Developmental Interest Group (DIG)

When and Where

Friday, February 07, 2025 12:10 pm to 1:30 pm
Room 4043
Sidney Smith Hall
100 St. George Street

Speakers

Dr. Ashley Thomas, Harvard University

Description

How Young Humans Think about Social Relationships

Every day, we recognize social relationships and use knowledge about social relationships to inform our behavior. For example, we recognize that it is acceptable to eat off our spouse’s plate, but unacceptable to eat off our employer’s plate. We may laugh at our boss’s joke to maintain our deferential relationship or do a favor for a coworker to maintain a cooperative one. Previous research on social cognitive development has largely focused on infants' and children’s social reasoning either at the microscale of an individual person’s actions, thoughts, attributes, and beliefs (e.g., ‘theory of mind’), or at the macroscale, of societal groups and social categories (e.g., ingroups and outgroups, gender, or race). My research program is situated between these scales, focusing on how humans think about relationships and the social dynamics within groups. In this talk I will discuss my past work and ongoing work in my lab.  

We encourage in-person attendance but if you are unable to attend in person, please join us via this Zoom link.

Map

100 St. George Street

Audiences