Principal Investigator

MARJORIE RHODES
Professor of Psychology
Website: http://www.psych.nyu.edu/rhodes
Email: marjorie dot rhodes at nyu dot edu
CV: click here

My research examines conceptual development and the development of social cognition. In conceptual development, my work focuses on categorization: How do children categorize different kinds of objects? Does category structure vary by domain? How do children use categories to guide their inferences and behavior? How does information about within-category variability influence individuals' concepts? In the development of social cognition, my work examines how children categorize people, as well as the implication of social categories for children's behavior, social inference, and moral cognition.

Professional Research Staff

JULIA JOHNSON
Lab Manager
Email: jrj368 at nyu dot edu

I recently graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.A. in Cognitive Science and minors in film studies, linguistics, and French. I am interested in children’s perceptions of their own social relationships and the development of pragmatic competence. In my free time, I love thrifting, watching horror movies, and exploring new places in the city.

SOPHIA CORDEIRO
Lab Manager
Email: smc1030 at nyu dot edu

I recently graduated from NYU with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Business Studies. As a former Research Assistant at CDSC, I and am so excited to return as a Lab Manager! I am interested in the development of gender disparities and the role language has both in contributing to and reducing these disparities. Outside of the lab, I love to bake, have picnics at the park, and visit new places.

Graduate Students

MICHELLE WANG
PhD Student
Email: michelle dot wang at nyu dot edu
Website: michellemwang dot com

I graduated from Wellesley with a major in Psychology and a minor in Mathematics, and then worked as a lab manager at Stanford for two years before joining CDSC as a graduate student. Broadly, I am interested in the developmental roots of gender disparities, especially in contexts related to STEM and top performance, as well as developing interventions to reduce these disparities. In addition, I research how social contexts and individual experience shape development. In my free time, I enjoy traveling to new places and reading detective novels.

JOSIE BENÍTEZ
PhD Student
Email: josiebenitez at nyu dot edu

After graduating from Franklin & Marshall College in 2018 with a BA in Cognitive Science, and working at NYU as a research coordinator over the last 2 years, I am so excited to be joining the CDSC lab as a graduate student!  I am interested in the development of children’s beliefs about status, and how kids may use status information to reason about other social domains. In other research, I explore how beliefs about social categories are transmitted through parent-child conversations, or through the use of certain explanatory frameworks. Outside of the lab, I enjoy traveling, trying new foods, and attending concerts in the city.

SOPHIE ARNOLD
PhD Student
Email: sophie dot arnold at nyu dot edu

After graduating from University of Chicago in 2018 with a BA in Psychology and Economics, and working at Yale University as a lab manager for 2 years, I am excited to be pursuing a doctoral degree at NYU with the CDSC lab. I am interested in how children think about and learn about social categories like gender and race. In particular, I am interested in how information from parents and social environments like their neighborhoods shape children’s beliefs about social categories. Outside of the lab, I enjoy playing rugby and reading science fiction and fantasy.

Post-Doctoral Research Fellows

CYNTHIA BOO
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Email: cynthia dot boo at nyu dot edu

I received my PhD in Developmental Psychology and a graduate certificate in Cognitive Sciences from the University of Connecticut. I am broadly interested in the role of language in social development. My dissertation investigated how the use of certain linguistic devices (e.g., pronouns, linguistic alignment, discourse markers) contributed to school-aged children’s perceptions of their friendship quality. I look to apply the same methods of conversational analysis to the study of children’s development of social categories by considering the role of language in caregiver-child discourse. Outside of the lab, I enjoy cooking, and all things related to true crime.

MARIANNA ZHANG
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Email: marianna dot zhang at nyu dot edu

I'm interested in how children reason about social categories and social structures. I received my PhD in developmental psychology from Stanford University, where I worked with Ellen Markman on characterizing consequences of children's structural thinking. I attended the University of Chicago for my undergraduate, where I worked with Daniel Casasanto and Susan Goldin-Meadow. Outside of work, I can be found climbing, caving, and attending theater. 

JARED VASIL
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Email: jared dot vasil at nyu dot edu

I earned a PhD in Psychology from Duke University (Tomasello Lab). I study communication and cognition in young children. How do conceptual skills structure communication? And how does communication structure conceptualization? I use experiments and computer models to investigate these questions. Outside the lab, I enjoy reading, rock climbing, and running.

Research Assistants

Undergraduate

BRENDA CHAVEZ-OLGUIN
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Hi! I am a junior at NYU CAS majoring in Psychology and Spanish and minoring in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. I am interested in developmental and clinical psychology. I’m excited to learn more about how children learn and view their environment as they grow. During my free time I enjoy going to concerts, reading, and watching kdramas.

PHOEBE SU
Undergraduate Research Assistant

I'm Hanzhang (Phoebe) Su. Currently, I'm an undergraduate student at NYU, with a major in social work and minors in public health and CAMS. I find the exuberance and vitality of children truly captivating. I am deeply intrigued by research topics that delve into the influence of external information on the way children shape their perceptions of social groupings. Additionally, I am passionate about exploring ways in which education can become more effective in guiding the formation of prejudices experienced by individuals during their childhood and growth. Outside the academic realm, you might find me fulfilling a captivating dream of savoring the world's best black truffle pasta! 

MANA MONSHIAN
Undergraduate Research Assistant

I am a junior at NYU Steinhardt majoring in Applied Psychology on the pre-health track and minoring in Chemistry. As someone who has worked with children for years, I have always been curious about how different factors can impact their development and the way they think or behave. I am particularly interested in the children's perception of each other and the world around them, and how that can be seen through their social behaviors. In the future, I hope to attend medical school and study to become a Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist. In my free time, I enjoy singing and listening to music, hanging out with my family and friends, and spending time with my dogs! 

DAISY CHEN
Undergraduate Research Assistant

I’m Daisy and I’m currently a sophomore majoring in Applied Psychology. I am interested in both social and developmental psychology, with research interests in the effects of early social experiences on moral cognition and social reasoning in children and adolescents. In my free time, I enjoy playing the piano, singing, traveling, and watching suspense and comedy movies!

FANTAH CAMARA
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Hi! I am currently an undergraduate student at NYU majoring in Psychology on a pre-med track. I have always been interested psychology even before I knew what it actually was. My thoughts when I was younger would revolve around the way different factors in life would shape individuals to be unique. I look forward to seeing how children make sense of the world around them. In my free time I love to go see movies and find new places to eat. 

NATALIE DE BORD
Undergraduate Research Assistant

I am in my final year of undergrad at NYU. I am a psychology major and am minoring in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. I am interested in the development of social categorization, and how it is affected by varied environmental settings and groups. In my free time, I enjoy traveling, trying new foods and attending live music events.

JASMINE TEPPER
Undergraduate Research Assistant

I'm an undergraduate junior at NYU CAS studying psychology and double-minoring in English and CAMS. Though I've always had an interest in studying human behavior, in recent years I've realized that I'm especially drawn to the role childhood development plays in it. I find it intriguing how much we can learn about ourselves by looking back at the way children navigate the world. I'm excited to further my understanding of the link between children's processing of their environments and their social behavior through this lab. In my free time, I enjoy reading, trying new recipes, and making playlists!

JULIA YI
Undergraduate Research Assistant

I’m a current undergraduate student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Philosophy & Data Science. My focus is on the intersection between social cognition and clinical psychology —specifically, the ways in which children's perception, interpretation, and evaluation of their social surroundings influence their mental well-being. In my downtime, I enjoy catching up with my reading list, whipping up meals, and taking walks in Central Park when it rains.

DIEER HU
Undergraduate Research Assistant

I’m a junior at NYU CAS majoring in Psychology and minoring in Children and Adolescents Mental Health Studies. I’m interested in how children’s development influences their beliefs about gender and race, and I’m especially interested in how children develop prejudice. I’m also interested in Clinical Psychology and plan on going into a PhD program in Psychology in the future. In my free time, I love K-pop, singing, dancing, sleeping, and eating good food!

SERENA FU
Undergraduate Research Assistant

My name is Serena, and I am currently a pre-med undergraduate student at NYU majoring in Psychology and minoring in Chemistry and Web Development and Applications. I have enjoyed working with kids since tutoring elementary students in high school, and I wanted to continue by researching and understanding how different factors can influence children's development. In the future, I hope to attend medical school and apply the skills and information I learned during my time at the CDSC lab to my future career. In my free time, I enjoy trying new foods, listening to music, and playing games.