Jane Childers, Ph.D.
- Professor , Psychology
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I am a developmental psychologist who studies how children learn verbs between the ages of 2-5 years, both in the US and across cultures. With a team of dedicated undergraduates, we use behavioral enactment, video, and eye tracking procedures to test how children may use information they can discover by comparing multiple events to each other to learn new verbs.
I teach courses that explore various key questions in development, including: How does human thought begin in infancy, and how does it develop? How are children influenced by their parents, peers, and culture over development? and How do children learn language, and what does that tell us about human thought?
I live in New Braunfels with my husband, Danny, and my daughter, Emily. I am the faculty adviser for RUF and the PDK sorority on campus.
- Post-doctoral fellow, Emory University, 1998-2000
- Ph.D., Developmental Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 1998
- M.A., Developmental Psychology, minor in linguistics, University of Texas at Austin, 1994
- B.A., Psychology, Baylor University, 1990
- Howard, T. J.**, Porter, B. M.** & Childers, J. B. (in press). Can 2.5- to 5-year-olds ignore irrelevant events, or subevents, during verb learning? Journal of Cognition and Development. doi:10.1080/15248372.2019.1607861
- Childers, J. B., Paik, J. H. & Flores, M. **, Lai, G. & Dolan, M.** (2016) Does variability across events affect verb learning in English, Mandarin and Korean? Cognitive Science, 1-23. doi:10.1111/cogs.12398.
- Childers, J. B. & Parrish, R.**, Olson (Velasquez), C.**, Fung, G., Burch, C.** & McIntyre, K. (2016). Early Verb Learning: How do children learn how to compare events? Journal of Cognition and Development, 17(1), 41-66.
- Childers, J. B., Hirshkowitz, A.** & Benavides, K.** (2014). Attention to Explicit and Implicit Contrast in Verb Learning. Journal of Cognition and Development, 15(2), 213-237.
- Childers, J. B. (2011). "Attention to Multiple Events Helps Two 1/2-Year-Olds Extend New Verbs," First Language, 31, 3-22.
- National Institutes of Health, Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) Grant (R15) (8/2010-7/2013). "Verb learning: How does comparison develop?" $199,600. Jane B. Childers, principal investigator.
- Childers, J. B. (2009). "Early Verb Learners: Creative or Not?" Invited commentary for L. R. Naigles, E. Hoff & D. Vear's Flexibility in early verb use: Evidence from a multiple-n diary study in the Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 74, 133-39.
- Childers, J. B., & Paik, J. H. (2009). "Korean- and English-speaking children use cross-situational information to learn novel predicate terms." Journal of Child Language, 36, 201-24.
- Cognitive Development
- Social Development
- FY and Senior Seminars: Various topics related to cognition and language
- The Children's Research Lab provides child development information to local families.
- Childers is chair of the Linguistics program at Trinity.
IMPACT Highlights from 2024-25
Wednesday, May 07, 2025Celebrating faculty and staff accolades and achievements
Power and Passion
Wednesday, March 01, 2023Trinity University celebrates Women’s History Month 2023 with events, recognitions, and more
Winter Commencement Ceremony Scheduled for Dec. 17
Thursday, December 08, 2022Join the Trinity community in honoring its December graduates
The Do’s of Development
Thursday, June 16, 2022Jane Childers wins Z.T. Scott award for her mentor-based approach in classroom and lab
Department Chairs Collaborate on Development Projects
Friday, January 28, 2022Chairs seek to improve curriculum and teaching methods
Trinity Recognizes Faculty and Staff for Significant Career Milestones
Monday, January 11, 2021Virtual event carries on a tradition of celebrating a decade or more of service