In the Culture & Cognition Lab, we study a variety of cognitive and social-cognitive processes, examining their developmental causes and consequences in a cultural context. A special interest is taken in autobiographical memory and related constructs. Culture is broadly defined as shared values and practices of a community, as well as societal-political-economic forces (e.g., public policies, immigration, technological inventions like the Internet) specific to a particular historical moment in time. We integrate multiple levels of analysis to examine the influence of culture on cognitive processes between groups – group level analysis, between persons (e.g., the child and socialization agents) – dyadic level analysis, at the level of the person – individual level analysis, within the person – situation level analysis, and as a result of societal-historical changes – temporal level analysis. We work with both children and adults to understand the developmental origins of adult cognitive functioning on the one hand and the persistence and change of early cognitive styles over the course of development on the other.
