Center for Advanced Behavioral Research (CABR)

Center for Advanced Behavioral Research (CABR) activity is centered around the core themes of cutting-edge research in psychology, often interlinked with other academic disciplines.

Main areas of the research at PRC include:

• Child development Perceptions of otherness
• Posttraumatic stress and growth
• Comparative psychology
• Ecopsychology
• Social psychology
• Personality (e.g., prejudice, behavior towards others)
• Motivation and inhibition (e.g., preventing obesity)
• Music psychology – cognitive and therapeutic applications
• Positive psychology and wellness
• Neuroscience and mental health (e.g., Alzheimers)

People affiliated with this center

Research lead

Edel Marie Sanders, PhD, EdM, MA

Fueled by her fascination with the workings of the developing mind, Edel earned two master’s degrees (MA, EdM) from Columbia University after graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree from that same institution. Following research at Columbia University’s Arts Education Research Center in New York, which documented the impact of music education on inner city children’s academic performance and self-esteem, Edel attained her PhD in Education and Cognitive Psychology at the University of Cambridge while focusing on the cognitive links between musical learning and mathematical achievement, such as proportional understanding. While there, she joined the Centre for Neuroscience in Education lab and the INSTRUCT (Implementing New Student and Teaching Resources Using Cognitive Theory) research group.
Post-doctoral work supported field research at the Comparative Cognition lab at the University of Cambridge, which investigated individual traits and social learning in the natural environment of wild jackdaws. Dr. Sander’s subsequent research returned to humans, and in cooperation with the National Institute of Mental Health in the Czech Republic, much of this examines intergenerational posttraumatic stress and growth in three generations of WWII Holocaust survivors. In addition to publishing in this area, recent publications examine burnout syndrome and lifestyle in teachers as well as work integrity through the lens of multiple variables.
Future research interests include exploring cross-species consciousness and cognition, altruistic learning in children, as well as cognitive and wellbeing enhancement through music, mantra, mindfulness and other therapeutic interventions.

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