Charisse Pickron

Charisse Pickron is originally from Amherst, Ma. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a major in Psychology and a minor in Race and Racial Identity Development in 2008. Following graduation, she worked at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL for two years. She completed a 12 month internship at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she further explored her interest in a career in developmental psychology. At the University of Massachusetts, Charisse completed her Masters in 2015 under the advisement of Dr. Lisa Scott and her Ph.D. in 2018 with Dr. Erik Cheries. Her work focuses on socio-cognitive development focusing on infants' perception and representation of social groups along gender and race.

How do infants and young children perceive and represent the world around them? What developmental, social, and cognitive factors influence their perceptions & representations? These and other questions are key to my interest in the intersection of perceptual and socio-cognitive development. I investigate the way people and groups of people are perceived, categorized, and engaged with. What are potential social and cognitive consequences of learning to live within, perceive, and think about people as members of different groups or kinds? To address this and other related questions, I am particularly interested in better understanding the way early experiences shape infants’ and children’s processing of faces of differing social categories, such as gender and race.

I study topics of perceptual and socio-cognitive development using a variety of measures including behavioral, electrophysiological, and eye-tracking. I envision a research team of undergraduate & graduate students as well as staff all committed to engaging with and learning from one another as well as with our larger community. My burgeoning program of research will be shaped by many minds. Not just my own ideas, but the interests of students & staff, collaborators, and learning the interests and needs of members from our larger Twin Cities community.

Advising expectations and availability

If you are a prospective graduate student who is interested in working with Dr. Pickron, click here to review her advising expectations. The document outlines what you can expect from Dr. Pickron as an advisor/mentor and provides an overview of Dr. Pickron's expectations of students.

Please note that for the Fall 2025 admissions cycle I am looking to take on new Ph.D. students as their primary advisor. Please reach out to me via email if you are interested in learning more.

Quote

"Celebrate and be in inspired by the knowledge infants and children have and continue to acquire while engaging with their world."

Lab

Child Brain and Perception Lab