Williams Syndrome Research

A love for 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? 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?

Our studies of individuals with Williams syndrome  addressed these questions, 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. We adopted a multi-measure approach to explore the ways children, adolescents and adults with Williams syndrome process and respond to social information, and how they differ from typically-developing individuals or age-matched adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders in their responses. We have also conducted behavioral research with younger children, examining 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