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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

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

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.

Coding skills

Jamovi, SPSS, Excel

Languages I know

English

Teaching experience

I teach a weekly lab section helping undergraduate students to design, execute, and write up research studies. I also mentor undergraduate students at my university with whatever they need help with: organization, graduate school applications, finding internships, etc.

Credentials

Education

Montclair State University
BA Bachelor of Arts (2019)
Psychology
Montclair State University
MA Master of Arts (2020)
Psychology
Tufts University
PhD Doctor of Philosophy candidate
Social Cognitive Development in Psychology

Completed Projects

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