Vanessa L. Castro
Curriculum Vitae
Department of Psychology
Northeastern University
Boston, MA 02115
Email: v.castro@neu.edu
EDUCATION:
2015 Ph.D., Lifespan Developmental Psychology
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Dissertation: Children’s Emotion Understanding is Multidimensional and Contextual
Advisor: Amy Halberstadt, Ph.D.
2011
M.A., Experimental Psychology
University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, MA
Thesis: The Percepts Underlying the Perception of Emotion: The Role of Experience and
Sensitivity to Spatiotemporal Forms.
Advisor: R. Thomas Boone, Ph.D.
2009
B.S., Psychology, summa cum laude
Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Honors Thesis: Perceiving Emotions in Dance: An Analysis of the Differences in Nonverbal
Accuracy between Dancers and Non-Dancers
Advisor: Judith Hall, Ph.D.
EMPLOYMENT:
2015-present Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychology, Northeastern University
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
 Developmental processes underlying emotion understanding abilities (e.g., emotion
recognition/perception and emotion knowledge) across the lifespan
 Socioemotional and psychological correlates of emotion understanding across the lifespan
 Emotion socialization within familial and cultural contexts
GRANTS:
NIA 1F32AG048687-01A1 (PI): Everyday socioemotional perception in the context of aging.
($157,290). 2015-2018.
NICHD T32-HD07376 (Fellow; Andrea Hussong, PI): Carolina consortium on human development.
($32,988). 2014-2015.
ACADEMIC HONORS AND AWARDS:
North Carolina State University
John Oliver Cook Award (competitive dissertation award)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Center for Developmental Science Predoctoral Fellow
North Carolina State University
2015
2014-2015
Castro
University Graduate Student Fellowship (competitive recruitment award)
University of Massachusetts
Office of Faculty Development Graduate Student Research Award
Best Individual or Group- Empirical Research, Psi Chi
Northeastern University
Dr. Leve Award, Outstanding Senior Leadership
Outstanding Student Research Award
Provost Undergraduate Research Grant
Dean’s Scholar
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2011-2012
2011
2010
2009
2009
2008
2004-2009
PUBLICATIONS:
Castro, V. L., Halberstadt, A. G., & Garrett-Peters, P. (in press). A three-factor structure of emotion
understanding in third-grade children. Social Development.
Camras, L. A., Castro, V. L., Halberstadt, A. G., & Shuster, M. M. (in press). Facial expressions in
children are rarely prototypical. Invited chapter to appear in J. A. Russell & J. M. Fernandez-Dols
(Eds.) The psychology of facial expressions (2nd ed). NY: Cambridge University Press.
Castro, V. L., Cheng, Y., Halberstadt, A. G., & Grühn, D. (2015). EUReKA! A conceptual model of
emotion understanding. Emotion Review. Advance online publication.
doi:10.1177/1754073915580601
Castro, V. L., & Boone, R. T. (2015). Sensitivity to spatiotemporal percepts predicts the perception of
emotion. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 39, 215-240. doi:10.1007/s10919-015-0208-6
Castro, V. L., Halberstadt, A. G., Lozada, F. T., & Craig, A. B. (2015). Parents’ emotion-related
beliefs, behaviours, and skills predict children’s recognition of emotion. Infant and Child
Development, 24, 1-22. doi:10.1002/icd.1868
Halberstadt, A. G., Parker, A. E., & Castro, V. L. (2013). Nonverbal communication: Developmental
perspectives (pp. 93-127). In J. A. Hall & M. L. Knapp (Eds.) Handbook of communication
science (Vol. 2). Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter Mouton.
MANUSCRIPTS SUBMITTED:
Garrett-Peters, P., Castro, V. L., & Halberstadt, A. G. (Under review). Parents’ beliefs about children’s
emotions, children’s emotion knowledge, and classroom adjustment in middle childhood.
Submitted to Social Development.
Rogers, M., Halberstadt, A. G., Castro, V. L., MacCormack, J. K., & Garrett-Peters, P. (Invited revise
and resubmit). Mothers’ emotion regulation skills and beliefs about children’s emotions predict
children’s emotion regulation skills. Submitted to Emotion.
MANUSCRIPTS IN PREPARATION:
MacCormack, J. K., Castro, V. L., Halberstadt, A. G., & Garrett-Peters, P. (2015). Maternal
interoception as a way of knowing about emotion. In preparation for submission to Child
Development.
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Castro, V. L., Cooke, A., Halberstadt, A. G., Garrett-Peters, P., & von Salisch, M. (2015). Exploring
the bidirectional links between children’s emotion recognition and problem behaviors in first and
third grade. In preparation for submission to Developmental Psychology.
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS:
Castro, V. L. (2015, March). Is parents’ supportiveness always a good thing? The dynamic value of
parents’ emotion socialization across childhood (role: Chair). Symposium presented at the
Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Castro, V. L., Halberstadt, A. G., & Garrett-Peters, P. (2015, March). Changing tides: Mothers’
supportive emotion socialization relates negatively to children’s social success in school.
Symposium poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial
Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Castro, V. L., Halberstadt, A. G., & Garrett-Peters, P. (2015, March). A three-factor structure of
emotion understanding in middle childhood: Validity with mother-reported socioemotional
competence. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial
Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Garrett-Peters, P., Castro, V. L., & Halberstadt, A. G. (2015, March). Parents’ emotion-related beliefs
and children’s emotion knowledge and social competence in school. Poster presented at the
Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Rogers, M. L., MacCormack, J. K., Halberstadt, A. G., & Castro, V. L. (2014, April). Mothers’
maladaptive emotion regulation serves as a mediator between maternal emotion beliefs and
children’s socioemotional outcomes. Poster presented at the Society for Affective Science
Inaugural Conference, Washington DC.
Rogers, M. L., MacCormack, J. K., Castro, V. L., & Halberstadt, A. G. (2014, February). Mothers’
maladaptive emotion regulation strategies: A mediator between maternal emotion beliefs &
children’s socioemotional outcomes. Poster presented at the Emotion Preconference to the
Society for Personality and Social Psychology Meeting, Austin, TX.
Castro, V. L., Cheng, Y., Halberstadt, A. G., & Grühn, D. (2013, August). A conceptual model of
emotion understanding: Measurement and developmental implications. Paper presented at the
International Society for Research on Emotion Biannual Meeting, Berkeley, CA.
Castro, V. L., Halberstadt, A. G., Lozada, F. T., & Craig, A. B. (2013, April). Parents’ emotion-related
beliefs, behaviors, and skills relate to children’s understanding of emotion in the family. Poster
presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Seattle, WA.
Halberstadt, A. G., MacCormack, J. K., Castro, V. L., & Shull, R. S. (2013, April). Mothers’ emotion
complexity supports children’s socio-emotional competence. Poster presented at the Society for
Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Seattle, WA.
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Cunningham, J. G., Castro, V. L., & Boone, R. T. (2012, May). Rhythm predicts perception of
nonverbal emotion. Poster presented at the Association for Psychological Science Annual
Convention, Chicago, IL.
Castro, V. L., & Boone, R. T. (2012, January). The precepts underlying the perception of emotion: The
role of sensitivity to spatiotemporal forms. Poster presented at the Society for Personality and
Social Psychology Meeting, San Diego, CA.
Castro, V. L., & Boone, R. T. (2011, March). Children's rhythmic ability and its relationship to age and
emotion receiving skills for expressive body movement. Symposium paper presented at the
Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Montreal, Canada.
Castro, V. L., Borland, A. M., Lester, J., Powell, K., Reily, B., Monteiro, K., Silva, N., Duro, J., &
Locke, R. (2010, May). Receptive language as a predictor of externalizing behavior problems in
4 year-old children. Poster presented at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Annual Psi
Chi Research Conference, Dartmouth, MA.
Castro, V. L., & Hall, J. A. (2009, March). Perceiving emotions in dance: An analysis of the differences
in nonverbal accuracy between dancers and non-dancers. Poster presented at the Northeastern
University Research and Scholarship Expo, Boston, MA.
MENTORED UNDERGRADUATE PRESENTATIONS:
Abrams, A. M., Castro, V. L., & Halberstadt, A. G. (2014, November). “Everything will be okay,
Billy!”: Emotions in American children’s books. Poster presented at the Annual Biomedical
Research Conference for Minority Students, San Antonio, TX.
Leon, E. D., Johnson, K. M., Castro, V. L., & Halberstadt, A. G. (2014, July). "Let's agree to disagree."
Comparing mothers' emotion responses to conflict discussion strategies. Poster presented at the
North Carolina State University Summer Research Symposium, Raleigh, NC.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE:
NORTHEASTERN UNVERSITY, Boston, MA
Postdoctoral Fellow, Lifespan Emotional Development Lab
(August 2015-present)
 Design and conduct aging studies on socioemotional perception
 Analyze and interpret data on self-reported emotion regulation and aging
 Oversee training and management of undergraduate research assistants
 Assist in manuscript writing and submission
Postdoctoral Fellow, Social Interaction Lab
(August 2015-present)
 Gain psychometric training and expertise, under the guidance of Dr. Judith Hall
 Design and evaluate socioemotional perception stimuli for use in laboratory tasks
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY, Raleigh, NC
Graduate Research Assistant, Family, Affect, Beliefs, & Behaviors Lab
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(August 2011-May 2015)
 Prepared and submitted manuscripts by completing a variety of tasks, including generating
coding schemes and ideas for conceptual models, data cleaning, data analysis, and
independent writing.
 Participated in grant writing and submission.
 Developed and trained undergraduate students in the coding and scoring of children’s
emotion understanding measures, including the Test of Emotion Comprehension and the
Increasingly Clear Emotions task.
Graduate Lab Manager, Family, Affect, Beliefs, & Behaviors Lab
(August 2012-May 2013)
 Trained, managed, and supervised 19 undergraduate research assistants.
 Organized lab protocol and lead weekly lab meetings.
 Led team of 7 students coding emotional expression of dyadic partners.
 Supervised all lab materials, including manuals and codebooks, data storage in Google Drive
and Dropbox, research folders, disks, and digital files, as well as confidential participant
information.
 Supervised shared writing of method for the Children’s Understanding of Emotions in
Dyadic Interactions grant; a study examining the parental socialization of children’s emotion
understanding and children’s socioemotional competence.
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS, Dartmouth, MA
Graduate Research Assistant, Child Emotion Center
(September 2009-May 2011)
 Trained, managed, and supervised undergraduate and graduate research assistants.
 Organized lab protocol and scheduled experimental sessions.
 Served as Experimenter in the Emotion Understanding Protocol and Emotion Expression
Protocol.
BRIGHAM AND WOMEN’S HOSPITAL, Boston, MA
Research Assistant, Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School
(June 2008- August 2009)
 Cleaned and analyzed data for several clinical experiments.
 Organized data into tables and graphs to be presented during project meetings.
 Aided in IRB submissions.
 Developed skills in using EEG, EKG, and cognitive test batteries.
NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY, Boston, MA
Research Assistant, Social Interaction Lab
(September 2006- April 2009)
 Conducted various experiments on nonverbal communication.
 Coded over 50 journal articles for a meta-analysis.
 Aided in the journal publication of research data.
 Developed skills in behavioral coding.
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PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
International Society for Research on Emotion, 2013-present
Society for Personality and Social Psychology, 2011-2012
American Psychological Association, 2011-2012
Society for Research in Child Development, 2010-2012
REVIEWING
Ad Hoc Reviewer:
Cognition and Emotion
Infant and Child Development
Journal of Child and Family Studies
Journal of Individual Differences
Journal of Nonverbal Behavior
Parenting: Science and Practice
Psychological Reports
Social Development
TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY, Raleigh, NC
Instructor, Child Psychology, Psychology Department
(Spring 2014)
 Designed and implemented course curriculum, including exams, classroom activities, chapter
projects, and other assignments.
 Supported students’ acquisition of child psychology theory and research methodologies
across biological, cognitive, and social domains.
 Examined both classic works and recent findings within the field of child psychology to
college audience.
 Encouraged critical thinking skills and applications of child psychology to real-world
questions and problems.
Instructor, Developmental Psychology, Psychology Department
(Spring and Summer 2012; Fall 2013)
 Designed and implemented course curriculum, including exams, classroom activities, and
other assignments.
 Supported students’ acquisition of developmental science theory and research methodologies
across biological, cognitive, and social domains and throughout the lifespan.
 Examined both classic works and recent findings within the field of developmental science to
college audience.
 Encouraged analytical skills and real-life application of developmental science across the
lifespan.
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Independent Study in Research, Psychology Department
(Fall 2012, Spring 2013)
 Managed social development research laboratory consisting of 19 undergraduate students and
5 graduate students.
 Organized agenda and led weekly laboratory meetings.
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Assigned student responsibilities and tracked their productivity.
Acted as a liaison between undergraduate and senior members of the laboratory.
Assisted in the grading of course assignments, including readings and papers.
Implemented organizational tools for the research protocol, including usage and checkout
procedures for laboratory equipment and study materials.
Oversaw an independent coding team consisting of 9 students.
Mentored undergraduate students by reviewing graduate school application statements and
resumes, and assisting students with conference submissions.
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Psychology of Emotion, Psychology Department
(Fall 2011)
 Assisted in creation and implementation of quizzes, exams, classroom activities, and other
assignments.
 Responsible for all grading and oversight of the online companion website.
 Met with students and resolved issues students had with course material.
OTHER QUALIFICATIONS:
Languages: English and Portuguese (bilingual)
Software: Statistical- SAS, SPSS/AMOS, R, MPlus; Website- DreamWeaver; Office- Microsoft Office
Statistical methods: Regressions (Linear and Logistic), Latent Variable Modeling, Path Analysis,
Structural Equation Modeling, Multi-level Modeling Multivariate Analyses, Signal Detection Theory
Behavioral methods: Facial Action Coding System (FACS)
REFERENCES:
Dr. Amy G. Halberstadt
Email: Amy_halberstadt@ncsu.edu (preferred method of contact)
Phone: (919) 810 8102
Dr. Lynne Baker-Ward
Email: lbward@ncsu.edu
Phone: (919) 515-1731
Dr. Thomas Hess
Email: tmhess@ncsu.edu
Phone: (919) 515-1729