Patricia Ganea, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology

My primary research area is early cognitive development. I investigate the processes involved in young children's learning about the world through symbolic means, such as language, pictures, videos, and replica objects. I am especially interested in children's use of language to think and communicate about what is perceptually not present. Developing the ability to communicate about absent objects and events is a major cognitive achievement, one that enables children to learn about the world indirectly. My research is focusing on the representational and contextual factors involved in the emergence of this important ability.

Email: pganea@bu.edu
Curriculum Vitae
Link to Faculty page

Amanda Rhoads
Lab Coordinator

I graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in December 2008 with a BS in educational psychology. I have been working at The Children's Research Lab at Texas studying cognitive and developmental psychology, particularly the fantasy/reality distinction in young children. Recently, I completed a research project investigating children's concepts of birthdays with relation to age. I am very excited to continue researching with the Language and Learning lab! In the future I would like to attend a Ph.D. program in school psychology.

Email: arhoads@bu.edu

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Graduate Students~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter Blake

I am a 4th year doctoral student at Harvard's Graduate School of Education studying with Paul Harris. My research centers on children's understanding of ownership and property. Ownership is unique in that it is an invisible attribute of objects that can be updated verbally. In the Language and Learning Lab I am currently investigating young children's ability to form and update representations of ownership relations, particularly in the absence of the owner or the object. Other projects I am working on examine how children identify owners and how they divide resources between themselves and other children.

Caitlin Ford

I am a first year Ph.D. student here at BU, having graduated from The New School for Social Research in December 2008 with an MA in psychology. My research interests focus on how children use language to learn about abstract or complex concepts and how they interpret and remember what others tell them. I am also involved in research on the effects of family court involvement on children and families, and I recently completed my MA Thesis on over-focusing behavior in school-aged children, both typically developing and with ADHD and Tic Disorders.

Martyna Galazka

I am a first year Ph.D. student at BU's Human Development program.  I graduated from Franklin & Marshall College in 2007 with a BA in Psychology, and after graduating, I worked at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders. While at Kennedy Krieger, I researched abstract rule learning in children on the autism spectrum, Down syndrome and typically developing infants.   My research interests center on early social cognition- how children develop the theory of mind, and the various tasks testing the theory of mind abilities such as the false-belief task.

Juliana Gorian

I graduated with a BA in Psychology from Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, in Brazil, and a MA in Psychology from Hunter College, in NY. Now I’m pursuing a doctoral degree in Human Development from Boston University. My research interests are in the area of conceptual development with a focus on cross-cultural differences and language acquisition. I’m particularly interested in young children’s understanding of magical and folkloric entities.

Jenna King

I am a Junior in the College of Arts and Sciences at BU, majoring in Psychology. I am interested in Clinical Psychology, and plan on going for my Masters in this field after graduation.  I also enjoy being around kids and am interested in the development of the mind and tools that children use for understanding the world as they grow!

Melanthi Parpas

I am a junior majoring in Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences. I have worked with many children with learning disabilities throughout my life and this experience has inspired me to delve into the field of educational psychology. I am very privileged to have this research experience at the BU Language and Learning Lab because I will gain knowledge about the learning process that is difficult to attain from a psychology course alone. After I complete the undergraduate program, I plan on continuing my research at BU before attending graduate school where I hope to attain a PhD in Educational Psychology.

Maggie Renno

I am an undergraduate majoring in Psychology at Boston University, and I am especially interested in infant and child cognition. Having spent many summers as a camp counselor, I've always enjoyed the interest and excitement that comes with being around children. Childrens' intelligence never ceases to amaze me!  After graduation, I hope to attend a PhD program in experimental psychology.

Rachel Tochiki

I am a sophomore at Boston University majoring in Elementary Education in the School of Education, with a dual degree in Psychology.  I enjoy working with children, and love to watch them grow.  I am interested in the way children take their previous knowledge and apply it in new contexts.

Amy Brunswick

Boston University

BA 2010

Ari Sparr

Boston University

BA 2010

Ashley Foster

Boston University

BA 2009

Brittany Martin

Boston University

MA 2009

Carina Wind

Bank Street/Hunter

MEd/MSW 2011

Esha Gupta

Boston University

BA 2010

Felicia Sun

Harvard University

BA 2012

Heather Ragnauth

New York University

MSW 2010

Jasmine DeJesus

University of Chicago

PhD 2014

Jenna Karlsberg

Sarah Lawrence

BA 2011

Jennifer Ontaneda

Boston University

BA 2009

Jeonghye Kim

Boston University

MA 2009

Joe Bravoco

Boston University

BA 2010

Julie Tinsley

Boston University

BA 2009

Katelyn Smith

Boston University

BA 2008

Lara Rubinstein

Boston University

BA 2010

Matt DeWolf

Boston University

BS 2009

Meghan Madore

Boston University

BA 2010

Michelle Solek

Boston University

BA 2010

Nazrah Franco

Boston University

BA 2010

Sabrina De Los Santos

Boston University

BA 2009

Sarah Maddix

Boston University

BA 2009

Trudy Spencer

Boston University

BA 2009