Directors
Tara Vongpaisal, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Co-director of the Child Development Laboratory
I am interested in how children develop their listening skills through music and language, and how these skills are affected by hearing loss and other special conditions. Some of my work to date has focused on the developing listening skills of deaf children who use cochlear implants and children with autism spectrum disorders. I also study how different learning strategies involving the use of other sensory modalities (e.g., vision and movement), can enhance children’s understanding of sound patterns in music and speech.
Kathleen Corrigall, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Co-director of the Child Development Laboratory
I am interested in how children learn the structure of their culture’s music, similarly to how they learn the particular language that they hear in their day-to-day environment. For example, I study children’s ability to notice when a wrong note or chord is played in a song, and how musical experience shapes their ability to do so. I am also interested in questions about how music training is related to non-musical skills and traits (e.g., abstract reasoning, social skills, personality): are certain individuals more attracted to music lessons, and does music training benefit other (non-musical) areas of development?
Research Assistants, Students, & Volunteers
Riya Sidhu
Honours Thesis Student
Riya is a fifth year undergraduate student at MacEwan University. She is currently completing a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Psychology, and completed her thesis research on the associations between dance training and memory skills. Riya hopes to pursue graduate studies in psychology research. In her spare time she enjoys reading and spending time with friends.
Kaitlin Ritchie
Honours Thesis Student
Kaitlin is a fifth year student at MacEwan University. She is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Psychology, and her thesis research examines the associations between music training and cognitive skills. Kaitlin hopes to pursue graduate studies in counselling psychology. In her free time, she enjoys riding ATVs, camping, and reading.
Erica Burdzy
Individual Study Student and Volunteer
Erica recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from MacEwan University. She is currently continuing a follow-up on her independent study research, which examines the associations between music perception and spelling skills. She hopes to pursue graduate studies in educational psychology and work with children in an educational setting. In her free time Erica enjoys reading and spending time with family and friends at her cabin.
Kendall Deleurme
Individual Study Student and Volunteer
Kendall recently completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Psychology at MacEwan University. Within the lab, she has examined the associations between music training (i.e., group versus private lessons) and moral emotion attribution in children. Kendall is pursuing graduate studies in clinical child psychology. Outside of MacEwan, some of her favourite involvements include yoga, running, and working with marginalized children.
Marina Casavant
Honours Thesis Student
Marina is a third year undergraduate student at MacEwan University. She is currently working on a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in psychology, and is planning on conducting her research on creative writing and music. After graduation, Marina plans to pursue a career in counselling or clinical psychology. In her spare time, Marina enjoys writing, listening to music, drinking tea, and spending time with friends.
Erin Hawrelak
Honours Thesis Student
Erin is a third year undergraduate student at MacEwan University. She is completing her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Psychology. Erin is focusing her thesis on the long-term prosocial effects of interpersonal synchrony in group activities. She hopes to pursue graduate studies in child psychology. In her spare time she enjoys reading, skiing and running.
Rachel Dean
Individual Study Student
Rachel is a fourth year undergraduate student at MacEwan University. She is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Psychology. She will be examining the effects of synchronous movement on social bonding and prosociality for her independent study project. Following graduation, she plans to apply to graduate programs in school psychology.
Linnea Velikonja
Volunteer Research Assistant
Linnea is a MacEwan Bachelor of Science (Honours) graduate. In the lab, she runs studies on the associations between arts training (music, dance) and cognitive skills. She hopes to pursue a graduate degree in counselling psychology with a specialization in sexology and couples counselling. In her down time she enjoys skiing/snowboarding, traveling, and watching “so bad they’re good” movies.
Jason Yuan
Research Assistant
Jason is currently a graduate student at the University of Alberta Electrical and Computer Engineering department. He is a member of the competitive programming club with the computer science department who compete in the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest.
Daniela Caruso
Research Assistant
Daniela Caruso is an academic research assistant working with Dr. Tara Vongaisal on multiple cochlear implant projects. With a keen interest in the advancements of hearing aid technology and hearing loss treatment, she is currently completing the Hearing Aid Practitioner program at Macewan University and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Business. In 2014, Daniela made the Dean’s List and was awarded the Hearing Aid Practitioner scholarship where she was noted for outstanding performance during her practicum. In her free time, she enjoys going to the gym, playing piano, spending time with loved ones, and learning about real estate investing.
Chris Debrecen
Volunteer Research Assistant
Chris is currently completing a Bachelor of Science degree with a Major in Psychology and a Minor in Statistics. In the lab, he is running a study on the effect of background music on reading comprehension.
