George Washington University Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences

06/03/2026

Now that the semester has come to a close, we would like to wish Professor Carol Sigelman congratulations on her retirement from GWU after more than 30 years of service. As a developmental psychologist, Dr. Sigelman taught popular courses in adulthood and aging as well as children's socio-emotion development. She is author of a widely used life-span human development textbook. Throughout her career, she has conducted research on the development of negative perceptions of anyone who is different and on children's intuitive theories of diseases, disorders, and substance use, and parent-child communication about emerging disease threats (e.g., COVID) and long-distance communication in military families separated by deployment. She has served as department chair of Psychological and Brain Sciences as well as important university roles such as the Associate Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies. Dr. Sigelman has been tireless supporter of increasing undergraduates' access to research opportunities. Carol, we wish you well as you embark on this next chapter!!

06/02/2026

We are excited to announce recent program alum, Dr. Shannon Cahalan, has just published groundbreaking research in the journal Nature Mental Health!

Her paper, "Modeling how autistic and non-autistic groups learn about their own and each other’s preferences," examines whether autistic and non-autistic adolescents apply different types of social knowledge and learning strategies when inferring the preferences of others. Her work will undoubtedly influence the field of Autism research for years to come!

Publishing in such a reputable journal is a remarkable achievement and a testament to Shannon's dedication, rigor, and the quality of her scientific contributions.

Congratulations, Shannon!

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-026-00650-4Article

Read the GWU article: https://mediarelations.gwu.edu/gw-study-provides-new-insights-how-autistic-and-non-autistic-people-learn-about-one-another.

05/29/2026

We are excited to announce PhD Candidate Sarah Malykke has just published groundbreaking research in the journal Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics!

Her paper, "Predicting errors before they occur using trial-by-trial dynamics of pre-error and post-error behavior," tackles the question: can we anticipate mistakes before they happen? This kind of research has far-reaching implications for how we understand human attention, performance monitoring, and behavior.

Publishing in a reputable journal as a PhD Candidate is a remarkable achievement and a testament to Sarah's dedication, rigor, and the quality of her scientific contributions.

Congratulations, Sarah!

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-026-03281-0

05/16/2026

Congratulations to our newest Cognitive Neuroscience PhDs: Dr. Rebeka Almasi, Dr. Shannon Cahalan, and Dr. Sanika Paranjape!

We are so proud of our graduates. Your accomplishments left an impact on your peers and your field. We will be cheering you on as you progress through your next chapter!

05/15/2026

Congratulations to our 10 newest PhDs who were honored at the CCAS Doctoral Hooding Ceremony on March 14, 2006.

-- Cognitive Neuroscience: Dr. Rebeka Almasi, Dr. Shannon Cahalan, & Dr. Sanika Paranjape
-- Applied Social Psychology: Dr. Arianne Malekzadeh
-- Clinical Psychology: Dr. Maya Cook Alford, Dr. SJ Job, Dr. Seon (Eric) Lee, Dr. Blakely Murphy, Dr. Ash Reed, & Dr. Alana Rule

You are all amazing and have very bright futures ahead. You make us proud!!

05/13/2026

PBS undergraduate, Sophia Spadaro, presented her research at the CCAS Research Showcase is featured in GW Today!

More than 250 undergraduate and graduate students across disciplines displayed their scholarly work at the fourth-annual CCAS Research Showcase.

05/12/2026

We enjoyed celebrating the end of the Spring semester and congratulating the accomplishments of our undergraduate senior and graduate student PBS award winners as well as psychological and brain sciences honors students! We are so proud of you!! Congratulations to all of our graduating seniors, we can't wait to see what you accomplish next!!

05/08/2026

Please join us in congratulating, GWU Clinical Psychology PhD program doctoral student, SJ, on their successful defense of their dissertation entitled: "Living Under Constant Pressure: A Critical Clinical Approach to Understanding Suicidality in Black Transgender and Gender-Expansive People". Special shout out to their outstanding committee: Drs. Zea, Bowleg, Lambert, Aguayo-Romero and Dr. Calabrese who chaired the meeting!