Research Symposium

BIO

Madalynn Stackow is a first-year student at Florida State University majoring in Psychology with a minor in Child Development, completing her degree on an accelerated timeline through FSU’s Degree in Three program.
She began her undergraduate research experience through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), where she worked under the mentorship of Dr. Phillips and Ms. Lexi Elara. This experience introduced her to the research process and helped shape her developing academic interests.
Madalynn currently serves as an undergraduate research assistant in the Laboratory for the Study and Prevention of Suicide-Related Conditions and Behaviors under the mentorship of Dr. Thomas Joiner. Her research interests focus on clinical psychology, particularly the understanding and prevention of suicide and other mental health challenges.
In addition to her research involvement, Madalynn is a member of Florida State University’s Global Scholars Program (2026 Cohort), where she explores global perspectives on psychological research and mental health.
She plans to continue engaging in clinically oriented research throughout her undergraduate career and intends to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, with the long-term goal of becoming a clinical psychologist.

The Role of Text Features on Children’s Detection of Inconsistencies in Narrative Passages

Abstract

Young children are frequently exposed to stories and other narrative material, but it is unclear how consistently they retain and integrate this information as it is presented. To better understand the role of text features (macrostructure element, passage consistency level, inconsistency location) and how children make sense of the stories they hear, this study examines their ability to detect inconsistencies in text features while listening to short narrative passages. Kindergarten, first grade, and second grade children listened to three-sentence passages that were either consistent or contained an inconsistency in a key narrative element (setting, goal, or resolution). Students were then asked whether the story made sense and indicated their response nonverbally by raising a question mark sign and providing a verbal response. Preliminary results suggest there is not a significant difference across macrostructure elements. Future assessments will examine the role of consistency level, and inconsistency location on detection of inconsistencies.

Keywords: Psychology, Narrative Comprehension, Child Development, Text Features