Peer Treatment across the Transition to Kindergarten: A Test of Biological Sensitivity to Context Theory (PEERS2K)

The PEERS2K Project is a study looking at the transition from preschool to kindergarten, school readiness, and children’s social development. More specifically, the project examines how early experiences and peer relationships affect school readiness as measured by academic and socioemotional variables. Physiological influences on these relations are also examined (e.g., heart rate, breathing rate, skin conductance) in order to see if some children may be more biologically reactive to their environment (i.e., more sensitive to things happening in their peer context) and thus more heavily influenced by either positive or negative peer experiences.

PEERS2K is funded by the National Science Foundation (BCS-1939393) and the formal abstract can be found here.

For more information, please see the PEERS2K press release!

For the psychophysiology portion of the project, parents and children will come into our lab, and children will watch some videos! Please find directions to our lab here.

How To Participate

Do you have a child who is currently enrolled in preschool and is planning on attending kindergarten next year?

Do you live in Erie or Niagara County? You and your child may be eligible to participate in the PEERS2K Project!

Learn more about participating in the PEERS2K Project through our flyer or contact our staff at devlab@buffalo.edu or (716) 645-0213

We look forward to working with you and your family!