Overview
Research Interests
Cognitive development, causal learning, social cognition, moral cognition, theory of mind, cultural psychology, free will, counterfactual thinking, imagination, self-control, rational constructivist approaches to learning and development
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
·
2021 - Present
Psychology & Neuroscience,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Associate Chair of Psychology and Neuroscience
·
2024 - Present
Psychology & Neuroscience,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor of Philosophy
·
2021 - Present
Philosophy,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
·
2022 - Present
Duke Institute for Brain Sciences,
University Institutes and Centers
Recent Publications
But Why?: Children's belief in the necessity of explanations.
Journal Article Journal of experimental child psychology · December 2025 Children exhibit sophisticated explanatory judgments: they expect, value, and judge explanations of salient facts. Do children also believe that everything must have an explanation? If so, they would exhibit a metaphysical explanatory judgment conforming t ... Full text CiteChildren's cost-benefit analysis about agents who act for the greater good.
Journal Article Cognition · March 2025 Acting for the greater good often involves paying a personal cost to benefit the collective. In two studies, we investigate how children (N = 184, Mage = 8.02 years, SD = 1.15, Range = 6.00-9.99 years) use information about costs and consequence ... Full text CiteSeeing Gray in a World of Black and White: Children Appreciate Reasoners Who Approach Moral Dilemmas With Humility.
Journal Article Developmental science · January 2025 Moral decisions often involve dilemmas: cases of conflict between competing obligations. In two studies (N = 204), we ask whether children appreciate that reasoning through dilemmas involves acknowledging that there is no single, simple solution. In Study ... Full text CiteRecent Grants
Humilities Across Cultures: Do Children in China and the U.S. Value Intellectual Humility for Moral and Epistemic Beliefs?
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by John Templeton Foundation · 2024 - 2026The Impact of Gossip on Children's Feelings of Belongingness
FellowshipPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2023 - 2026Religion, Normativity, and Self-regulation
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of California - Riverside · 2020 - 2025View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
University of California, Berkeley ·
2005
Ph.D.
University of California, Berkeley ·
2004
M.A.
Barnard College ·
1996
B.A.