Research Assistant Positions: Development and Learning (Behavioral Studies, Computational Models, and Education Research)
Prof. Elizabeth Bonawitz, Dr. Ilona Bass, and Dr. Igor Bascandziev, Computational Cognitive Development Lab, School of Education
fall 2022


Our research bridges Cognitive Development, Computational Modeling, and Education to inform our understanding of human learning. Specifically, we study the structure of children's early causal beliefs, how evidence and prior beliefs interact to affect children's learning and memory, the developmental processes that influence children's belief revision and curiosity, and the role of social factors (such as learning from others) in guiding learning. Our research spans infancy through adult years, with a particular focus on preschool and early elementary school years -- when children are first developing intuitive theories about the world that support common sense reasoning. Responsibilities: Research Assistants will attend weekly lab meetings and work under the mentorship of a postdoctoral researcher or other full-time research staff in our lab. Tasks differ according to the Research Assistant's primary research advisor, and may include collecting data, participant recruitment and community outreach, data processing tasks (including transcriptions and behavioral coding), analyzing data, creating study stimuli, and more. Requirements and Expectations: No previous research experience is necessary. Many of our studies involve children and families, so some experience with children is preferred but not required. We seek hard-working, creative, and curious individuals who are interested in research in psychology/ cognitive science, education, or computational modeling. RAs in our lab are expected to spend approximately 9-12 hours/ week on lab tasks. There is no required minimum number of semesters of research participation. However, priority is given to candidates who can work at the lab for 2 or more semesters consecutively as training to work in developmental studies takes some time and significant contributions to projects usually take more than one semester. Students who are able to stay on have increased chances of receiving summer internship funding if available. Additional Information: Seven positions are available. Positions are volunteer, and course credit is possible. Research spans several areas in psychology and related fields, including social, development, cognition/brain/behavior, and neuroscience. Research will take place in the lab at 50 Church Street, Suite Q-400, in Harvard Square. Our lab recently moved to Harvard from Rutgers University -- our Harvard website is still under construction, but you can learn more about our research here at https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/ccdlab. Please direct any questions about the lab or the application process to our lab manager Jiayi Wang at jiayiwang@fas.harvard.edu. To Apply: Please fill out this application at https://forms.gle/gPk3os1HjGwxfSbZA; it takes about 15 minutes to complete. Note that this application will ask you to upload a resume and transcript (unofficial transcript is fine). Your application will not be reviewed if we are missing one of these items. We review applications on a rolling basis with priority given to applications received by September 1st. (posted 8/2022)