Research
Advancing Adolescent Research
USC CANDLE advances transdisciplinary research in adolescent development, producing innovative studies that inform educational practices and policies. Our research clusters, longitudinal studies, and collaborative projects seek to uncover the intricate processes through which students and teachers build meaning and resilience.
Research Clusters
Through work in the following clusters, our research team seeks to produce and disseminate groundbreaking original research that leads to insights about learning and education through a new transdisciplinary science rooted in neuroscience and affective development.
Cluster 1
Adolescents’ Development of Transcendent Thinking
Projects in this cluster focus on how young people grow to make sense of their worlds, and in particular the neurobiological and psychophysiological foundations.
Cluster 2
Social, Emotional and Cultural Processes of Teaching and Learning
Projects in this cluster focus on how teaching and learning are driven by the complex ways people interact, shaped by biological predispositions and lived sociocultural experiences.
Cluster 3
Advancing Developmentally Focused Secondary Education
Projects in this cluster focus on characterizing how teachers’ pedagogies, mindsets, beliefs, and instructional design support adolescents’ deeper learning and social-emotional development.
Cluster 4
Theoretical and Methodological Innovations in Adolescent Development Research
Projects in this cluster focus on advancing transdisciplinary frameworks and cutting-edge research methods to investigate adolescent development. Current work includes new ways to model neural networks and to leverage generative AI in qualitative analysis of transcendent thinking.
Spotlight in Research
New Study Reveals That Witnessing Violence Harms the Brains of Older Teens—but ‘Transcendent Thinking’ May Be an Antidote
Transcendent thinking can help teens counteract the negative effects of community violence on their brain development. These findings highlight the transformative power of adolescents’ patterns of thinking in building resilience and promoting healthy development, even in the face of trauma.
112 Results
Network-Level Associations in Nonlinear Brain Dynamics Predict Transcendent Thinking in a Diverse Adolescent Sample
- Publication
- bioRxiv (preprint)
- Details
- 2026; DOI: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.04.05.716550
- Authors
- Ghaderi, A. H., Yang, X.-F., & Immordino-Yang, M. H.
Computational Models of Moral Perception, Conflict & Elevation.
- Publication
- Proceedings of the International Association for Computing and Philosophy
- Details
- 2014
- Authors
- Dehghani, M., Immordino‑Yang, M.H., Graham, J., Marsella, S., Forbus, K., Ginges, J., Tambe, M. & Maheswaran, R.
Introduction & Chapter 3: Compensation after losing half of the brain.
- Publication
- Critical issues in brain science and pedagogy
- Details
- 2007; (pp. 3–4, 45–54); San Francisco: McGraw Hill; In A. Nava (Ed.)
- Authors
- Immordino‑Yang, M.H.
Response to, To teach grit or not to teach grit: That is the question.
- Publication
- Education Week Teacher (Invited blog post)
- Details
- 2015, Oct. 10
- Authors
- Immordino‑Yang, M.H.
Rest is not idleness in the brain: Why kids may need downtime and opportunities for reflection to develop a strong sense of self and a moral compass.
- Publication
- The People's Science: Creating a conversation between scientists and the public
- Details
- 2015, March 21
- Authors
- Immordino‑Yang, M.H.
Civic Reasoning Depends on Transcendent Thinking: Implications of Adolescent Brain Development for SEL.
- Publication
- Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy
- Details
- 2024; Volume 4
- Authors
- Immordino‑Yang, M.H. & Kundrak, C.
Concrete and abstract dimensions of diverse adolescents’ social‑emotional meaning‑making, and associations with broader functioning.
- Publication
- Journal of Adolescent Research
- Details
- 2024; Volume 39(5)
- Authors
- Gotlieb, R.J.M., Yang, X.-F. & Immordino‑Yang, M.H.
Transcendent thinking counteracts longitudinal effects of mid‑adolescent exposure to community violence in the anterior cingulate cortex.
- Publication
- Journal of Research on Adolescence
- Details
- 2024
- Authors
- Yang, XF, Hillard, K., Gotlieb, R., & Immordino‑Yang, M.H.
Diverse adolescents’ transcendent thinking predicts young adult psychosocial outcomes via brain network development.
- Publication
- Scientific Reports
- Details
- 2024; Volume 14, Article 6254
- Authors
- Gotlieb, R.J.M., Yang, XF. & Immordino‑Yang, M.H.
Sages and Seekers: The development of diverse adolescents’ transcendent thinking and purpose through an intergenerational storytelling program.
- Publication
- The Journal of Positive Psychology
- Details
- 2023
- Authors
- Riveros, R., Yang, X.-F., Gonzalez Anaya, M.J., & Immordino‑Yang, M.H.