Julia W
- Research Program Mentor
PhD candidate at Tufts University
Expertise
social, cognitive and language development, developmental psychology
Bio
I am interested in social cognitive development which is an interdisciplinary field looking at how stereotypes, biases, and prejudices change across development. This is an exciting field because it uses a diverse methodology to study important topics with large implications. I believe that studying children is an excellent way to learn about stereotype progression in order to ultimately target these biases before they develop. In my free time, I enjoy traveling all over the country and to Disney World. Aside from my passion of research, I am also very passionate about animals and the conservation of animals and our environment. I have two pet bunnies that I absolutely love!Project ideas
Are people better at remembering stereotype specific events
I currently work with the development of stereotypes and biases and look at this across the lifespan. This means I do work with both children and adults to see how they think about stereotypes and biases using various methods. Participants would see multiple vignettes (stories) featuring people of different races. Some of the stories would be in line with general stereotypes people have about a specific group. Then, we would see if it is easier for people to remember the events when the race-vignette pair goes along with the prior stereotypes they have about that group. By doing a research project like this, you would be able to design a study from start to finish, analyze the data, and write up a scientific research paper! You may even be able to submit this to a poster presentation at your school for professional conference practice.
