Pre-Conference Workshops

All workshops will be held on Thursday, March 21 at Pasadena Convention Center

All Day Workshops (9 AM - 4 PM)

Why Basic Cognitive Developmental Science Needs Diversity: Theoretical Value and Practical Considerations

Co-organized by Tara Mandalaywala and Jasmine DeJesus

Cost: $10 per person

Description: This invited pre-conference aims to bring together scholars from a variety of backgrounds to have an open and candid discussion about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the field and society. This workshop builds on our engaging conversation at the 2022 CDS meeting and highlights both the theoretical value of working with diverse communities and advancing the scholarship of researchers from diverse backgrounds, as well as important practical considerations for high quality research and career advancement. Our two invited speakers, Drs. Richard Prather, and Leher Singh will speak on these topics.

Additional information: Coffee and refreshments will be provided. To keep workshop costs down, lunch will be on your own. There are many food options in a wide price range near the conference venue. We encourage workshop participants to continue the conversation over lunch!


 

Building a Global Research Collaborative: Experiences and Findings from the Developing Belief Network

Co-Organized by:
Dr. Allison J. Williams, Boston University
Dr. Jenny Nissel, Boston University
Dr. Ayse Payir, Boston University
Dr. Kara Weisman, University of California, Riverside
Dr. Maliki Ghossainy, Boston University
Dr. Rebekah Richert, University of California, Riverside
Dr. Kathleen Corriveau, Boston University

Cost: $35 per student, $45 per early career researcher, $55 per regular registration

Summary: The Developing Belief Network (DBN) is a collaborative team of international researchers studying the development and diversity of religious cognition in 39 distinct cultural-religious settings around the world. We aim to bring DBN members together with the rest of the CDS community to discuss experiences and best practices of global multi-site research. We will begin with an introduction to the DBN and a Q&A with PIs about their experiences. We will host a panel of editors to share their insights regarding best practices for publishing multi-site research, and will present preliminary findings from our research into how religious contexts influence cognitive development. Attendees will be encouraged to share their own experiences in discussion groups designed to mix emerging scholars and established researchers and will share their own research during flash talk and poster sessions.

Additional information: Includes coffee break and lunch


 

“Instead of trying to produce a program to simulate the adult mind, why not rather try to produce one which simulates the child’s?”

Organized by Annya Dahmani, University of California, Berkeley

Cost: $50 for faculty and $30 for students

Summary: In 1950, Alan Turing proposed the Turing Test in his seminal Computing Machinery and Intelligence. In this paper, he also suggested building machines that simulate the mind of a child. We propose an interdisciplinary workshop that takes Turing’s ideas into action. We can leverage lessons on how children navigate the world and process information to build machines that learn like humans do.We propose an interdisciplinary workshop that brings together researchers in the cognitive development and artificial intelligence fields. The goals of this workshop include: introducing the cutting-edge research that is being conducted in this intersection, addressing future directions, and raising questions about the field. The format of the workshop consists of experts in this intersection giving talks followed by Q&As. https://sites.google.com/berkeley.edu/cogdevai-workshop/home 

Additional information: Coffee and refreshments will be provided. To keep workshop costs down, lunch will be on your own. There are many food options in a wide price range near the conference venue. We encourage workshop participants to continue the conversation over lunch!


 

30th Anniversary of Mapping the Mind: Domain Specificity in Cognition and Culture

Co-organized by Prof. Melissa Kibbe, Boston University and Deb Kelemen, Boston University

Cost: $50 for Faculty, $30 for Undergraduates, Graduate Students & Postdocs

Summary: Published in 1994, Mapping the Mind: Domain Specificity in Cognition and Culture has been a theoretical force in the field of cognitive development. Edited by Susan Gelman and Lawrence Hirschfeld, the seminal essays in this volume were penned by luminaries in our field, who laid out foundational approaches to studying the origins of human thought that have shaped our field for three decades. This workshop will celebrate 30 years of Mapping the Mind. Ten original essayists will give talks on where they stand on their theoretical proposals about domain-specific cognition 30 years later: Susan Carey, Susan Gelman, Rochel Gelman, Alison Gopnik, Paul Harris, Lawrence Hirschfeld, Frank Keil, Alan Leslie, Elizabeth Spelke, and Henry Wellman. Speaker roundtables will be moderated by Fei Xu. The workshop will have a poster session for early career scholars to share work inspired by Mapping the Mind.

Additional information: Coffee and refreshments will be provided. To keep workshop costs down, lunch will be on your own. There are many food options in a wide price range near the conference venue. We encourage workshop participants to continue the conversation over lunch!

We anticipate opportunities to offer significantly reduced or complementary registrations to a small number of students who contact us with indications of real need. Please contact Deb Kelemen () or Melissa Kibbe () directly to inquire. 


 

From Dyads to Collectives: Current Directions in Our Understanding of Intuitive Sociology

Co-organized by Christina Steele, Harvard University, Mack Briscoe, Harvard University and Dr. Ashley Thomas, Harvard University 

Cost: $50 for faculty and $30 for students

Summary: We will bring broader theories in cognitive development and related fields to bear on the topic of “naive sociology” –our commonsense ideas about who relates to whom. From an interdisciplinary and comparative lens, we will explore naive sociology at the dyad, group, and structural levels to approach the questions: What is the distinction between our representations of interpersonal relationships and groups? Does this change across species? Are there kinds of relationships we are particularly attuned to recognizing (e.g., “thick” vs “thin” relationships)? How does naive sociology influence how we navigate existing relational and group structures (e.g., egalitarian, hierarchical) to enact social change? We hope that these questions will foster broader conversations on how a naive sociology of relationships, groups, and social structures can be merged to generate new directions in research.

Additional information: Coffee and refreshments will be provided. To keep workshop costs down ($30 for students, $50 for faculty), lunch will be on your own. There are many food options in a wide price range near the conference venue. We encourage workshop participants to continue the conversation over lunch!

Our confirmed invited speakers are: Elizabeth Spelke (Harvard University), Alan Fiske (University of California, Los Angeles), Ashley Thomas (Harvard University), Lindsey Powell (University of California, San Diego), Laura Simone Lewis (University of California, Berkeley), Arianne Eason (University of California, Berkeley), and Ny Vasil (California State University East Bay).

We anticipate opportunities to offer significantly reduced or complementary registrations to a small number of applicants who contact us with indications of need or who come from underrepresented groups (e.g., BIPOC, LGBTQ+, etc.) or institutions with limited funds to support conference attendance and travel. Please contact the pre-conference organizers, Mack Briscoe () and Christina Steele () directly to inquire and apply.


 

Stereotypes vs. Reality: Are there Gender Differences in the Development of Prosociality, and Why Should We Care?

Organized by Seleste Beaulieu, Concordia University 

Cost: FREE for anyone without a PhD (PhD students, lab managers, undergraduate students), $25 for post-doctoral students, and $50 for faculty

Summary: Being prosocial is considered universally good, but issues arise when, as is the case, girls and women are expected to be more prosocial than boys and men. This places an undue burden on girls and women to prioritize others’ needs and excludes boys and men from the many benefits that arise from acting in prosocial ways. While there are fairly consistent gender stereotypes about prosociality across the lifespan, there is less clarity on when and whether gender differences in actual prosocial behaviors develop. This pre-conference aims to bring together researchers from the distinct, yet related fields of gender development and prosocial development to discuss two key questions: (1) Do stereotypes create differences in prosocial behaviors? How? (2) Why do stereotypes sometimes align with gender differences in prosocial behavior and other times don’t?

Additional Information: Coffee and refreshments will be provided. To keep workshop costs down, lunch will be on your own. There are many food options in a wide price range near the conference venue. We encourage workshop participants to continue the conversation over lunch!

Morning Workshops (9 AM - 12 PM)

Developmental Science at Non-R1 Institutions: Collaborative Strategies for Success

Co-organized by Dr. Jennifer Clegg, Texas State University & Dr. Katherine Rice Warnell, Texas State University   

Cost: $10 per person

Summary: Conducting developmental science at non-research intensive, or non-R1, institutions presents unique challenges (e.g., limited support personnel and increased non-research demands on faculty time). In spite of these challenges, research at these institutions is critical given their large role in recruiting the next generation of developmental scientists. This pre-conference workshop will build a long-term support network of developmental scientists at non-R1 institutions. A panel of established faculty will discuss strategies for success and breakout roundtable sessions will facilitate networking and brainstorming solutions to research and mentorship challenges. This pre-conference is an excellent fit both for those currently at non-R1 institutions and for trainees who are hoping to pursue careers outside of R1 environments.

Additional Information: Includes coffee break

Please visit the website for more information.

Afternoon Workshops (1 PM - 4 PM)

Approaches to Bridging the Development of Reasoning and Memory

Organized by Dr. Andrew Shtulman, Occidental College   

Cost: $50 per person

Summary: The study of reasoning has proceeded separately from the study of memory, yet these capacities must be linked. Reasoning occurs within working memory, uses information retrieved from long-term memory, and yields inferences that must be integrated with previously stored information. How could reasoning not be shaped by memory? This workshop will address the gap between reasoning and memory by highlighting research on explanation, categorization, and imagination that treats memory as constitutive of reasoning rather than separate from it. We aim to begin a conversation on the interdependence of reasoning and memory, to identify methods and models for integrating basic memory processes into the study of higher-order cognition and its development. Workshop participants will explore the benefits of studying how reasoning and memory work together rather than focusing on how they come apart.

Additional Information: Includes coffee break

Demystifying the hidden curriculum: Addressing and removing barriers experienced by early career scholars

Co-organized by Dr. Tissyana Camacho, California State University, Northridge and Dr. Margaret Echelbarger, Stony Brook University 

Cost: FREE for students and postdocs, $15 for faculty

Summary: The hidden curriculum refers to the unwritten, unspoken, and unofficial knowledge and skills that individuals need to succeed in academia (Calcaro, 2020). This pre-conference provides a space for early career scholars to come together to engage and network, and talk candidly about the hidden curriculum. We also welcome mentors who want to support early career mentees, gain insight into the hidden curriculum, and learn how to remove barriers faced by early career scholars.This pre-conference will be organized into four panels and comprise two speakers each. These panels and speakers include: 1) Mentorship and Networking (Drs. Judith Danovitch and Amber Williams), 2) Planning and Goal Setting (Drs. Deon Benton and Melissa Koenig), 3) Navigating the Academic and Non-Academic Job Markets (Drs. Belem López and Shaylene Nancekivell), and 4) Ensuring Balance (Doctoral students Norwood Glaspie and LeNisha Williams).

Additional Information: Includes coffee break

Thank you to our Sponsors & Exhibitors!