Williams Syndrome Research

A love of people is characteristic of individuals with Williams syndrome, and it is hard not to be charmed by their friendly and sociable nature. But what do people with Williams syndrome really understand about others? Are there particular cues that people with Williams syndrome rely on to make sense of others’ behavior? How do people with Williams Syndrome perceive and process social and emotional information? How do they monitor their attention to social and nonsocial aspects of their environment?
To address these questions, we are conducting an exciting research program to explore the ways children, adolescents and adults with Williams syndrome respond to social information, using a variety of methodologies such as measuring their reaction time when pressing buttons in response to images, measuring physiological responses (e.g., heart rate and skin conductance), and tracking how the eyes move while looking at images. On all these types of activities we are comparing the responses of people with Williams syndrome to those of age-matched adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders to investigate specific differences and similarities in the ways the two groups process social information, as well as how they differ from typically-developing individuals. Additionally, in our research with younger children, we examine how toddlers with Williams Syndrome express and regulate their emotions while doing various activities with their parents, peers, and other adults. To learn more about our research, click here