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I study young children's emerging social and moral worlds. My research is guided by the overarching question: what cognitive processes promote or limit young children's prosocial behavior?
I explore this question in rigorous experimental contexts through three lines of research...
The role of intentions
The role of intentions
How do children reason about intentions underlying prosociality? Can they matter more than prosocial behaviors? What if intentions do not match behaviors?
The influence of social groups
The influence of social groups
When prosociality and group membership conflict, which do children prioritize? How do children reason about their own in-groups? How do norms guide decisions?
The context of giving
The context of giving
Do children consider more than objective value alone when reasoning about gift exchanges? Do they incorporate information about cost, benefit, thoughtfulness, and relationships?
Selected publications
Dotson, K., & Tomasello, M. (2026). When revealed after the fact, selfish intentions undermine prosocial actions in 5-year-olds. PloS one, 21(3), e0344731.
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