Children’s Inferences About Novel Groups from Verbal Statements

Faculty Sponsor: Hilary Barth

Live Poster Session: Zoom Link

Erin Kim
Erin Kim

is the full-time Yellow Lab Coordinator. She graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2022 with a B.S. in Cognitive Studies and Child Development. She is interested in how adult communication and varying early environments such as culture and SES can affect how children develop an understanding the social world. As an undergraduate, she primarily researched how preschool-aged children and their families interacted with digital media and eBooks. In the future, she plans to attend graduate school for developmental social cognition. 

Abby Wolk '22
Abby Wolk ’22

is a Science in Society and Psychology double major with a Data Analysis minor. On campus, she is is the founder of Wesleyan’s Students Demand Action, advocating for common sense gun safety, and is a member of the Women’s Varsity Lacrosse team. Outside of school, Abby enjoys playing with puppies and coloring. Additionally, she loves being around children and has spent time as both a math tutor and volunteer assistant coach for elementary and middle schoolers. After taking Developmental Psychology with Professor Barth, Abby became fascinated with better understanding the way children think and behave, inspiring her to join the Yellow Lab.

Shanthi Soans '23
Shanthi Soans ’23

is a Psychology major with a strong interest in human development and human ecology. She is deeply curious about how children learn about science and the natural world. She is from Brooklyn, NY, where she worked with children (and plants!) for four years at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. In her free time, Shanthi enjoys working at Long Lane Farm, singing, and spending time with friends. 

Jinjia (Grace) Hu '23
Jinjia (Grace) Hu ’23

is a Psychology and English double major. On campus, she is a member of Rho EP and has participated in activities like One Day Play and Reading Series. Outside of school, she loves writing, traveling, dancing, and spending time with children. Grace has lots of experience working with children, including teaching Chinese kids English poetry, coaching a youth orienteering team, and getting along with her younger brother. She is also a volunteer and volunteer coordinator for a local school in Middletown. And she loves puppies!

Jessica Pordy '24
Jessica Pordy ’24

is a Psychology major (and prospective Data Analysis minor) most interested in developmental psychology. She is from New York and has had a lot of experience exploring her passion for working with young children from being a full-time sleep away camp counselor, to a part-time day camp counselor as well as a teaching assistant, babysitter, and day care counselor. She is also a coordinator for WesReads/WesMath! Outside of class she enjoys spending time with family, friends, and her three dogs.

Ellie Pan '25
Ellie Pan ’25

is a Neuroscience & Behavior and Education Studies double major with interests in child developmental and cognitive science. She is from New Jersey where she developed a love for working with children in her community as a swim coach, Girl Scout, and music tutor. Outside of the lab, she enjoys some of her other passions such as baking, migraine advocacy, and spending time with family and friends.

Emily Hauser '25
Emily Hauser ’25

is a Mathematics major and Education Studies Minor, is on the pre-med track, and is most interested in infant and child development. She is from Evanston, IL, where she discovered her interest in young children volunteering in a preschool, being a camp counselor, and working at the children’s hospital in Chicago. At Wesleyan, Emily is in a dance ensemble, does a capella, and is a TA for a Linear Algebra class.

Molly Fung '25
Molly Fung ’25

is a Neuroscience & Behavior and Psychology double major with a minor in CEAS. She is from Costa Rica and is mostly interested in cognitive science and development. Outside of school she volunteers as a reading tutor for elementary school students through WesReads and is involved in the K-12 CEAS Outreach Program where she teaches kids about Eastern Asian culture.

Suchita Sridhara '26
Suchita Sridhara ’26

is a prospective Psychology and Economics double major interested in cognitive psychology and child development. Growing up in New York, she found a passion for how children learn in her years as a tutor for young kids. Outside of the lab, Suchita is a leader of the Wesleyan Ethics Bowl Club and a member of Shakti. She also loves to sing and read!

Abstract: The way we speak about social groups can change beliefs about those groups and create stereotypes; statements about one group can even affect the way we think about a second distinct group. In this ongoing project, we introduced children and adults to two novel social groups (Zarpies and Gorps), described a designated activity day for one group (e.g., “Zarpie Sledding Day”), then asked for ratings of how good each group was at the activity. The mentioned group who had the designated activity day (Zarpies, in this example) was rated strongly positively while the unmentioned group (Gorps, in this example) was not. These findings may be relevant to understanding how real-world themed days could influence children’s opinions about groups (e.g., Girls In STEM Day). 

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