Email: sophie.arnold@nyu.edu

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Sophie graduated from the University of Chicago in 2018 with degrees in Psychology and Economics before working as the Yale Social Cognitive Development Lab manager from 2018-2020. She is primarily interested in understanding the reasons behind the development of behaviors and preferences that lead to societal gender disparities like the wage gap. She is also interested in questions at the intersection of moral reasoning and group membership. Outside of the lab, Sophie enjoys playing cards, reading fiction and hiking.

PhD, Emory University

Email: shauna.bowes@vanderbilt.edu

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Shauna Bowes received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Emory University. She is currently a National Science Foundation Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Postdoctoral Fellow at Vanderbilt University in the Psychology and Human Development department. Her research program uses an individual differences approach to understand what makes people turn toward and away from accurate and openminded thinking. She specifically focuses on intellectual humility, political polarization, and misinformation susceptibility to build an understanding of how people form, interact with, and act on their beliefs.

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(Primary advisor: Lisa Fazio, Vanderbilt University)

PhD, University of St. Andrews

Email: markalanbowker@gmail.com

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Mark is a philosopher by training, working on issues at the intersection of philosophy of mind/language and psychology. He is particularly interested in the connection between language, stereotypes, and prejudice, as well as the relation between philosophical and psychological descriptions of mind and language.

Email: avantichopra@nyu.edu

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Avanti is a graduate from the University of St. Andrews with an MA (hons) English and Psychology. Her interests have been largely focused on social cognition in children and primates, more specifically on emotional perception and the influence of the pandemic of children's social behaviour. She has joined the CDL to work on a project on humility in inquiry alongside Dr. Cimpian and Dr. Tenelle Porter. Outside the lab, she likes exploring new places, trying new restaurants, experimenting with cooking, and running.

Email: madalindeliu@usal.es

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Madalin is a PhD candidate in the doctoral program in Reading and Comprehension at University of Salamanca and University of Valencia, Spain. He graduated in Psychology and is a Health Psychologist qualified by a Master's Degree at the University of Salamanca, where he has developed both professional and research activity in the Social Affairs Service and the Institute for Community Integration (INICO). Madalin’s interests are divided between clinical psychology and the psychological processes involved in learning, with the common denominator of self-regulation. He is especially intrigued by studying socio-cognitive ingredients of human development such as mindsets and self-efficacy beliefs applied to specific learning environments. 

Email: gg2951@nyu.edu

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Grace graduated from Rutgers University–New Brunswick in 2022 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Cognitive Science. At Rutgers, she worked with Dr. Jenny Wang at the Cognition and Learning Center and conducted her undergraduate thesis on how changes in children’s basic number skills may influence their tendency to seek numerical information. She is looking forward to joining the CDL to pursue her interests in cognitive development. Grace’s research interests are deeply rooted in understanding and enhancing children's motivation and school achievement within STEM education. She is also interested in the underlying cognitive processes that contribute to problem-solving, decision-making, and conceptual understanding in mathematical contexts.

Email: mk7922@nyu.edu

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Mert graduated from Boğaziçi University with a Bachelor's degree in Guidance and Psychological Counseling and from Koç University with a Master’s degree in Developmental Psychology. He is interested in the role of explanation in adults' and children’s thinking. Outside of the lab, Mert enjoys making music, playing video games, and reading.

PhD, University of Toronto

Email: bethany.lassetter@nyu.edu

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Bethany examines how motivations and beliefs shape social judgment. In one line of research, she studies how goal relevance guides social perception and emotion. She also examines how beliefs about who can versus cannot change shape social perception and how major political events influence fundamental affective processes. In the Cognitive Development Lab, she is studying the social cognitive development and consequences of gender stereotypes about talent versus effort.

Email: michele.ocana@nyu.edu

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Michele graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with degrees in Psychology and Mathematical Modeling of Complex Systems. They are interested in the cognitive and social mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of academic stereotypes and how they may potentially shape Latinx children’s academic identities, pursuits, and success. Outside of the lab, Michele enjoys capturing landscape photography, going to concerts, and cooking up new dishes.

Email: aashna.poddar@nyu.edu

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Aashna graduated from Singapore Management University with a Bachelor's degree in Marketing and Psychology and from the Harvard Graduate School of Education with a Master’s degree in Human Development and Psychology. She is interested in understanding how gender stereotypes and status differences affect the development of children’s academic and career interests. She is also interested in cultural socialization and intersectionality. Outside of the lab, Aashna enjoys reading, experimenting with cooking, and running.

PhD, University of Texas at Austin

Email: nw2545@nyu.edu

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Nate completed his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. He is interested in educational beliefs and gender-related stereotypes, at the individual and contextual levels, that impact motivation and persistence. He is particularly interested in how these dynamics may shift across gender and sexual orientation identities.

Email: duygu.yilmaz@nyu.edu

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Duygu received her B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in Developmental Psychology from Bogazici University, Istanbul. She is interested in children’s reasoning about society’s structural functioning. In particular, she is curious about how and when children come to understand and explain complex social structures and social roles as the causal forces shaping human lives. She is also interested in how structural reasoning processes influence children’s attitudes toward societal issues. Outside the lab, she enjoys wandering around, running, and watching period dramas.

PhD, Nanyang Technological University

Email: SZHAO009@e.ntu.edu.sg

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Siqi obtained her PhD in psychology at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Siqi’s research is motivated by the entrenched gender and racial/ethnic disparities in career attainment observed in many countries. Her research interest lies in understanding the psychological mechanisms underlying early gender and racial/ethnic achievement disparities, such as stereotypes, as well as the environmental factors that shape the development of these mechanisms. Outside the lab, Siqi enjoys reading fiction, watching esports, and doing ballet.