People: Janet Boseovski
Major Area: Developmental Social Cognition
Janet
Welcome to my personal page!
My early research established that children engage in basic trait reasoning at an early age, but that they also exhibit a positivity bias characterized by overly optimistic views of the self and others. This bias extends to preferences in social learning; children trust and learn more readily from people who say nice things even if those people provide unqualified assessments (whether academic or social) about the world. See an integrative review and framework on this topic here.
Although some of my work still centers on trait judgments and the nature of the positivity bias, my interests have expanded to include:
1. Children’s understanding of power, wealth, and status. One line of research is led by lab alum Dr. Andrea Yuly-Youngblood, who is examining whether children appreciate the difference between status and power, and how judgments about status and power are affected by gender. Taylor Wood, my current graduate student, is examining the kinds of traits that children associate with wealth.
2. Body image development. Maddy Prince, my current graduate student, is examining boys’ perceptions of muscularity. Another project examines children’s beliefs about the relation between body size, activity, and nutrition. Julie Peebles, also my current graduate student, is studying body image in pre-professional young dancers. Finally, together with Dr. Ashleigh Gallagher, I have authored a book for mothers on how to foster the development of healthy body image in girls beginning in early childhood.
3. Children’s learning in informal settings (i.e., museums and science centers). I am involved in an ongoing community engaged line of research with the Greensboro Science Center. Spearheaded by Lab Co-Director Dr. Jess Caporaso, we are examining how best to present information about conservation efforts to children. Another project examines children’s learning from watching live animal procedures (e.g., checkups).
4. The intersection between children’s social learning and moral development, which is a line of research led by graduate alumna Dr. Kimmy Marble. For example, to what extent do children expect knowledgeable people to uphold certain prosocial values or behaviors?
6. Adults’ critical thinking about parenting and the characteristics of people who choose to remain childfree. This is a line of research in collaboration with Drs. Kimmy Marble and Andrea Yuly-Youngblood.
In my spare time, I enjoy resistance training, running, and reading and talking about health and nutrition in my capacity as a certified nutrition coach. I also spend (too much) time listening to science and lifestyle related podcasts, music, and watching inter-species animal interaction videos.
Information for prospective graduate and undergraduate students
Currently, I am advising three graduate students. I will not be recruiting new graduate students for the 2023/2024 year.
I am currently accepting qualified undergraduate students who wish to work in the lab under PSY 433 (Directed Research in Psychology) or the Psychology Honors program. See here for general information about PSY 433 and here for specific requirements for working in the DUCK Lab.
