Abigail Milhaven
Abigail Milhaven
Graduate Research Assistant
Social cognitive development, socio-emotional learning, playful learning, the performing arts, and education during childhood.
Abigail (Abbey) Milhaven is a second-year Psychology Ph.D. student in the Applied Developmental Program at George Mason University and is also in Dr. Thalia R. Goldstein’s PLAY Lab. Abbey graduated Summa Cum Laude with Honors in Psychology from Lafayette College in 2024 where she received a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Anthropology & Sociology. While at Lafayette College, Abbey was the Head Research Assistant of the Lafayette Kids Lab and worked on multiple research projects regarding grandparent/grandchild interactions during video chat sessions. Her research interests include social cognitive development, socio-emotional learning, playful learning, the performing arts, and education during childhood. Abbey is also interested in being involved in research both during and after graduate school to further advocate for and contribute to the equity, accessibility, and applicability of child development research.
Courses Taught
PSYC 300 Lab: Statistics in Psychology
PSYC 301 Lab: Research Methods in Psychology
Education
B.S., Lafayette College, 2024
Recent Presentations
Milhaven, A., Myers, L., Goldstein, T.R. (2025, May). Tool or Babysitter? Mobile Apps as Supplemental Social Emotional Learning Contexts at Home. Poster presentation at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development; Minneapolis, MN.
Milhaven, A., Colder, A., Goldstein, T.R. (2025, March). Childhood Theatre Experiences as Safe Educational Contexts for Emotion Expression. Poster presentation at the annual meeting of APA Division 10: Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts Conference in New Haven, CT.
Strouse, G., Myers, L., Sayed Ahmed, H., Velianski, T., Thomas, C., Stone, J., Shaw, K., Milhaven, A., Langlois, J., Katz, H., Daniels, L., Andrisoamampianina, N. (2024, July). Structured Activities Facilitate Grandparent and Grandchild Enjoyment of Triadic Videochat Interactions. Poster presentation at the annual meeting of the International Congress of Infant Studies; Glasgow, Scotland.
Milhaven, A. (2024, April). A Parenting Tool or an Inconvenience? How Mobile Apps Could Influence the Effectiveness of Social-Emotional Skills Taught at Home During Early Childhood. Poster presentation at the annual meeting of the National Conference of Undergraduate Research; Long Beach, CA.
Strouse, G., Myers, L., Sayed Ahmed, H., Velianski, T., Thomas, C., Stone, J., Shaw, K., Milhaven, A., Langlois, J., Katz, H., Daniels, L., Andrisoamampianina, N. (2024, March). Parents’ Perception of Video Chat Ease-of-Use Predicts Their and Their Child’s Enjoyment of Family Video Chats with a Grandparent. Poster presentation at the biennial meeting of the Cognitive Development Society; Pasadena, CA.
Piper, D., Neely, L., Zheng, W., Milhaven, A., Vasquez-Inzunza, L., Key, A., Ettinger, S., Badger, A., Myers, L., Strouse, G., Zosh, J., McClure, E., Troseth, G., & Barr, R. (2023, April). Let’s Take This Offline: Infant-Grandparent Play Interactions Supported By Video Chat During Separation. Poster presentation at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development; Salt Lake City, UT.