Andrew E. Koepp

I am an applied developmental psychologist studying how young children learn to manage their attention and behavior in the classroom.

*I am recruiting PhD students in the Developmental program at NYU to start in Fall 2026.*

Research Statement

At every level of schooling, we ask students to flexibly modulate their attention and behavior to engage in lessons and learn. Despite the importance of executive functions and self-regulation for learning, the field knows surprisingly little about why a given child sometimes struggles to apply them and at other times succeeds. Though individual differences are well-understood, within-child differences are not. The gap is notable given that many of the challenges facing teachers require within-person solutions—how do I help the child in front of me sustain attention and inhibit impulses so they can engage in this lesson?

My primary area of research investigates within-child dynamics of behavior and learning. My goal is to understand how parents and educators can create the conditions for children to best apply their self-regulation to support learning. Together with classroom observations and ecological momentary assessment, I use intensive behavioral data from wearable devices to “zoom in” on children’s everyday experiences in these within-child studies. I also conduct longitudinal analyses of secondary datasets from the US and Brazil to “zoom out” on development and investigate contextual influences on children’s development more broadly. The goal of my research is to create practical knowledge to support children’s development and learning.

Bio

I am an assistant professor at New York University (Department of Applied Psychology). I hold degrees in Human Development from Vanderbilt University (B.S.), Harvard University (Ed.M.), and the University of Texas at Austin (Ph.D.) and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania. Outside of work, I enjoy playing music and being outdoors.