Bin-Bin Chen was awarded the Early Career Award from the Asian Caucus during the SRCD 2023 Biennial Meeting. This award recognizes a scholar who is less than 10 years post PhD or equivalent degree and who has made important contributions to research on Asian/Asian American families and children.
Why did you decide to choose Developmental Science as a course of study or career?
There are many big child development-relevant issues in China. For example, the population policy (such as the change from one-child policy to two-child policy) has significant ramifications for children’s development in China. It provides “natural experiment” contexts in which policy change will have a direct impact on family and child functioning by examining families undergoing the transition from one child to two. For another example, the internal migration provides the opportunity to examine rural children’s ability to adapt to the city. These nation-level phenomena and potential practical implications motivate me to choose Developmental Science as a course of career.
Who or what inspires you and why (and/or who/what inspired you to go into your chosen field of study)?
I myself am a very shy person, especially in my childhood. So, I am curious about why some people are shy, but others are not. I listened to a lecture about shyness in cultural contexts by Prof. Xinyin Chen who is currently a Professor at the University of Pennsylvania when he visited Shanghai. The research findings were very consistent with my own experience. This research motivated me to do research on children’s socioemotional development.
What advice would you give to a Graduate student beginning their Ph.D. studies in Developmental Science or related?
Think of an interesting and feasible research question. That is to say, you have to like doing this study very much and are devoted to putting time into the process.
What is your Best SRCD memory?
SRCD places great emphasis on the development of young scholars. When I was a graduate student, I received a travel award which made me attend the SRCD meeting in Montreal, Canada. This was the first time to attend this meeting. I met and discussed with many scholars on site, but before the meeting I only "met" them in their papers.
Why did you join the Asian Caucus and how does it facilitate connection among members all year long?
The Asian Caucus is a family for scholars who are interested in developmental research relevant to Asian people. I have many long-term research collaborators who I first know in this caucus meeting.