Development of Social & Emotional Communication lab
Welcome to the
Development of Social & Emotional Communication Lab!
The DSEC Lab at Queen's University focuses on the development of emotional communication and social cognition from childhood to adulthood. We are particularly interested in the ways in which we learn to express and perceive emotional states through nonverbal cues, such as tone of voice. We use a variety of methods, including speech analysis and functional neuroimaging, to determine how these basic emotional skills contribute to youth’s social functioning and psychological well-being across development.
Mission & values
The DSEC Lab’s mission is to better understand the factors that promote youth’s ability to connect with others. To do so, we investigate the biological, cognitive, and social mechanisms that support the maturation of social cognition and emotional communication in adolescence. Our long-term objective is to translate this knowledge to effective policies and/or interventions that improve the social lives of teenagers.
In working towards this goal, we prioritize scientific excellence, collaboration and inclusion, innovation, and integrity. We strive to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in our lab culture, our research practices, and our knowledge transfer work. We recognize that these endeavours require ongoing commitment to change: we pledge to foster a culture of learning and growth, where we welcome feedback and regularly review our lab practices to identify areas of potential improvement.