Stanford Psychology Podcast

• 152 - Laura Schulz: The journey of becoming a cognitive scientist and what babies and children have taught us about their cognition (REAIR)

  Bella chats with professor Laura Schulz.Laura is a Professor of Cognitive Sciences in the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department at MIT. She is also the director and principal investigator of the Early Childhood Cognition Lab. Laura’s research focuses on understanding the infrastructure of human cognition and how it’s constructed during early childhood. For example, Laura and her lab study children’s causal reasoning, social cognition, emotion understanding, and the connection between play and learning. Laura has also received numerous scientific awards, such as the American Psychological Association Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology and the National Academy of Sciences Troland Award.In this episode, Laura shares personal stories about her journey in science and fascinating research projects that she and her students conducted with infants and children over the years. We also discussed the open science online platform for developmental research called Lookit, first developed by Kim Scott, who was one of Laura’s PhD students. Laura also shared her vision for gearing the field towards a more open, accessible, and collaborative environment where data sharing is made possible among institutions across continents.If you find this episode interesting, please leave us a good review on your podcast platform! It only takes a few minutes, but it will allow our podcast to reach more people and hopefully get them excited about psychology and brain sciences.Links:Laura’s lab: https://eccl.mit.edu/Lookit: https://lookit.mit.edu/Bella's website: https://bellafascendini.github.io/Bella's Twitter: @BellaFascendiniPodcast Twitter: @StanfordPsyPodPodcast Substack: https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/Let us know what you think of this episode or the podcast! :) [email protected]

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• 151 - Robert Hawkins: Language, Collaboration, and Social Reasoning

  This week, Misha chats with Robert Hawkins, Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Stanford University. Robert directs the Social Interaction Lab where he studies the cognitive mechanisms that enable human communication and collaboration. His interdisciplinary work combines interactive experiments with computational models to uncover how people flexibly coordinate with one another.In this episode, we discuss his recent paper on communication in reference games, exploring how lexical search and social reasoning work together when we try to help others understand what we're talking about. They also dive into Robert's academic journey, his vision for the Social Interaction Lab, and how he successfully navigates the interdisciplinary landscape of cognitive science.If you found this episode interesting, subscribe to our Substack and consider leaving us a good rating! It just takes a second, but it will allow us to reach more people and excite them about psychology.Links: Robert's paper on lexical search and social reasoning: https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2026-03739-001.html Robert's website: https://rdhawkins.com/ Robert's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rdhawkins.bsky.social Misha's website: https://www.mishaokeeffe.com/ Podcast Twitter: @StanfordPsyPod Podcast Bluesky: @stanfordpsypod.bsky.socialPodcast Substack: https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/ Let us know what you think of this episode or the podcast! :) [email protected]

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• 150 - Kendrick Kay: Large-scale fMRI Datasets and What to Consider

  In this episode, Elizabeth chats with Dr. Kendrick Kay, an Associate Professor in Radiology at University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He directs the Computational Visual Neuroscience Laboratory, and aims to understand brain function by combining cognitive neuroscience, functional MRI methods, and computational neuroscience. In this episode, Kendrick shares his work on the groundbreaking Natural Scene Dataset and discusses the behind-the-scenes considerations that went into its creation. He also outlines important points for brain scientists to think about when creating and using large-scale fMRI datasets, and shares parts of his journey as a scientist.Discussed Papers in Podcast: A massive 7T fMRI dataset to bridge cognitive neuroscience and artificial intelligencePrinciples of intensive human neuroimagingKendrick’s website: http://cvnlab.netElizabeth’s: website: imelizabeth.github.ioElizabeth’s BlueSky: @imelizabeth.bsky.socialPodcast BlueSky @StanfordPsyPod.bsky.socialPodcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPodPodcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/Let us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) [email protected]

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• 149 - Jenna Wells: How Micro-Moments of Connection Shape Health and Happiness

  This week, Enna chats with Dr. Jenna Wells, a professor in the Department of Psychology at Cornell University. Jenna’s research examines how emotion in close relationships contributes to mental and physical health over the life course, with a focus on late life. She is particularly interested in positive interpersonal processes and their associations with long-term health and well-being in individuals and dyads.In our conversation, Jenna shares her journey from aspiring therapist to emotion researcher, the story behind how she began to study positivity resonance, and what we can all do to navigate conflict with warmth and cultivate more emotional connection in our lives.Jenna’s Website: https://psychology.cornell.edu/jenna-wellsJenna’s Twitter: @JennaLWellsJenna’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennalwells Jenna’s Paper: https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000385 Enna’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ennayuxuanchen/ Enna’s Twitter: @EnnaYuxuanChenPodcast Contact: [email protected] Podcast Twitter: @StanfordPsyPodPodcast Substack: https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/ Podcast Contact: [email protected] 

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• 148 - Dorsa Amir: How Culture Shapes Cognition

  Anjie chats with Dr. Dorsa Amir, an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University. She directs the Mind and Culture Lab, where she studies how culture shapes the developing mind. In this episode, Dorsa shares her papers that probe the many ways cultural environments can influence cognitive processes. She outlines a new framework proposing four possible “pathways” by which culture might (or might not) shape cognition. She also shares her own path into cultural psychology, blending anthropology and cognitive science to tackle age-old questions about the human mind.Dorsa’s website: https://www.dorsaamir.com/Dorsa’s lab website: https://www.mindandculturelab.com/Dorsa’s twitter: @DorsaAmirDorsa’s paper: https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/y7mtf_v1 Anjie’s: website: anjiecao.github.ioAnjie’s Twitter @anjie_cao Podcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPodPodcast Substack https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/Let us know what you thought of this episode, or of the podcast! :) [email protected]

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