Research Areas
The Development of Preferences
One research avenue at the MACLab concerns the ways in which culture and development shape our emerging preferences, such as those related to risk and time.
Select Publications:
Amir et al. (2019) The developmental origins of risk and time preferences across diverse populations. JEP:Gen.
Amir et al. (2018) The influence of childhood socioeconomic status on risk, time, and social preferences. JESP.
The Emergence of Cooperation
How do we learn to cooperate? The MACLab studies the early roots of cooperative behavior and its diverse manifestations across cultures through experimental research games with children all around the globe.
Select Publications:
Amir et al. (2018) Trustworthiness is distinct from generosity in children. Dev Psych.
Amir et al. (2023) Computational signatures of inequity aversion in children across seven societies. JEP:Gen.
Cognitive Regularities Across Cultures
Which cognitive processes are or are not influenced by culture? An important avenue of research concerns the degree to which culture penetrates cognition and the ways in which it can do so.
Select Publications:
Amir et al. (in prep) Inattentional blindness as a cognitive regularity: Evidence from twelve populations on six continents.
Amir et al. (in prep). Are visual illusions WEIRD? A critical review of the cultural byproduct hypothesis.