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Credit: Drawing by Megs Eppell

Discover: Social and Cognitive Lab

Welcome to the DISC Lab’s Webpage!

Our lab investigates the mechanisms underlying social functioning. We are interested in two populations: (1) preschool children and (2) individuals with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their siblings who are at higher risk for the disorder. These populations provide a unique view of the important components underlying social cognition. 

 

Our research efforts have focused on self-regulation as an important mechanism for social development. The term “self-regulation” is frequently used interchangeably with self-control. People complain that they lack self-control when they have difficulty resisting that last piece of cake or even blurting out something on their mind at an inopportune time. The abilities that underlie self-control have been more formally defined as executive function.  Executive function have been found to predict a host of important outcomes such as social ability, academic success and even life expectancy. While self-control is important for self-regulation, a difficulty is that it is effortful and difficult to maintain. There are other forms of self-regulation that have not received as much attention from the research community. These types of regulation are more automatic and less effortful and have sometimes been referred to as “hot” executive functions.

Credit: Drawing by Megs Eppell

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