Dr Zsofia Garai-Takacs
Lecturer in Applied Psychology
Address
- Street
-
Elsie Inglis Quad
Teviot Place - City
- Edinburgh
- Post code
- EH8 9AG
Background
I conducted my postgraduate studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands. I completed a Research Master’s program in Educational Sciences: Normal and Deviant Patterns of Attachment and Self-regulated Learning and a PhD in Developmental Psychopathology from a Cultural and Educational Perspective.
My doctoral research focused on the effects of digital and traditional storybook reading on pre-schoolers’ language development. Between 2015 and 2021 I worked as an Assistant Professor at ELTE Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary, and as the Head of the Cognitive Development and Education Research Group.
Qualifications
PhD in Developmental Psychopathology from a Cultural and Educational Perspective (Leiden University)
(Research) MSc in Educational Sciences: Normal and Deviant Patterns of Attachment and Self-regulated Learning (Leiden University)
BA in Communication and Media Studies (ELTE Eötvös Loránd University)
Responsibilities & affiliations
Lecturer in Applied Psychology
Member - Ethics & Integrity Committee
Member - Centre for Applied Developmental Psychology (CADP)
Course Organiser - Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Disorders
Course Organiser – Conceptual & Theoretical Psychology
Course Organiser - Empirical Dissertation
Postgraduate teaching
MSc Psychology of Mental Health (Conversion)
- Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Disorders
- Conceptual & Theoretical Psychology
- Empirical Dissertation
Open to PhD supervision enquiries?
Yes
Research summary
My research focuses on well-being and development during childhood including language, vocabulary and comprehension skills in addition to self-regulatory and executive function skills and interventions to foster those. I am specifically interested in how preschool and elementary school education can foster these skills thus I primarily conduct applied research investigating the efficacy of different interventions in order to advise evidence-based decision-making in education and the clinical practice. Additionally, I am interested in the role of stress in cognitive functioning and in relation to major transitions like school entry. As far as methodology goes, I am primarily interested in experimental designs and meta-analyses.
Current research interests
Based on our previous results, I currently focus on mindfulness.Past research interests
Multimedia and interactive storybooksResearch activities
Project activity
-Mindfulness-based interventions in (pre-)school
-Neurofeedback-enhanced mindfulness practice
-Moderators of intervention efficacy and the role of child temperament
-Mindfulness and learning
-Behavior problems in childhood
-Development of executive function skills in infant cerebral palsy
-The role of play in the development of executive function skills
-Causal relations between executive function skills and academic achievement
Past project grants
POSTDOCTORAL EXCELLENCE PROGRAM - 2016-2019
Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office (Hungary)
Can preschoolers meditate? Fostering young children’s sustained attention and executive function skills with the help of mindfulness meditation (grant number PD121297)
NEW NATIONAL EXCELLENCE PROGRAM - 2017
Ministry of Human Capacities (Hungary)
Mindfulness meditation and children’s stress and anxiety (grant number ÚNKP-17-4-I-ELTE-125)
-
Short mindfulness‐based relaxation training has no effects on executive functions but may reduce baseline cortisol levels of boys in first grade: A pilot study
In:
Children, vol. 9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/children9020203
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Mindfulness practice with a brain‐sensing device improved cognitive functioning of elementary school children: An exploratory pilot study
In:
Brain Sciences, vol. 12
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12010103
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Benefits of a mindfulness-based intervention upon school entry: A pilot study
(18 pages)
In:
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 18
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182312630
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Parents' views on play and the goal of early childhood education in relation to children's home activity and executive functions: A cross-cultural investigation
(18 pages)
In:
Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 12
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.646074
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
The effects of a mindfulness-based intervention for first-graders’ executive function skills
Research output: Contribution to Conference › Poster (Published) -
Can mindfulness reduce the gap in executive function skills of preschoolers? A randomized controlled trial
Research output: Contribution to Conference › Poster (Published) -
Feasibility and effects of a neurofeedback-assisted mindfulness meditation pogram for children
Research output: Contribution to Conference › Poster (Published) -
Nurturing children’s executive function skills: A meta-analysis on the efficacy of mindfulness compared to other interventions
Research output: Contribution to Conference › Poster (Published) -
The effect of mindfulness-based interventions on inattentive and hyperactive–impulsive behavior in childhood: A meta-analysis
(13 pages)
In:
International Journal of Behavioral Development, vol. 45, pp. 133-145
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025420958192
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Work addiction and personality: A meta-analytic study
(22 pages)
In:
Journal of Behavioral Addictions, vol. 9, pp. 945-966
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2020.00097
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Meditation interventions efficiently reduce cortisol levels of at-risk samples: A meta-analysis
(29 pages)
In:
Health Psychology Review, vol. 15, pp. 56-84
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2020.1760727
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Rumination in major depressive and bipolar disorder – a meta-analysis
(11 pages)
In:
Journal of affective disorders, vol. 276, pp. 1131-1141
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.07.131
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article (Published) -
Parents’ beliefs about play and the purpose of preschool education, preschoolers’ home activity and executive functions
(11 pages)
In:
Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 11
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01104
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
The relationship between parental play beliefs, preschoolers’ home experience, and executive functions: An exploratory study in Ethiopia
(13 pages)
In:
Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 11
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00624
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
What are we downloading for our children? Best-selling children’s apps in four European countries
(18 pages)
In:
Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, vol. 19, pp. 515-532
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798417744057
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
The promise of multimedia enhancement in children’s digital storybooks
(13 pages)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20077-0_4
Research output: › Chapter (peer-reviewed) (E-pub ahead of print) -
The efficacy of different interventions to foster children's executive function skills: A series of meta-analyses
(45 pages)
In:
Psychological Bulletin, vol. 145, pp. 653-697
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000195
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
The effects of a short mindfulness intervention on executive functions and salivary cortisol levels upon school
Research output: Contribution to Conference › Poster (Published) -
A randomized controlled trial to test efficacy of digital enhancements of storybooks in support of narrative comprehension and word learning
(15 pages)
In:
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, vol. 179, pp. 212-226
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2018.11.006
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence on the near- and far-transfer effects among children's executive function skills
(24 pages)
In:
Psychological Bulletin, vol. 145, pp. 165-188
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000180
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Invited speaker
INVITED KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:
Takacs, Z. K. (2020). 21st century children’s storybooks: the effects of multimedia and interactive features in digital storybooks.
EARLI SIG Comprehension of Text and Graphics