Research Projects
Children's understandings of wealth, poverty and redistributive justice aka the ‘Robin Hood Group’
Description:
This research group explores how children understand wealth inequality, economic justice, and redistributive behavior. We are particularly interested in how attachment security may shape children’s responses to scenarios involving fairness and resource distribution. Group activities typically include discussions of theoretical and empirical literature on economic socialization, development of prosocial behavior, and intergroup attitudes, as well as contributing to data collection, refinement of study procedures, and coding of narrative data (e.g., attachment-based story stem tasks and parent interviews). The group often engages in collaborative work to support ongoing data collection across sites and cultural contexts.
The Technoference Group
Description:
This group examines the role of parental technology use in shaping parent–child attachment relationships. Its work spans multiple phases, including literature review, recruitment, data collection through interviews and observational sessions, and the coding of both parent and child attachment-related processes. Group members may gain experience with measures such as reflective functioning coding and behavioral coding systems for parent–child interactions. Discussions and collaborative work often center on understanding technoference as a relational and developmental phenomenon, with an emphasis on bridging theory, method, and applied implications. The group often engages in coding and discussions of concepts and measures relevant to the study including Reflective Functioning (RF) and attachment representations within the Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT).
Wardrobe Interviews Coding Group
Description:
This research group will explore the intersection of physical disabilities and everyday fashion choices. Currently, we have access to approximately 50 participant Wardrobe Interviews. Our goal is to identify the salient themes within these interviews to analyze the factors influencing participants’ clothing choices. Preliminary themes include comfortability, ease and accessibility, affordability, expression of self and concealment of physical disability. Our current phase entails watching and further identifying themes within the interviews in preparation for the development of a coding system. We additionally intend to investigate the relationship between participants’ attachment patterns and the previously explored factors influencing their clothing choices, incorporating their AAIs. Members are encouraged to join if they are interested in honing skills in analyzing qualitative data, and contributing to research projects related to fashion, physical disability, gender, and most importantly, attachment.
NYPSI Coding Group & NYPSI PIRS Coding Group
Description:
These companion groups examine process and outcome data from a randomized controlled trial evaluating a psychodynamic intervention (Regulation Focused Psychodynamic Therapy) for children with externalizing symptoms. The work focuses on both parental reflective functioning and in-session therapeutic processes. Members may code parent interviews to assess mentalization and code therapy sessions to identify therapeutic interventions, affect regulation strategies, and defense mechanisms using established systems such as the Psychodynamic Intervention Rating Scale (PIRS). The groups provide opportunities to deepen understanding of child psychotherapy processes and attachment-based parental functioning in clinical settings.
Perinatal Body Image Study
Description:
This project explores how body image experiences intersect with perinatal adjustment, mentalization, and attachment during the transition to parenthood. The group engages in literature review, discussion of theoretical frameworks, and data analysis focused on understanding psychological and relational dimensions of body image in perinatal populations. It offers opportunities for students to contribute to research design, qualitative and quantitative coding, and the development of conceptual models linking attachment and perinatal experiences.