The developmental psychologist using AI to support parents

Dana McCoy is a developmental psychology researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dana studies the ways in which poverty affects children’s cognitive and social-emotional skills in the US, Brazil, Peru, Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia. She is trying to understand how interventions can help children facing adversity. Annie Brookman-Byrne talks with Dana about technology-based interventions and the future of research and policy affecting children facing adversity around the world.

Annie Brookman-Byrne: How are you and others using technology to help parents support their children’s development?

Dana McCoy: I’ve recently seen a lot more interventions using technology to reach parents, caregivers, and in some cases children directly. The COVID pandemic taught us that thoughtfully designed, technology-based services can be useful, accessible, and cost-effective. As a developmental psychologist, I do not believe that technology can replace the high-quality human interactions that drive children’s development. But I do believe technology can facilitate those interactions, especially for rural, low-income, or otherwise marginalized populations with limited access to traditional in-person support services.

I’m really excited about a project I’m evaluating that uses artificial intelligence to show low-income parents in Northeast Brazil customized activities they can do with their young children. These evidence-based activities support motor, cognitive, language, and social-emotional development. The intention isn’t to overwhelm or lecture parents, but rather to provide fun, easy ways to interact with their kids to build positive relationships and support early learning. The intervention is delivered through WhatsApp and Facebook, making it accessible and top-of-mind for parents.

“The COVID pandemic taught us that thoughtfully designed, technology-based services can be useful, accessible, and cost-effective.”

ABB: How is success typically measured in interventions like these?

DM: Historically, most evaluations of early childhood interventions were pretty straightforward. The goal was simply to understand whether a program “worked” in the sense that the average outcome for the children in the intervention group was higher than the average outcome of children in the comparison group. But I’ve noticed a shift. Research has recently become more collaborative, with individuals from multiple disciplines (e.g., economics, psychology, public health) and groups (e.g., academics, government, NGOs) working together on a single study. As a result, evaluations have become much more nuanced and informative.

We no longer look just at group averages. Instead, we also consider what specific outcomes the intervention achieves, for whom it works, how or why it works, whether it is cost-effective, how participants experience and perceive it, and how it can be delivered and taken up more efficiently. The truth is that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for all families and children. This new approach makes more sense in building an evidence base that responds to the needs and preferences of different contexts and individuals. I am especially excited that researchers are increasingly keen to really understand and elevate the perspectives of those receiving the intervention – including kids themselves.

“The truth is that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for all families and children.”

ABB: What impact do you hope your work will have on children in a changing and challenging world?

DM: Through my research I am trying to understand how poverty and related factors like violence affect children’s development in the first five years of life. First and foremost, I hope that my work draws attention to the challenges and opportunities facing young children around the world. As my research and that of so many others shows, poverty, violence, marginalization, and other forms of adversity can have profound and lasting impacts on children’s development, learning, and well-being. Yes, young children are amazingly resilient, but they shouldn’t have to be. I hope that my work can contribute to the ongoing, systems-level solutions that we need to address these deeply ingrained social issues.

I also hope that my research into interventions for children facing adversity can provide guidance for promoting positive development. I hope governments, practitioners, and other stakeholders can use my findings to make smarter decisions about how to support children and families in the immediate future.

“I am particularly curious about how culture shapes children’s development in our modern world.”

ABB: What are the biggest unanswered questions in developmental psychology?

DM: The longer I study and work with children, the more questions I have! Right now, I am particularly curious about how culture shapes children’s development in our modern world.  What are the key skills that children need in order to be successful in life, and are these skills the same or different around the world? Is the answer to this question shifting as globalization and technology make our societies more similar? How do we retain culturally specific priorities for children’s development while also preparing children for the modern economy? At present, there is fierce disagreement about the answers to these questions.

ABB: What are your hopes for the future of research and policy?

DM: I would love to see more interventions that target holistic outcomes. Right now, many programs seek to promote young children’s health or “school readiness,” and far fewer consider children’s broader well-being. But capacities like curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, self-regulation, and perspective-taking are all foundational to lifelong well-being across a number of domains. These can be improved through environmental supports. I’d love to see more interventions and policies that prioritize promoting these skills during early childhood.

I also hope that we will become even more collaborative in research and in delivering interventions that support children facing adversity. No one individual, group, or discipline will solve all of the world’s ills. Big problems require big solutions, and big solutions require big teams.