Our Research

We investigate the mechanisms through which children learn about the social world.

Our lab's research investigates how we learn to construct rich, theory-like understandings of people’s minds, actions, and the social world. We study how these evolving intuitive theories influence the ways we interpret evidence, learn from others, and make decisions. Rather than viewing children as passive learners, our work reveals them as active learners who integrate prior expectations about the social world with new information from observation, communication, and exploration.

Our lab integrates theoretical and empirical approaches from developmental psychology, cognitive science, and social and cultural psychology.

Current Projects

Does belonging to a group change what children think?

Polarization can change what we believe to be true, and sometimes this can lead us to hold unlikely beliefs. When we share these unlikely beliefs with others in our social group, we may be less willing to change our mind even if we see evidence to the contrary. This research explores how young children’s social relationships may similarly influence what they think. In a series of studies, children learn about a group of people who all think the same thing, and then learn that this shared belief may be incorrect. We ask children to tell us about their own beliefs, and about how they think other group members should act.

How do children make collaborative decisions, and how can these insights shape human-like social AI?

Mainstream AI decision systems have made remarkable progress in modeling intelligent behavior, yet current AI agents lack the flexibility and perspective-taking abilities needed for collaborative decision-making in complex multi-agent environments. By contrast, the ability to form shared goals and make collaborative decisions is a hallmark of human intelligence from a very young age. Collaborative agency not only distinguishes humans from other primate species but also sets human intelligence apart from current artificial systems. Our research investigates human cooperative decision making at its inception in early childhood to inform the design of computational models that support more robust, human-like cooperation. This research would not only help us understand how we first begin, as children, to make effective decisions in social environments, but could also inform the development of autonomous AI systems that can collaborate more effectively with human agents.

What features of norms support children’s internalization? 

Children encounter countless rules and norms in their everyday lives. From classroom expectations to family routines, they are expected not only to follow norms, but also to internalize and generalize them to new situations. By varying features such as cost, ambiguity, and framing, our research explores how different features of norms shape children’s normative judgments and guide their actions. By identifying which aspects of norms most strongly influence internalization, we aim to shed light on how children develop a deeper sense of obligation and responsibility in their social worlds.

What beliefs do we have about the nature of thoughts? Do these beliefs predict broader attributions of control?

We are constantly thinking! Thoughts are the means by which we engage in planning, moral reasoning, scientific inquiry, and social relationships. Given the omnipresence of thoughts in human minds, this line of research investigates what beliefs people have about the nature of thoughts (e.g., Are the contents of thoughts unexpected? Are the exact timing of thoughts spontaneous?). We aim to investigate if beliefs about the nature of thoughts influence our broader perspectives on free will, blame, and compassion, and if these beliefs can be altered through guided metacognitive experience (i.e., introspection).

How do children use new information to rethink their moral judgments in scenarios with multiple layers of context?

Do children think differently about whether someone is a “hero” or a “villain” when they learn more details about the situation? Our research employs short, illustrated stories about superheroes. Children are asked to judge whether each character is a hero or a villain at different points in the story. By examining their moral judgments in response to added layers of context, we can better understand how children interpret others’ actions in complex social situations.

Do children appreciate intellectual humility in others in the face of uncertainty? 

The world is full of uncertainties that constrain what we can know. Our research examines whether children appreciate that acknowledging “I don’t know” reflects intellectual humility, and how this awareness shapes their evaluations of others. In our studies, children hear stories from both moral and scientific domains that involve uncertainty. They are then introduced to a confident reasoner and an uncertain reasoner and asked whom they prefer. Understanding the roots of intellectual humility provides insight into how children build reliable knowledge, decide whom to trust, and approach learning with openness rather than overconfidence.

How do children’s beliefs shape their journey through challenges?

As children grow, they face many kinds of challenges -- from mastering everyday skills to pursuing long-term goals like finishing school. In those moments, they need to decide what goals to chase, how hard to try, and whether to keep going when things get tough. What shapes those decisions? We explore this question by studying children’s beliefs about effort and ability, as well as how these beliefs are shaped by experiences of success and failure and by social and cultural environments. We also investigate how these beliefs guide which goals children pursue and when they persist, adapt, or let go. Through this work, we aim to identify ways to help children better adapt and thrive in the challenging world.