Postdoctoral Researchers
Dr. Kara Weisman is the postdoctoral research director of the Developing Belief Network. She studies intuitive theories, conceptual change, and folk philosophy of mind, with particular attention to the ways these conceptual representations do and do not vary across development, across cultural settings, and across individuals. Before joining the team at UCR, she completed a Ph.D. in psychology at Stanford University and was a postdoctoral researcher in the Stanford anthropology department working on the Mind & Spirit Project, a large-scale collaboration between anthropologists and psychologists studying how cultural models of the mind shape spiritual experiences across a range of cultural and religious settings.
Ph. D., Stanford, 2019
e-mail: karaw@ucr.edu
Personal Website
Dr. Praveen Kenderla is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of California, Riverside. Praveen completed his Ph.D. in psychology at Boston University Psychology and Brain Sciences department with a focus on Developmental Science. Praveen studies the development of executive functions and cognitive systems that contribute to the development of social categorization and its consequences in different social contexts and cultures.
Ph. D., Boston University, 2023
e-mail: praveen.kenderla@ucr.edu
Graduate Students
Hea Jung Lee is a sixth-year graduate student in the Developmental area of the Psychology Department at UCR. Her research interests include how imagination and fantasy belief may influence children’s understanding of social relationships. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Wellesley College.
Office: Psychology Building 2133
Email: heajung.lee@email.ucr.edu
Current Research Assistants
Ashley Marin is a fourth-year graduate student in the Developmental area of the Psychology Department at UCR. She rejoined the lab after being a research assistant during her undergraduate studies and earning her B.S in Psychology and minor in Education from UCR in Spring 2021. Her research aims to explore the bi-directional relationship between early ritual engagement and cognition, including understanding the role of contextual and individual differences in overimitation.
Office: Psychology Building 2133
Email: amari015@ucr.edu
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Jiayue Sun is a first-year graduate student in the Developmental area of the Psychology Department at UCR. Her research focuses on how children acquire knowledge about their environment outside classroom settings, and the influences of parents and cultural factors in shaping children's understanding of the world and people within it. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and B.S. in Cognitive Science from University of California, Santa Cruz.
Office: Psychology Building 2133
Email: jsun168@ucr.edu
Lab Coordinators
Alison Garcia is one of the lab coordinators for the Childhood Cognition Lab. She rejoined the team after serving as a research assistant during her undergraduate studies. In Spring 2024, she graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Her research interests include the intersection of religious teaching, ritual, and social cognition and how it influences an individual's identity,.
Office: Psychology Building 2132
Email: alison.garcia001@ucr.edu
Current Research Assistants
Elena Guerrero Galaz is one of the lab coordinators for the Childhood Cognition Lab. She holds a B.S in Psychology from the University of California, Riverside and worked as a research assistant and leader in the lab during her undergrad. Her research interests revolve around cognitive development, more specifically the concept of prayer in terms of a wish-fulfillment strategy amongst children, the effect of anthropomorphism in the relationship between children and God, and observing the soul as both a religious and non-religious entity.
Office: Psychology Building 2132
Email: eguer062@ucr.edu
Administrative Staff
Research Administrator
Carole Meyer-Rieth is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles (BA, Psychology) with over twenty years of professional experience in academic administrative support, event planning, graphic design, and project management. As a trustee of a private foundation since 2011, Carole is experienced in grants administration and has an ongoing role in local, national, and global philanthropy as a member of Southern California Grantmakers and the Council on Foundations.
Email: carolem@ucr.edu
Current Research Assistants
Amy Maatouk
Angelle Mercado
Amber Summers
Angel Tang
Casey Min
Danyelle Do
​Vallery Ayala
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Jessica Fu
Jessica Lo Presti​
Natalie Hwang
Rifah Sanjidah
Sage Saludares Kuck
Sakina Poonawalla
Past Research Assistants
Marlen Gonzalez Duran
Preeti Sivakumar
Taylor Martin del Campo
Sarah Panameño
Roger Morales
Alison Garcia
Anthony Zafra
Bryan Hernandez
Elena Guerrero Galaz
Jamison Cortez
Rasneek Singh
Gabriela Morales
Jennifer Hoang
Laura Posada
Emily Fox
Frida Rodriguez Becerra
Karen Lam
Misah Edwards
Jieun Baek
Marce Kikkawa