Education
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 2007-2012
- MS & PhD in Developmental and Biological Psychology
Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 2003-2007
- Bachelor of Science in Psychology
- Concentration in Neuroscience with Biology Minor
Related Link: https://childpacelab.weebly.com/
Research Interests
Dr. Diaz is an Assistant Professor of Psychological Science. She is a developmental psychologist with a background in infant and child behavioral and physiological development. Through the use of various methodologies (e.g. EEG, ECG, Actigraphy, observations, and questionnaires), her research program focuses on the role of temperament (individual difference in emotion regulation and emotion reactivity) and executive functioning in developing social competence and academic achievement throughout development. She is also interested in exploring how other factors such as parenting, culture, and neighborhood might relate to these associations.
Select Publications
Berger, R. H., Diaz A., Valiente, C., Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T. L., Doanne Sampey, L., Thompson, M., Hernandez, M. M., Johns, S. K., & Southworth, J. (in press). The association between home chaos and academic achievement: The moderating role of sleep. Manuscript submitted for publication to Journal of Family Psychology.
Hernandez, M. M., Eisenberg, N., Valiente, C., Spinrad, T. L., Berger, R. H., VanSchyndel, S. K., Silva, K. M., Diaz, A., Thompson, M. S., Gal, D. E., & Southworth, J. (in press). Bidirectional associations between emotions and school adjustment. Journal of Personality.
Diaz, A., Blankenship, T. L., & bell, M. A. (2018). Episodic memory in middle childhood: Age, brain electrical activity, and self-reported attention. Cognitive Development, 47, 6370: doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2018.03.003
Berger, R. H., Diaz, A., Valiente, C., Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T. L., Thompson, M. S., ...Southworth, J. (2018). Sleep duration moderates the association between children's temperament and academic achievement. Early Education & Development, 29(5), 624-640.
Hernandez, M. M., Eisenberg, N., Valiente, C., Spinrad, T. L., VanSchyndel, S. K., Berger, R. H., Silva, K. M., Diaz, A., Gal, D. E., Thompson, M. S., & Southworth, J. (2018). Self-regulation and academic achievement across the early elementary school grades: Examining longitudinal and bidirectional associations. Early Education and Development. Advance online publication: doi: 10.1080/10409289.2018.1496722
Hernandez, M. M., Eisenberg, N., Valiente, C., Spinrad, T. L., Berger, R. H., VanSchyndel, S. K., Silva, K. M., Diaz, A., Southworth, J., & Thompson, M. S., (2018). Emotions in school and psychological maladjustment from kindergarten to first grade. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 176, 101-112. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2018.07.010.
Diaz, A., Eisenberg, N., Valiente, C., VanSchyndel, S., Spinrad, T. L., Berger, R., Hernandez, M. M., Silva, K. M., & Southworth, J. (2017). Relations of Positive and Negative Expressivity and Effortful Control to Kindergarteners' Student-Teacher Relationship, Academic Engagement, and Externalizing Problems at School. Journal of Research in Personality, 16, 3-14. doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2015.11.002.
Diaz, A., Berger, R., Valiente, C., Tao, C., Eisenberg, N., VanSchyndel, S., Spinrad, T. L., Doane, L. D., Thompson, M. S., Silva, K. M., & Southworth, J. (2017). Children's sleep and academic achievement: The moderating role of effortful control. International Journal of Behavioral Development. 41, 275-284. doi: 10.1177/0165025416635284
Hernandez, M. M., Eisenberg, N., Valiente, C., Diaz, A., VanSchyndel, S. K., Berger, R. H., Terrell, N., Silva, K. M., Spinrad, T. L., & Southworth, J. (2017). Concurrent and longitudinal associations of peers' acceptance with emotions and effortful control in kindergarten. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 41, 30-40. doi:10.1177/0165025415608519
Hernandez, M. M. Eisenberg, N., Valiente, C., Spinrad, T. L., VanSchyndel, S. K., Diaz, A., Silva, K. M., Berger, R. H., & Southworth, J. (2017). Observed emotions as predictors of quality of kindergarteners' social relationships. Social Development. 26, 21-30. doi: 10.1111/sode.12179
Smith, C. L., Diaz, A., Day, K. L., & Bell, M. A. (2016). Infant frontal electroencephalogram asymmetry and negative emotional reactivity as predictors of toddlerhood effortful control. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 142, 262-273.
Hernandez, M. M., Eisenberg, N., Valiente, C., VanSchyndel, S. K., Spinrad, T. L., Silva, K. M., Berger, R. H., Diaz, A., Terrell, N., Thompson, M. & Southworth, J. (2016). Emotional expression in school context, social relationships, and academic adjustment in indergarten. Emotion, 16, 553-566. doi: 10.1037/emo0000147
Diaz, A., & Eisenberg, N. (2015). The Process of emotion regulation is different from individual differences in emotion regulation: Conceptual arguments and a focus on individual differences. Psychological Inquiry, 26, 37-47. doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2015.959094