible source. Enter a group of advanced Notre Dame undergraduates in psychology who have taken on the challenge to update, correct, or, in some cases, write new entries for the online encyclopedia.…

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Emotion-sensing computer software that models and responds to students’ cognitive and emotional states—including frustration and boredom—has been developed by University of Notre Dame Assistant Professor of Psychology Sidney D’Mello, Art Graesser from the University of Memphis, and a colleague from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. D’Mello also is a concurrent assistant professor of computer science and engineering.…

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Political violence and the aftermath of war are known to be harmful to children’s and teens’ mental health and well-being, but until now, few studies have examined how this happens.

A new longitudinal study of neighborhoods in Belfast, Northern Ireland, led by University of Notre Dame Psychology Professor Mark Cummings, has found political violence affects children by upsetting the ways their families function, resulting in behavior problems and mental health symptoms among the youths over extended periods of time.…

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