With the 2025 Flux Congress just around the corner, the Flux Trainee Committee is excited to spotlight some of your fellow attendees through our trainee research profiles. If you’re a trainee—whether a student, post-bacc, or postdoc—and would like to be featured, we invite you to fill out our interest form!
At Flux, we are committed to nurturing the next generation of researchers who are shaping the future of developmental cognitive neuroscience. In our new Trainee Spotlight series, we will highlight the achievements, aspirations, and contributions of outstanding trainees within our community. These young scientists are not only pushing the boundaries of research but also embodying the spirit of collaboration and innovation that drives our field forward.
Today, we are excited to introduce Dr. Linda Arrighi. Let's dive into their journey, insights, and what motivates them to make a lasting impact in developmental cognitive neuroscience.
Dr. Linda Arrighi
Career Development Fellow, Durham University, UK
What is the focus of your research?
My research aims to understand the underlying factors and developmental trajectories of observed cognitive sex/gender differences, primarily in spatial cognition. I am particularly interested in meta-cognitive aspects such as domain-specific anxieties and confidence.
What is your most interesting research finding or inquiry so far?
My first paper showed that cognitive sex/gender differences in mental rotation are mediated by spatial anxiety and self-confidence. This finding was further strengthened by the fact that, while I found overall sex/gender differences in mental rotation, when I compared males and females of similar spatial anxiety and self-confidence, the differences mostly disappeared. At Flux, I will present my developmental study investigating whether sex/gender differences in math anxiety in 8-11yos are mediated by mental rotation performance and spatial anxiety - a previous study showed a similar mediation model to be significant in adolescents (11-15yos). The preliminary findings suggest that sex/gender differences in these constructs, and hence the mediation model, might not yet be salient at the younger age I investigated.
Are you presenting at the Flux meeting in Dublin?
Yes, I will be presenting a poster with flash talk titled: "Are sex/gender differences in math anxiety mediated by spatial anxiety and performance in 8- to 11-year-olds?"
What do you enjoy doing when not researching?
If I am not at my desk, you will most likely find me reading a novel. But I also like pilates, walking in nature, swimming, watching true crime, cooking, and baking.
Best piece of advice you have received as a trainee?
To get out of academic writer's block, turn off the internet for a day and write a draft without worrying about references. This way, you can really get the flow of the section you are writing without being interrupted by searching for the perfect paper to cite.
Do you have any advice for early-stage trainees?
Sometimes it can be very tricky to explain unexpected findings, so even if seems counterproductive, try to take a break after writing a results section to really sit with the data and do some reading on the topic.
Please list any social media accounts / personal websites that you would like us to highlight
BlueSky: @lindarrighi.bsky.social
Website: https://sites.google.com/view/lindarrighi