APA Summer Program
Social Cognitive Development Lab
PI: Kimberly Vanderbilt, PhD; Website: http://faculty.csusm.edu/kvanderbilt
The research of this lab focuses on social cognitive development, particularly how young children learn to
infer the social traits that characterize others—such as how nice or how
honest a person is. Our lab investigates questions such as when and why
children trust unreliable sources, what factors influence children’s
decisions to trust or distrust others, and how this understanding relates to
other social and cognitive abilities. The central goals of our research are
to better characterize the development of skepticism in young children, to
identify the factors that inform children’s trust judgments, and to explore
methods for improving children’s critical thinking.
The CSUSM social cognitive development lab works in conjunction with the San Diego Children’s
Discovery Museum (SDCDM), a local non-profit children’s
museum whose goal is to bring science access and awareness to
diverse, underserved populations in San Diego County. We
conduct research-based interviews with children at the museum,
and actively work with the SDCDM to support their goals of
increasing the impact of STEAM education in the local community.
The Social Cognitive Development Lab is composed of 2 graduate students, 9 undergraduate research
assistants and a few post-baccalaureate researchers. The lab employs a collaborative atmosphere in which
lab members work together toward both research and outreach related goals. Students are expected to take
on an active and communicative role in lab endeavors, and to contribute to all aspects of the lab’s work—
both in research and the community. Through their work in the lab, students are also encouraged to
contribute to the research process by developing new research questions, contributing to the design and
implementation of new methodologies, and presenting research projects they work on at conferences and
poster sessions.
Students who work with Dr. Vanderbilt typically go on to graduate programs in experimental psychology,
or to child-centered fields focused on education, applied research, childcare, and social services. Other
students have pursued graduate training in counseling-related fields such as school psychology, or
employment in STEAM fields.
Possible topics of study for Summer 2016 include:
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Factors influencing children’s trust in more honest and knowledgeable sources
Children skepticism toward biased sources in advertising
Children trust in verbal, written, and online sources
Children understanding of fairness and sharing behavior
The relationship between theory of mind and children’s trust in sources