Dr. Sarah Gerson ’06 is a a developmental psychologist at Cardiff University in Cardiff, Wales and joins Redbird Buzz to discuss how her time as a psychology student at Illinois State University helped guide her to where she is now.
In the fall of 2020, she was lead author for an internationally publicized study, published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, which used neuroscience for the first time to investigate the impact of doll play on children. She shares key takeaways from that research and how doll play can positively impact empathy and social skills in children.
Tune in to this episode of Redbird Buzz to hear more about Gerson’s path to Illinois State from a family of educators, how experiences and opportunities in the Department of Psychology opened up new doors for her, and for more discussion about her research and how her own experience as a mother to a young child is informing the way she sees doll play and its impact.
Gerson is also featured in the spring 2023 STATE alumni magazine.
Redbird Buzz is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Transcripts of each episode are available online at Alumni.IllinoisState.edu/Podcast.
