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Susan Parker, Ph. D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Education: Ph.D. (Developmental Psychology) University of Minnesota, 2002
B.A. (Psychology) University of Richmond, 1997
Email: sparker@rmc.edu
Teaching:
As a Developmental Psychologist, I teach Developmental Psychology, Infant Development, Early Experience, and General Psychology. Because of my interest in the biological bases of behavior I will also be teaching Biological Psychology while Dr. Lambert is on sabbatical.
Areas of Interest:
My research interests include the impact of early experience on brain and social development. Specifically I utilize electrophysiological (event-related potentials or ERPs) and behavioral measures to explore infants’ and children’s understanding of emotional and social information.
As a graduate student and a post-doctoral researcher I had the opportunity to work on the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, a study of the effects of foster care intervention on the development of children raised in institutional settings in Bucharest, Romania. In this study, we have been able to examine the short and long-term effects of early deprivation/institutional rearing on children’s brain, cognitive and social development, as well as the ameliorating effects on foster care.
When I’m not in the classroom or the lab, I enjoy reading, listening to music, and spending time with my husband, Andy, a post-doctoral fellow in the Pharmacology/Toxicology Department at VCU.
Links:
Society for Research in Child Development
International Society on Infant Studies
Cognitive Neuroscience Society