Flourishing Through Fieldwork</h1> <article> <h1>Flourishing Through Fieldwork</h1> <p>kviancou — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:53:01 +0000</p> <span>Flourishing Through Fieldwork</span> <span><span>kviancou</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-03-13T14:53:01-04:00" title="Friday, March 13, 2026 - 14:53">Fri, 03/13/2026 - 14:53</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Building on her classroom studies at �鶹��Ƶ, fourth-year student Vivian Friedman spent last summer interning as a research assistant at NYU’s Cognitive Development Lab.</p><p>The Brooklyn, New York, native—who double majors in <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/psychology">psychology</a> and <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/sociology">sociology</a>—was inspired to pursue the internship after taking <a href="/nancy-darling">Professor Nancy Darling</a>’s course Development in a Cultural Context. </p><p>“This class really opened my eyes to the importance of culture, especially within the field of research,” Friedman says. “My biggest takeaway from this course was just how insular the field of psychology—developmental psychology, specifically—can be, with most participants coming from very similar backgrounds.”</p><p>Friedman carried this revelation with her as she undertook her fieldwork, ensuring that her research took diversity, as well as social and cultural factors, into account.</p><p>“I helped with recruitment online, through social media, and in person, going to New York City zoos and parks to ask families if they would like to participate,” she explains. </p><p>Friedman collected data by facilitating interviews and recording participants’ answers, she says.</p><p>“One of the most interesting parts of the internship was seeing how the answers differed based on the participants' age,” Friedman says. “The projects I worked on focused on children’s explanations, growth mindset beliefs, and understanding of gender differences.” </p><p>She was particularly interested in “how exposure to diversity as a child impacts the development of critical thinking,” she says. “I believe that understanding how children learn and develop is vital in better understanding our world.”</p><p>Through her time at the NYU Cognitive Development Lab, she also learned how collaborative and gratifying the research process can be.</p><p>“Before I began, I thought that research was way more individualistic, and that people would be pretty focused on their own topics,” Friedman says. “But I was pleasantly surprised by how much the researchers helped each other—giving advice, feedback, and lending a helping hand.”</p><hr><p>To learn more about internship opportunities for �鶹��Ƶ students, check out <a href="/career/set/summer">Career Exploration and Development</a>. </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Vivian Friedman ’26 spent the summer of 2025 at New York University, gaining valuable insight into the research process.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2026-03-13T12:00:00Z">Fri, 03/13/2026 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">By Danielle Frezza</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4093">Internships</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4071">Psychology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4340">Sociology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2403">Career Exploration & Development</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/sociology" hreflang="und">Sociology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/psychology" hreflang="und">Psychology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item"> Abe Frato '26</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-article-header field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">0</div> </article> </main></body></html>