Jennifer M. McDermott

Jennifer M. McDermott is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she conducts interdisciplinary research at the intersection of developmental, cognitive, and affective neuroscience. She is affiliated with the Neuroscience & Behavior Graduate Program, the Center for Research on Families, and the Rudd Adoption Research Program, reflecting her broad engagement with developmental science and family dynamics.

Her research focuses on understanding individual differences in cognitive development and social outcomes, particularly how early experiences shape neural and behavioral trajectories. Key areas of interest include response monitoring, executive function, emotion regulation, and behavioral inhibition in children. She employs neuroscientific methods such as ERP and behavioral paradigms to investigate how self-regulatory processes develop and how they are influenced by temperament, early adversity, and caregiving environments.

The trends in her recent publications reveal a strong emphasis on early childhood development, with frequent exploration of ADHD, sleep effects on cognition, emotion processing, and the neural underpinnings of attention and inhibition. Her work often involves longitudinal and intervention-based studies, particularly with at-risk populations, including children with developmental disabilities or histories of institutionalization.

Jennifer McDermott has received research support from major funding sources including NIH and NIMH, particularly through collaborative networks focused on early experience and stress neurobiology. She has mentored trainees and collaborated extensively with leading scholars such as Nathan A. Fox and Koraly Pérez-Edgar.

She teaches core courses in developmental psychology, including Psych 350 (Developmental Psychology), Honors Developmental Psychology, Socioemotional Development, and a graduate seminar on Critical Periods and Developmental Plasticity, demonstrating her commitment to both undergraduate and graduate education.