DSEC Lab
@dseclab.bsky.social
Development of Social & Emotional Communication Lab at Queen's University.
Happy Family Day from the DSEC Lab! 🩵
Thank you to all our participating families and local organizations for your continued support. Your involvement and commitment make a meaningful difference, helping us grow our collective understanding of youth socioemotional development every day!
Thank you to all our participating families and local organizations for your continued support. Your involvement and commitment make a meaningful difference, helping us grow our collective understanding of youth socioemotional development every day!
February 16, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Happy Family Day from the DSEC Lab! 🩵
Thank you to all our participating families and local organizations for your continued support. Your involvement and commitment make a meaningful difference, helping us grow our collective understanding of youth socioemotional development every day!
Thank you to all our participating families and local organizations for your continued support. Your involvement and commitment make a meaningful difference, helping us grow our collective understanding of youth socioemotional development every day!
Check out this post to learn more about what they found! (✒️ Catherine Shevelevich)
Find the full paper here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Find the full paper here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
February 6, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Check out this post to learn more about what they found! (✒️ Catherine Shevelevich)
Find the full paper here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Find the full paper here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Teens are spending more time on social media than ever before, with platforms like TikTok playing a major role in their daily routines. This raises an important question: what draws teens to TikTok, and what stays with them after they log off? 🤔
February 6, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Teens are spending more time on social media than ever before, with platforms like TikTok playing a major role in their daily routines. This raises an important question: what draws teens to TikTok, and what stays with them after they log off? 🤔
Katrina Mascherin (She/Her) - Katrina is a fourth-year psychology student conducting her Honours thesis in the DSEC Lab. She takes a special interest in the relationship between adolescents’ ability to recognize emotions in others and how recognizable their own emotional expressions are.
January 27, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Katrina Mascherin (She/Her) - Katrina is a fourth-year psychology student conducting her Honours thesis in the DSEC Lab. She takes a special interest in the relationship between adolescents’ ability to recognize emotions in others and how recognizable their own emotional expressions are.
Check out this post to learn more about what they found! (✒️ Astra Yang)
Find the full paper here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Find the full paper here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
January 21, 2026 at 9:02 PM
Check out this post to learn more about what they found! (✒️ Astra Yang)
Find the full paper here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Find the full paper here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
What factors influence emotional communication during adolescence?
Hare and colleagues examined how adolescents’ perceptions of maternal acceptance relate to changes in emotional disclosure over time, highlighting the role of parent–child relationships in emotional development.
Hare and colleagues examined how adolescents’ perceptions of maternal acceptance relate to changes in emotional disclosure over time, highlighting the role of parent–child relationships in emotional development.
January 21, 2026 at 9:02 PM
What factors influence emotional communication during adolescence?
Hare and colleagues examined how adolescents’ perceptions of maternal acceptance relate to changes in emotional disclosure over time, highlighting the role of parent–child relationships in emotional development.
Hare and colleagues examined how adolescents’ perceptions of maternal acceptance relate to changes in emotional disclosure over time, highlighting the role of parent–child relationships in emotional development.
How well do you know the science behind emotion, memory, and social experience?
Level up your psychology knowledge through a series of questions exploring different topics in psychology. 🧠
Special thanks to Emma Canning for putting this quiz together!
Level up your psychology knowledge through a series of questions exploring different topics in psychology. 🧠
Special thanks to Emma Canning for putting this quiz together!
January 16, 2026 at 9:00 PM
How well do you know the science behind emotion, memory, and social experience?
Level up your psychology knowledge through a series of questions exploring different topics in psychology. 🧠
Special thanks to Emma Canning for putting this quiz together!
Level up your psychology knowledge through a series of questions exploring different topics in psychology. 🧠
Special thanks to Emma Canning for putting this quiz together!
Emma Canning (She/Her) – Emma is a first-year MSc student in Developmental Psychology at Queen’s. Her undergraduate thesis focused on increasing information elicitation in investigative interviewing. This year, she is excited to look at the neural bases of nonverbal communication in adolescents.
January 6, 2026 at 9:27 PM
Emma Canning (She/Her) – Emma is a first-year MSc student in Developmental Psychology at Queen’s. Her undergraduate thesis focused on increasing information elicitation in investigative interviewing. This year, she is excited to look at the neural bases of nonverbal communication in adolescents.
Thank you so much to all the participants, families, and community organizations who helped make 2025 such an amazing year in the DSEC Lab! We will be off until January 4th, 2026. We look forward to welcoming participants to the lab again in the new year!
#YGKfamilies
#YGKfamilies
December 23, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Thank you so much to all the participants, families, and community organizations who helped make 2025 such an amazing year in the DSEC Lab! We will be off until January 4th, 2026. We look forward to welcoming participants to the lab again in the new year!
#YGKfamilies
#YGKfamilies
The DSEC Lab’s winter newsletter is now available! Click the link in our bio to learn more about our ongoing studies, read up on recent study findings from the lab, and find fun activities to do with your family over the winter break. We’re so excited for you all to read it!
#YGKfamilies
#YGKfamilies
December 19, 2025 at 9:01 PM
The DSEC Lab’s winter newsletter is now available! Click the link in our bio to learn more about our ongoing studies, read up on recent study findings from the lab, and find fun activities to do with your family over the winter break. We’re so excited for you all to read it!
#YGKfamilies
#YGKfamilies
Have you ever wondered how we really communicate emotion? To help show you emotion expression in action, we recreated 3 emotional expressions missing key nonverbal cues. These examples show how much harder it is to decode someone’s feelings when even one piece of nonverbal communication is absent!
December 11, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Have you ever wondered how we really communicate emotion? To help show you emotion expression in action, we recreated 3 emotional expressions missing key nonverbal cues. These examples show how much harder it is to decode someone’s feelings when even one piece of nonverbal communication is absent!
Sean Koh (he/him) — Lab Coordinator. Sean is the joint coordinator for the DSEC Lab and the Early Experience Lab (EEL) at Queen's. He is excited to contribute to the ongoing projects of the DSEC team and to learn more about how adolescents express their emotions through non-verbal communication.
December 2, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Sean Koh (he/him) — Lab Coordinator. Sean is the joint coordinator for the DSEC Lab and the Early Experience Lab (EEL) at Queen's. He is excited to contribute to the ongoing projects of the DSEC team and to learn more about how adolescents express their emotions through non-verbal communication.
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a part of the DSEC Lab? Our research assistants, Navid and Madhureema, take you behind the scenes of our study, EXPRESS-RT! 👀
(✒️Navid Shabani Barzegar and Madhureema Balasubramani Rupa)
(✒️Navid Shabani Barzegar and Madhureema Balasubramani Rupa)
November 25, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a part of the DSEC Lab? Our research assistants, Navid and Madhureema, take you behind the scenes of our study, EXPRESS-RT! 👀
(✒️Navid Shabani Barzegar and Madhureema Balasubramani Rupa)
(✒️Navid Shabani Barzegar and Madhureema Balasubramani Rupa)
We are looking for youth ages 12-15 for a neuroimaging study (2 x ~2-hour visits; bring a friend & caregiver to the 1st visit)! Teens receive $100 ($40 for friend + $20 for caregiver) and will be asked to return 1 year later ($120). See details in attached video! #YGKfamilies
November 20, 2025 at 9:01 PM
We are looking for youth ages 12-15 for a neuroimaging study (2 x ~2-hour visits; bring a friend & caregiver to the 1st visit)! Teens receive $100 ($40 for friend + $20 for caregiver) and will be asked to return 1 year later ($120). See details in attached video! #YGKfamilies
Alana Tran (she/her) — QU’27 in Psychology. Alana is a third-year psychology student working as a research assistant in the DSEC Lab. Her research interests currently revolve around how emotion recognition and regulation develop in adolescents.
November 11, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Alana Tran (she/her) — QU’27 in Psychology. Alana is a third-year psychology student working as a research assistant in the DSEC Lab. Her research interests currently revolve around how emotion recognition and regulation develop in adolescents.
People rely on nonverbal (“show, don’t tell”) cues to infer someone’s feelings and intentions. However, people often understand these signals in very different ways. So, what factors determine how something is interpreted? (✒️Julia Guo)
October 28, 2025 at 8:39 PM
People rely on nonverbal (“show, don’t tell”) cues to infer someone’s feelings and intentions. However, people often understand these signals in very different ways. So, what factors determine how something is interpreted? (✒️Julia Guo)
During adolescence, friendships take center stage and social cues become particularly important to attend to. Sandre and colleagues investigated how youths’ and adults’ brains responded to subtle changes in facial expressions by teenagers and adults. Check out this video to see what they found!
October 23, 2025 at 8:04 PM
During adolescence, friendships take center stage and social cues become particularly important to attend to. Sandre and colleagues investigated how youths’ and adults’ brains responded to subtle changes in facial expressions by teenagers and adults. Check out this video to see what they found!
Catherine Shevelevich (she/her) - QU’27 in Psychology. Catherine is a third-year psychology student working as a research assistant in the DSEC lab! Catherine takes a special interest in parental influence on children’s social and emotional development.
October 7, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Catherine Shevelevich (she/her) - QU’27 in Psychology. Catherine is a third-year psychology student working as a research assistant in the DSEC lab! Catherine takes a special interest in parental influence on children’s social and emotional development.
The tone of voice we use says a lot, but not everyone hears it the same way. Morningstar et al. investigated whether internalizing symptoms like anxiety and depression are associated with youth’s ability to recognize emotions in others' voices. Check out this post to learn more ( ✒️ Jay Burns)
October 3, 2025 at 8:00 PM
The tone of voice we use says a lot, but not everyone hears it the same way. Morningstar et al. investigated whether internalizing symptoms like anxiety and depression are associated with youth’s ability to recognize emotions in others' voices. Check out this post to learn more ( ✒️ Jay Burns)
We are looking for youth ages 12-15 for a neuroimaging study (2 x ~2-hour visits; bring a friend & caregiver to the 1st visit)! Teens receive $100 ($40 for friend + $20 for caregiver) and will be asked to return 1 year later ($120). See details in attached video! #YGKfamilies
September 23, 2025 at 8:02 PM
We are looking for youth ages 12-15 for a neuroimaging study (2 x ~2-hour visits; bring a friend & caregiver to the 1st visit)! Teens receive $100 ($40 for friend + $20 for caregiver) and will be asked to return 1 year later ($120). See details in attached video! #YGKfamilies
How well can you read nonverbal cues? Nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions and tone of voice, are extremely important for understanding social situations. In this video, we’re going to put your skills to the test! Think: what would you do? 🤔 (🖋️Olivia Merulla)
September 18, 2025 at 8:02 PM
How well can you read nonverbal cues? Nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions and tone of voice, are extremely important for understanding social situations. In this video, we’re going to put your skills to the test! Think: what would you do? 🤔 (🖋️Olivia Merulla)
Rushmeet Singh (She/Her) – QU’26 in Kinesiology. Rushmeet is a fourth-year kinesiology student researching nonverbal communication in the DSEC Lab. She’s passionate about dentistry, plays badminton, dabbles in graphic design, and has a mission to cook a dish from every country!
September 9, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Rushmeet Singh (She/Her) – QU’26 in Kinesiology. Rushmeet is a fourth-year kinesiology student researching nonverbal communication in the DSEC Lab. She’s passionate about dentistry, plays badminton, dabbles in graphic design, and has a mission to cook a dish from every country!
Looking for something to do this fall and interested in participating in science? The DSEC Lab might just have the thing for you! This fall, we’re running 2 studies for teens. 😁 Check out this post to see our posters and learn more!
September 4, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Looking for something to do this fall and interested in participating in science? The DSEC Lab might just have the thing for you! This fall, we’re running 2 studies for teens. 😁 Check out this post to see our posters and learn more!
The DSEC Lab’s back-to-school newsletter is now available 📚! Click the link in our bio to learn more about our ongoing studies, read up on recent study findings from the lab, and check out fun activities to do with the family before school starts up again! We can’t wait for you all to read it 😊
August 29, 2025 at 12:01 PM
The DSEC Lab’s back-to-school newsletter is now available 📚! Click the link in our bio to learn more about our ongoing studies, read up on recent study findings from the lab, and check out fun activities to do with the family before school starts up again! We can’t wait for you all to read it 😊