Naomi Wentworth
Education
Post-doc University of Denver
PhD University of Connecticut
MA Assumption College
Research Interests
Perceptual-Cognitive development in infants; Developmental Disabilities; Acquisition of perception-action skill across the lifespan; Development of expectations and future orientation; Curiosity motivation; Brain-behavior correspondences across the lifespan; Psychological scaling; Program evaluation and institutional research
Research Experience
Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Visiting Associate Professor
Project: Early behavioral markers of psychiatric illness
School of Kinesiology, University of Illinois at Chicago Research Consultant
Adjunct Research Assistant Professor
Project: Motor skill acquisition of infants with Down Syndrome
Institute for the Study of Developmental Disabilities, University of Illinois at Chicago
Adjunct Research Assistant Professor
Project: Brain-wave and behavioral correspondences of visual anticipation across the lifespan
University of Denver, Department of Psychology NIMH Postdoctoral Research Fellow,
Visiting Research Professor
Project: Development of visual anticipation in infants
University of Connecticut, Predoctoral Fellowship Recipient
Project: Development of curiosity in children
Ault & Gittins Associates Research Associate
Project: Program evaluation of social service programs for United Way of Central Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health
Selected Publications
Wentworth, N. (2008). Learning and cognition: Future orientation. Encyclopedia of Infant and Early Childhood Development. Elsevier Press.
Wentworth, N., Haith, M. M., & Hood, R. (2002). Spatiotemporal regularity and inter-event contingencies as information for infants’ visual expectations. Infancy, 3, 303–321.
Wentworth, N., Haith, M. M., & Karrer, R. (2001). Behavioral and cortical measures of infants’ visual expectations. Infancy, 2, 175–195.
Wentworth, N., Benson, J. B., & Haith, M. M. (2000). The development of infants’ reaches for stationary and moving targets. Child Development, 71, 576–601.
Wentworth, N., & Haith, M. M. (1998). Infants’ acquisition of spatiotemporal expectations. Developmental Psychology, 34, 247–257.
Wentworth, N., & Haith, M. M. (1992). Event-specific expectations of 2- and 3- month-old infants. Developmental Psychology, 28, 842–850.
Wentworth, N., & Witryol, S. L. (1990). Information theory and collative motivation: Incentive value of uncertainty, variety, and novelty for children. Genetic, Social and General Psychology Monographs, 116, 299–322.
Wentworth, N., & Witryol, S. L. (1986). What’s new? Three dimensions for defining novelty. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 147, 209–218.
Chapters
Wentworth, N. (2020). Future orientation and prospective memory. In J. B. Benson (Ed.), Encyclopedia of infant and early childhood development, 2nd edition. Vol. 1, Elsevier, pp. 655–669.
Wentworth, N. (2010). Future orientation. In J. B. Benson & M. M. Haith (Eds.), Language, memory, and cognition in infancy and early childhood. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Wentworth, N., & Witryol, S. L. (2003). Curiosity, exploration, and novelty-seeking. In M. H. Bornstein, L. Davidson, C. L. M. Keyes, K. A. Moore, & The Center for Child Well-being (Eds.), Well-being: Positive development across the life course (pp. 281–294). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Haith, M. M., Wentworth, N., & Canfield, R. L. (1993). The formation of expectations in early infancy. In C. Rovee-Collier & L. P. Lipsitt (Eds.), Advances in infancy research (Vol. 8, pp. 251–297). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Presentations and Published Abstracts
Wentworth, N. (2004, May) . From reaction to anticipation: Event structure as an organizing influence on infants’ eye movements. Presented at the meeting of the International Conference on Infant Studies, Chicago, IL.
Wentworth, N. (1999, April). Infants’ expectations: More rules that babies look by. Presented at the meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Albuquerque, NM.
Wentworth, N., Haith, M. M. & Karrer, R. (1998, April). Behavioral and cortical measures of infants’ visual expectations. Presented at the meeting of the International Conference on Infant Studies, Atlanta, GA.
Wentworth, N, & Roberts, R. J. (1998, April). Electrophysiological correlates of eye movements in the anti-saccade task. Presented at the meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, San Francisco, CA.
Wentworth, N. (1995, March). Motor skill acquisition of infants with Down Syndrome. Presented at Gatlinburg Conference on Research and Theory in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, Gatlinburg, TN.
Wentworth, N. & Hood, R. (1995, March). Spatiotemporal pattern and interevent contingencies as information for infants’ expectations. Presented at the meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Indianapolis, IN.
Wentworth, N. & Hood, R. (1991, April). The effect of stimulus duration on young infants’ visual expectations. Presented at the meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Seattle, WA.
Wentworth, N., Benson, J. B., & Haith, M. M. (1989, April). The development of reaching for stationary and moving targets. Presented at the meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Kansas City, MO.
Wentworth, N. (1988, April). Infants’ expectations: What, where, when. Presented at the meeting of the International Conference on Infant Studies, Washington, DC.
Wentworth, N. (1988, March). Reaction and anticipation: Looking and reaching for dynamic events. Presented at the meeting of the Southwestern Society for Research in Human Development, New Orleans, LA.
Wentworth, N., & Haith, M. M. (1987, April). Reaction and anticipation in infants’ tracking of visual movement. Presented at the meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Baltimore, MD.
Professional Affiliations
American Psychological Association
Association for Psychological Science
Society for Research in Child Development
International Society for Infant Studies
Psychonomic Society
International Society for Ecological Psychology
Sigma Xi
Grant Activity
“Eye movement deficits in infancy: An early behavioral marker for genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia?” P.I. on component of NIMH Program Project, Perinatal Vulnerability to Psychosis. 02/03–03/05. Funded.
“Development of sensorimotor expectations in infants.” Co-P.I. on NICHD Research Award to Marshall M. Haith, 5-R01 HD20026-13. 01/95–03/02. Funded.
“Visual expectancy in infancy.” Research Associate on NICHD RO-1 Research Award to Marshall M. Haith. 04/89–12/94. Funded.
“Development of visual anticipation in human infants.” NIMH NRSA Postdoctoral Fellowship, #MH09298. Individual research fellow. 10/85–12/88. Funded.
Honors and Awards
William Dunn Award
NIMH Postdoctoral Fellowship
University of Connecticut
Research Foundation Grant
University of Connecticut Dissertation Fellowship
University of Connecticut Predoctoral Fellowship