Babies are exceptional learners, possibly because they use surprise to guide attention and learning. My research shows that infants learn more after surprising physical or social events. Adults show a Goldilocks effect—optimal learning from moderate surprise. Understanding surprise-based learning in babies may help improve future artificial intelligence systems.

This research investigates why people struggle with interpersonal problem-solving, especially in the context of psychological disorders. Using surveys and the MEPS task with 160 participants, the study found that emotion-regulation difficulties and experiential avoidance explain 46% of poor problem-solving. Improving emotional acceptance may significantly enhance responses to interpersonal conflict.