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Research Labs 

​Embodied Learning Design and Educational Neuroscience (ELDEN) Lab 
​(PI: Firat Soylu)

Educational neuroscience, numerical cognition, STEM learning, embodied cognition, learning design
Website: http://elden.ua.edu

The Neuroscience of Education Research on Development (NERD) Lab
​
(PI: Laura Morett)

​Neurobiology of language, embodied cognition, second language acquisition, autism spectrum disorders, developmental cognitive neuroscience
​Website: http://nerdlab.ua.edu ​

Social, Emotional and Educational Neuroscience (SEED) Lab
(PI:  Hyemin Han)

Educational neuroscience, social neuroscience, social development, positive psychology, computational simulation, educational intervention
Website:  http://seed.ua.edu

​Center for the Study of Ethical Development 
​(PI: David Walker)

Moral judgement development, personality and social development, neuropsychology of moral reasoning and decision making
​Website: http://ethicaldevelopment.ua.edu

ABCD Research Lab
(PI: Jason Scofield)

Child development,  cognitive development, language development
Website: http://scofield.people.ua.edu/abcd-research-lab.html
​

Publications by our Faculty and Students (*)

In Press

Gungordu N.*, Ozturk B., & Hernadez-Reif M. (In prep). Empathy and Sibling Relationship Dynamics of Women in Emerging Adulthood: Survey Method with Follow-Up Phenomenological Interview. Journal of Family Issues. 

Gungordu N.* & Hernadez-Reif M. (In prep). Sibling Relationship Dynamics Influence the Empathy Process in Young Adulthood. Journal of Family Studies.


Han, H. (in press). Implementation of Bayesian multiple comparison correction in the second-level analysis of fMRI data: With pilot analyses of simulation and real fMRI datasets based on voxelwise inference. Cognitive Neuroscience.

Han, H., Ballard, P. J., & Choi, Y-J. (in press). Links between moral identity and political purpose during emerging adulthood. Journal of Moral Education. T&F PsyArXiv ResearchGate Academia

Gungordu, N., Yaghoubi Jami, P.*, & Thoma, S., (in press). How does dispositional empathy associate with cultural orientation? A cross-cultural comparison of young adults.

Han, H., Dawson, K. J.*, Thoma, S. J., & Glenn, A. L. (in press). Developmental level of moral judgment influences behavioral patterns during moral decision-making. Journal of Experimental Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2019.1574701

Han, H. (in press). Neuroscience of morality and teacher education. In M. A. Peters (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Teacher Education. Singapore: Springer. 

Mansouri, B., Yaghoubi Jami, P.*, & Salmani, B. Y. (in press). Teachers and learners’ views on isolated vs. integrated FFI grammar: a cross-contextual comparison. 

Morett, L. M. (in press). The influence of tonal and atonal bilingualism on children's lexical and non-lexical tone perception. Language and Speech. https://doi.org/10.1177/0023830919834679

Yaghoubi Jami, P.*, & Thoma, S. (in press). Does Physical and psychological distress affect the expression of empathy for young adults with different histories of painful life experiences?

Yaghoubi Jami, P.*, (in press). Psychometric Analysis of the Farsi version of the Empathy Quotient.  


2020

Han, H., Lee, K.**, & Soylu, F.** (2020). Applying the deep learning method for simulating outcomes of educational interventions. SN Computer Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42979-020-0075-z. SN SocArXiv ResearchGate Academia
 ** indicates authors contributed equally


Soylu, F.† & Newman, S. D.† (2020). Editorial: Towards an Understanding of the Relationship Between Spatial Processing Ability and Numerical and Mathematical Cognition. Frontiers in Psychology, Cognition. †Authors contributed equally. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00014

2019

Centanni, T. M., Anchan, M., Beard, M., Brooks, R., Thompson, L., & Petrill, S. (2019). Genetic and environmental influences on decoding skills-implications for music and reading. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2604. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02604

​Brown, P., RELISH Consortium, & Zhou, Y. (2019). Large expert-curated database benchmarking document similarity detection in biomedical literature search. Database. (Han, H. member of RELISH Consortium authors).

Burns-Nader, S. Scofield, J., & Jones, C. (2019). The Role of Shape and Specificity in Young Children’s Object Substitution. Infant and Child Development. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.2124

Ku, Y. R.* (2019). Book Review: Multilinguals’ Verbalisation and Perception of Emotions by Resnik, P. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 38(3), 394–395. doi:10.1177/0261927x19834973

Choi, Y-J., Han, H., Dawson, K. J.*, Thoma, S. J., & Glenn, A. L. (2019). Evaluating reliability, validity, and differential item functioning of the Behavioral Defining Issues Test (bDIT). European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 16(5), 622-631. T&F PsyArXiv ResearchGate Academia

Han, H., Liauw, I., & Kuntz, A. F. (2019). Moral Identity Predicts the Development of Presence of Meaning during Emerging Adulthood. Emerging Adulthood. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696818758735

Yagobu Jami, P.*, Behzad, M., Thoma, S., & Han, H. (2019). An investigation of the divergences and convergences of trait empathy across two cultures. Journal of Moral Education, 48(2), 214-229. T&F PsyArXiv ResearchGate Academia

Morett, L. M., & Fraundorf, S. H. (2019).  Listeners consider alternative speaker productions in discourse comprehension and memory: Evidence from beat gesture and pitch accenting​.  ​Memory and Cognition, 47, 1515-1530.

Han, H., Glenn, A. L., & Dawson, K. J.* (2019). Evaluating Alternative Correction Methods for Multiple Comparison in Functional Neuroimaging Research. Brain Sciences, 9(8), 198. MDPI 

Han, H., Firat, S., & Anchan, M.* (2019). Connecting levels of analysis in educational neuroscience: A review of multi-level structure of educational neuroscience with concrete examples. Trends in Neuroscience and Education. Elsevier PsyArXiv ResearchGate Academia

Morett, L. M. (2019). The power of an image: Images enhance L2 word learning more than glosses. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-018-9623-2

Han, H., & Park, J. (2019). Bayesian meta-analysis of fMRI image data. Cognitive Neuroscience, 10(2), 66-76. https://doi.org/10.1080/17588928.2019.1570103​

Han, H. (2019). The VIA Inventory of Strengths, positive youth development, and moral education. Journal of Positive Psychology, 14(1), 32-40. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2018.1528378

Soylu, F., Rivera, B.*, Anchan, M.*, & Nathaniel, N.* (2019). ERP differences in processing canonical and non-canonical finger numeral representations. Neuroscience Letters. 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2019.04.032

Soylu, F., Seo, R., Newman, M. &Newman, S.D. (2019). Gray Matter Correlates of Finger Gnosis in Children: a VBM Study. ​Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.01.032 

Wind, S., Mansouri, B., & Yaghoubi Jami, P.* (2019). Student Perceptions of Grammar Instruction in Iranian Secondary Education: Evaluation of an Instrument using Rasch Measurement. Theory Journal of Applied Measurement, 20 (1), 46-65.
​

2018


Han, H., Park, S., Kim, J., Jeong, C., Kunii, Y., & Kim, S. (2018). A quantitative analysis of moral exemplars presented in moral education textbooks in Korea and Japan. Asia Pacific Journal of Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2018.1423950

Feiler, J. B.*, & Stabio, M. E. (2018). Three pillars of educational neuroscience from three decades of literature. Trends in neuroscience and education. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tine.2018.11.001

Han, H., Park, J., & Thoma, S. J. (2018). Why do we need to employ Bayesian statistics and how can we employ it in studies of moral education? With practical guidelines to use JASP for educators and researchers. Journal of Moral Education, 47(4), 519-537. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2018.1463204

Han, H., Choi, Y., Dawson, K. J.*, & Jeong, C. (2018). Moral growth mindset is associated with change in voluntary service engagement. PLOS One, 13(8), e0202327. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202327

Han, H., Lee, K., & Soylu, F., (2018). Simulating outcomes of interventions using a multipurpose simulation program based on the evolutionary causal matrices and Markov chain. Knowledge and Information Systems, 18(2), 223-227. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10115-017-1151-0
 
Han, H., & Park, J. (2018). Using SPM 12’s second-level Bayesian inference procedure for fMRI analysis: Practical guidelines for end users. Frontiers in Neuroinformatics, 12, 1. https://doi.org/10.3389/fninf.2018.00001


Morett, L.M. (2018). In hand and in mind: Effects of gesture production and viewing on second language word learning. Applied Psycholinguistics. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716417000388

Scofield, J., Merriman, W. E., & Wall, J. L.* (2018). The Effect of a Tactile-to-Visual Shift on Young Children’s Tendency to Map Novel Labels Onto Novel Objects. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 172, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2018.03.003

​Soylu, F., Raymond, D.R., Gutierrez, A.M., & Newman, S.D. (2018). The differential relationship between finger gnosis, and addition and subtraction: an fMRI study​. Journal of Numerical Cognition​, 3(3), 694–715. https://doi.org/10.5964/jnc.v3i3.102

Soylu, F., Newman, S.D. & Lester, F.K. (2018). You can count on your fingers: The role of fingers in early mathematical development. Journal of Numerical Cognition, 4(1), 107-135. https://doi.org/10.5964/jnc.v4i1.85

Yaghoubi Jami, P.*, Mansouri, B., & Thoma, S. (2018). Age and educational level predict trait empathy among Iranian population. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-9967-7
 
Yaghoubi Jami, P.*, Mansouri, B., Thoma, S., & Han, H. (2018). An investigation of the divergences and convergences of trait empathy across two cultures. Journal of Moral Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2018.1482531
 
Wind, S., Yaghoubi Jami, P.*, & Mansouri, B. (2018). Exploring the Psychometric Properties of the Empathy Quotient for Farsi Speakers. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-9938-z

​

2017
 
Glenn, A. L., Han, H., Yang, Y., Raine, A., & Schug, R. A. (2017). Associations between psychopathic traits and brain activity during instructed false responding. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 266, ​123-137.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pscychresns.2017.06.008

 
Han, H., Kim, J., Jeong, C., & Cohen, G. L. (2017). Attainable and relevant moral exemplars are more effective than extraordinary exemplars in promoting voluntary service engagement. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 283. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00283


Han, H. (2017). Neural correlates of moral sensitivity and moral judgment associated with brain circuitries of selfhood: A meta-analysis. Journal of Moral Education, 46(2), 97-113. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2016.126283

Han, H., & Glenn, A. L. (2017). Evaluating Methods of Correcting for Multiple Comparisons Implemented in SPM12 in Social Neuroscience fMRI Studies: An Example from Moral Psychology. Social Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2017.1324521

Malin, H., Han, H., & Liauw, I. (2017). Civic purpose in late adolescence: Factors that prevent decline in civic engagement after high school. Developmental Psychology, 53(7), 1384-1397. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/dev0000322

Lee, C. M. A., & Thoma, S. J. (2017). Developing and testing a scale of moral thinking and communication (MTC) functioning: a preliminary study and its implications for moral development and education. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2017.1386618
 
Roche, C., Radomski, M., Grimes, T., & Thoma, S. J. (2017). Promoting peer debate in pursuit of moral reasoning competencies development: spotlight on educational intervention design. Innovations in Pharmacy, 8(4), 2-2. https://doi.org/10.24926/iip.v8i4.928
 
Roche, C., & Thoma, S. (2017). Insights from the Defining Issues Test on Moral Reasoning Competencies Development in Community Pharmacists. American journal of pharmaceutical education, 81(8), 5913. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe5913


Soylu, F., Holbert, N., Brady, C., & Wilensky, U. (2017). Embodied perspective taking in learning about complex systems. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 28(3), 269–303.
 
Walker, D. I., Thoma, S. J., Jones, C., & Kristjánsson, K. (2017). Adolescent moral judgement: A study of UK secondary school pupils. British Educational Research Journal, 43(3), 588-607. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3274

​
2016

Bebeau, M. J., Thoma, S. J., & Cunningham, C. D. (2016). Educational Programs for Professional Identity Formation: The Role of Social Science Research. Mercer L. Rev., 68, 591.
 
Han, H. (2016). How can neuroscience contribute to moral philosophy, psychology and education based on Aristotelian virtue ethics?. International Journal of Ethics Education, 1(2), 219-223. Springer. 
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40889-016-0016-9  
 
Han, H., Chen, J., Jeong, C., & Glover, G. H. (2016). Influence of the cortical midline structures on moral emotion and motivation in moral decision-making. Behavioural Brain Research, 302, 237-251. Elsevier. 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2016.01.001 
 
Han, H., Lee, K., & Soylu, F. (2016). Predicting Long-term Outcomes of Educational Interventions Using the Evolutionary Causal Matrices and Markov Chain Based on Educational Neuroscience. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 5(4), 157-165.
 Elsevier ArXiv. 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tine.2016.11.003
 
Mccreary, G., Bray, N., & Thoma, S. (2016). Bad Apples or Bad Barrels? Moral Disengagement, Social Influence, and the Perpetuation of Hazing in the College Fraternity. Oracle: The Research Journal of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors, 11(2).
​
 
Morett, L.M., O’Hearn, K., Lynn, A. S., Luna, B., & Ghuman, A. S. (2016). Altered gesture and speech production in ASD detract from in-person communicative quality. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46, 998–1012.


Soylu, F., (2016). An embodied approach to understanding: Making sense of the world through simulated bodily activity. Frontiers in Psychology, 7:1914. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01914

Soylu, F., & Newman, S.D. (2016). Anatomically ordered tapping interferes more with one-digit addition than two-digit addition - A dual-task fMRI study. Cognitive Processing. 17(1), 67–77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-015-0737-2
 
Thoma, S. J., Bebeau, M. J., & Narvaez, D. (2016). How not to evaluate a psychological measure: Rebuttal to criticism of the Defining Issues Test of moral judgment development by Curzer and colleagues. Theory and Research in Education, 14(2), 241-249. 
https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1477878516635365
 
Zhang, Q., & Thoma, S. J. (2016). An Empirical Cross-Cultural Study of Moral Judgment Development in Mainland China. Ethics in Progress, 7(1), 228-245.

 
 
2015
 
Brady, C., Holbert, N., Soylu, F., Novak, M., & Wilensky, U. (2015). Sandboxes for model-based inquiry. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 24(2-3),
265-286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-014-9506-8
 
Greer, J. L., Searby, L. J., & Thoma, S. J. (2015). Arrested development? Comparing educational leadership students with national norms on moral reasoning. Educational Administration Quarterly, 51(4), 511-5
42. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0013161X14539807
 
Han, H. (2015). Purpose as a moral virtue for flourishing, Journal of Moral Education, 44(3), 291-
309. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2015.1040383

Han, H. (2015). Virtue ethics, positive psychology, and a new model of science and engineering ethics education. Science and Engineering Ethics, 21(2), 441-460. Springer.
 
Houser, R., Thoma, S., Fonseca, D., O’Conner, E., & Stanton, M. (2015). Enhancing statistical calculation with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the left intra-parietal sulcus (IPS). Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 4(4), 98-
101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tine.2015.07.002
 
Morett, L.M. (2015). How the hands cue the mind: effects of iconicity and enactment on sign language acquisition. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 27, 251–276.


Morett, L.M., & Chang, L. Y. (2015). Emphasizing sound and meaning in tonal language acquisition: a gesture training study. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 30, 347–353.
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