UMass Learning Lab

WELCOME !

In the Learning Lab we study how people develop self-regulation, in other words, how children and adults learn to control their behavior and emotions. Self-regulation helps with sitting calmly and paying attention, engaging with peers, and planning future activities. Additionally, the growth of regulatory skills in early childhood has long-term implications for adaptive functioning later in life.

We are particularly interested in how people learn to 'tune in' to cues that signal the need to self-regulate, and factors that assist people in this process. Our work explores how different experiences, identities, and social contents can influence the emergence and use of self-regulatory skills at different points in development.

Many of our studies assess behavior and emotion in children and young adults. For some studies, we also look at brain activity linked to self-regulation via electroencephalogram (EEG). Most visits take place in our lab on the UMass Amherst campus; however, we have also run virtual studies with children and families via Zoom, and fully remote studies using online surveys.

For questions about current Learning Lab studies contact umass.learninglab@gmail.com

Recent Lab News

Great job to all the Learning Lab and Rudd Lab student presenters (Erica Ferrara, Conor Johnston,Jacob Solomon, Jaylynn Floyd & Ana Berman) at the International Conference on Adoption (ICAR) in Porto, Portugal July 2026! And wonderful to see many Summer Adoption Research Institute (SARI) alums!

Congrats to former grad student, Christina Hogan, on her new job at Colorado University!

Very proud of our spring 2026 graduating seniors: Dan Distefano, Rita Goodwin, Jacob Solomon, Delaney Allen, Maika Bird, Nidhi Reddy and Jayme Lo!