Current Projects
My research focuses on preschool- and elementary-aged children's social cognitive and moral development. I am interested in the ways children think about stereotypes, prejudice, and social inequality. In my research I investigate topics such as children's early intuitions about social mobility and inequality in social hierarchies, the traits children attach to people in positions of power, and mechanisms that influence children to change their beliefs about other people. Below are in progress projects that I am working on.
How do children think about social mobility and unequal social hierarchies?
With Dr. Nick Noles, we have a project focusing on how children think about unequal social hierarchies and how people moved into positions of power when leadership is not representative. I am also working on projects where children respond to social norms about mobility and instances of tokenism in social mobility.
How does intergroup contact influence children's thoughts about structural inequality?
In collaboration with Dr. Laura Elenbaas, we are investigating the effects of direct and vicarious intergroup contact on American children's thoughts about immigrant children. We are using lab-created storybooks to assess the effect of contact on children's beliefs about structural inequality that immigrants face.
How do children think about people with social power?
Children connect different traits to people at different levels of social power. In collaboration with colleagues from the University of Louisville, I am studying how children think about high status individuals' intelligence and benevolence.
How do children form stereotypes about others and what is their content?
In collaboration with Dr. Robyn Kondrad, I am exploring how preschool children form stereotypes about minimal groups using a modified selective trust task. Additionally, with Khushboo Patel and Dr. Nicholaus S. Noles, we are using an intersectional perspective to reveal children's warmth and competence stereotypes across race and gender.
What influences children to update their beliefs about others?
I am working on a project to follow up on previous findings about individual differences in children's belief updating of their social judgments. In this project, I am assessing the affect of parenting values on children's maintenance of their social beliefs.
Selected Publications
How do children think about social power within hierarchical social roles?
Norris, M. N., Noles, N. S., McDermott, C. H. (2023). Listen to your mother: Children use hierarchical social roles to guide their judgments about people. Journal of Cognition and Development.
Do children think you should be loyal to authority figures?
Norris, M. N. & Noles, N. S. (2022). An ounce of loyalty: Children’s expectations about loyalty and preference for in-group members and authority figures. Proceedings of the Cognitive Science Society, 44, 107-113.
Do children change their beliefs about people after hearing counterevidence?
Norris, M. N. & Noles, N. S. (2021). Can a leopard change its spots? Only some children use counterevidence to update their beliefs about people. Cognitive Development, 58, 1-12.