BUA Institution

Freie Universität Berlin

Research Description

Broadly, I am interested in language, moral development, and social cognition. More specifically, I am interested in how children develop an understanding of social normativity and intentionality.

Where in the world has your career been largely based until now?

Most of my research was conducted during my Ph.D. at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.

Why Berlin?

I greatly appreciate the parks, lakes, and forests!

What major short-term goal are you currently working towards with your research?

I am currently working on a number of projects addressing the following research questions. How do children construct an understanding of the objectivity of reality? What factors, such as reciprocity or previous history of collaboration with a partner, motivate children to perform unethical behaviors to benefit their partners? How did skills and motivations for social and moral identity evolve in human history?

How did you become interested in your specific topic?

As an undergraduate student, I volunteered as a research assistant in several research laboratories. I was interested in many areas of psychology. When it was time to choose a specialization, I just went with the topics being researched by the laboratory directors who were the nicest to me.

What would be the greatest professional achievement you could ever aspire to?

Being a good parent: the true test of a child psychologist's expertise.

What do you wish you’d done differently in your career until now?

I wish I had studied more statistics and programming. German psychology students have a much more rigorous training in quantitative methods than students from the United States!

What would your advice be for colleagues at home interested in a research stay in Berlin?

Learn German. The Goethe-Institute Berlin near Weinmeisterstraße offers useful intensive language courses.