MACLab News

Dr. Amir was recently interviewed by Kim Mills for the American Psychology Association's Speaking of Psychology podcast to share her thoughts on how children both learn about and create culture. In this episode, she discusses the history of culture in the field of psychology, fieldwork with the Shuar community, research on cross-cultural differences in cooperation with children, utilizing an interdisciplinary approach, and how these research observations can be helpful to par

"Member Spotlight: 2026 Spence Awardee Dorsa Amir on How Culture Shapes the Mind" In this interview, we learn about Dr. Amir's path to research, her work on how culture shapes the developing mind, and her interest in studying how the mind shapes culture. She also gives advice for upcoming student researchers, and candidly discusses her experience in the field. Read more at the link above!

Dr. Dorsa Amir and Dr. Benjamin Pitt outline four qualitative pathways by which culture 'shapes' cognition in their article published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences. Utilizing this framework, they apply it to three long standing debated effects of culture on cognitive processes: (1) visual illusions, (2) large exact number abilities, and (3) spatial–numerical associations. Read more about the four pathways here!

Dr. Dorsa Amir has been selected as one of six recipients for the 2026 Association for Psychological Science's Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions! The Spence Award, named after APS' first president, is given to innovative scholars who reflect the best of cutting-edge research early in their career, and who embody the future directions of psychological science. Dr. Amir has been recognized for her efforts in reintegrating the study of cultu

Research led by Dr. Dorsa Amir and colleagues has recently been published in Science Advances ! This paper explores the development of cooperative behaviors, such as fairness, forgiveness, honesty, and trustworthiness, across five societies, while situating these behaviors within each society's normative environment. Read here ! For a quick overview of the paper's figures and findings, check out Dr. Amir's thread on BlueSky. Dr. Amir also had the opportunity to share her ins

We are so excited to welcome Gita Paladugu as our incoming manager of the MAC Lab team. Gita is the incoming lab manager of the MAC Lab. She graduated from Emory University in 2025 with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Global Development Studies. Gita has previously researched socio-emotional development in children, media representation of intersectional identities, and the integration of culturally responsive mental healthcare for refugees. She is interested in studying

We're excited to welcome Serena Spada to the team as a PhD student. Serena is a first year Psychology and Neuroscience PhD student in the...