Our lab researches how children think about information in the world around them and how children seek out and evaluate information throughout their development.
We evaluate children's thinking through short games and fun stories which tap into each child’s reasoning skills. Our research typically takes place at schools, daycares, and after-school programs.
We also have opportunities for children to participate in research in our lab on the University of Louisville Belknap campus or remotely via Zoom.
Our current projects are designed and led by graduate students and/or conducted with our collaborators. Our current studies investigate the following topics:​​
How children think about people, fictional characters, books, and computers as information sources
Some projects under this topic are in collaboration with Jonathan Lane, Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University and Fuxing Wang, Ph.D. at Central China Normal University
How children evaluate their own knowledge - a project funded by the John Templeton Foundation.
This project is in collaboration with Candice Mills, Ph.D., at the University of Texas at Dallas
How children perceive economic value and learn about ownership from their parents
This project is in collaboration with Susan Gelman, Ph.D., at the University of Michigan
How children think about ownership and property.
This project is in collaboration with Margaret Echelbarger, Ph.D., at the University of Chicago
​How children evaluate adult's scientific knowledge
How children come to understand gratitude, generosity, sharing, and debt