People

Developmental Moral Psychology Lab, October 2023

Lead Researchers

Audun Dahl, Principal Investigator

Website, CV

Note: My primary affiliation is with Cornell University. See dmplab.cornell.edu.

I study the development of concerns with right and wrong from infancy to adulthood. My lab uses behavioral experiments, naturalistic observations, structured interviews, and surveys to examine topics like: the development of helping and harming through everyday interactions in infancy; judgments and reasoning based on moral, religious, and related concerns among preschoolers, adolescents, and adults; and decisions about academic integrity and cheating from high school to college.

Biography:
I grew up in Toten, Norway, and studied philosophy, psychology, and engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Université de Paris-Sorbonne, and the University of Oslo before going to graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley.

Education & Training
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
M.Phil., University of Oslo
B.Hum., Norwegian University of Science and Technology

 

Charles Baxley, Graduate Student

Charles Baxley joined the Early Social Interaction Lab as a doctoral student in Fall 2018. By paying close attention to the everyday experiences of children and adults, Charles is interested in utilizing mixed methods to further understand how people interact with situations involving morality, and how this interaction develops over the lifespan. Outside of research, Charles enjoys the thrill of competing in and watching basketball, as well as spending quality time with his wife, close friends, and family.

 

Margie Martinez, Graduate Student

I am interested in prosocial development in the context of everyday interactions. By examining judgments, reasoning, and decisions about helping, my research addresses questions about what young children help with at home, why they help, and how their experiences with their parents and families guide these developments.

Biography:
I grew up in central Virginia and studied psychology and French at the University of Virginia. In 2019, I came to UCSC and the lab as a Ph.D. student in developmental psychology. Outside of my research, I enjoy exploring new places, rock climbing, playing games, and baking.

 

Talia Waltzer, Postdoctoral Researcher at UC San Diego

Website, CV

My research focuses on moral cognition and ethical decision-making in everyday contexts. I am fascinated by why people make exceptions to general principles in their daily lives. For example, why do people sometimes lie even though they think dishonesty is generally wrong, or contribute to plastic waste (e.g., drinking bottled water) despite caring about environmental conservation? Many of my current projects investigate reasoning and decisions about cheating in academic settings. To learn more about this work, please visit the Academic Orientations Project website.

Biography:

I grew up in the northeastern United States. Growing up, I loved drawing, learning languages, and various outdoors activities. As an undergraduate, I studied psychology and cognitive science at Rutgers University, the state university of New Jersey.