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Jessica Sommerville

@jessicas.bsky.social
1.5K followers 309 following 61 posts

Psych prof at Univ. of Toronto, studying the dev't of social and moral cognition, learning, and behavio(u)r. tecl.ca

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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
New lab paper, showing priming/demonstrating exploration in toddlers leads to increased persistence!! So proud of @radovanovic.bsky.social and @gracewujiameisun.bsky.social for leading this work!!!
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
#ICIS2026: Terrific symposium this morning on the motivations underlying persistence in infants and toddlers with @gracewujiameisun.bsky.social @jaeminhwang.bsky.social @francescopoli.bsky.social @amyneedham.bsky.social
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Congrats Natalie!!
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University of Toronto Psychology @uoftpsychology.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
“As adults, we think there are good people, bad people, and people who are somewhere in between,” says @jessicas.bsky.social, professor of psychology @artsci.utoronto.ca. “It seems like infants are thinking the same way.” 👶 www.psych.utoronto.ca/news/infants...
psych.utoronto.ca
Infants make nuanced moral character judgments as early as 12-months-old, study finds
Research by psychologists at the University of Toronto suggests that we begin to make moral character judgments as early as 12-months-old while also recognizing that individuals can exist along a mora...
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
We are greatly looking forward CDS in Montreal next week!! Come see us at our talks and posters!
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
LAST CLASS of 2025/2026 academic year is in the books! I know what I'll be dancing to tonight!!
youtube.com
Alice Cooper - School's Out (from Alice Cooper: Trashes The World)
YouTube video by AliceCooperVEVO
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Mike Frank @mcxfrank.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Loved working on this paper with Kat (lead) and Hyo!
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Communications Psychology @commspsychol.nature.com · 23/03/2026
This research investigated infants’ ability to make moral character inferences. For a wide range of moral roles, infants could use an agent’s past moral behavior to revise their expectations for future moral behavior. @normanjzeng.bsky.social @jessicas.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s44...
nature.com
Infants make moral character inferences in multi-agent social interactions - Communications Psychology
Using eye-gaze methods, this research investigated infants’ ability to make moral character inferences. For a wide range of moral roles, infants could use an agent’s past moral behavior to revise thei...
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Stoked to share our new lab pub led by the amazing @normanjzeng.bsky.social ! After watching multi-party agent events, infants expect agents to preserve their moral "role" in a resource distribution task. Indiv. variability predicted by infants' social contact. www.nature.com/articles/s44...
nature.com
Infants make moral character inferences in multi-agent social interactions - Communications Psychology
Using eye-gaze methods, this research investigated infants’ ability to make moral character inferences. For a wide range of moral roles, infants could use an agent’s past moral behavior to revise thei...
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Always a pleasure :)
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
So very happy for you and so very proud of you!!!!
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Bella Fascendini @bellafascendini.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Are you attending @cogdevsoc.bsky.social 2026? Come join us for an afternoon pre-conference workshop on motivation in development! We'll bring together developmental, educational, and computational perspectives to ask: Can we build a unified account of motivation across the lifespan? ✨
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International Congress of Infant Studies @infantstudies.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Shine a spotlight on exceptional #infantstudies researchers by nominating for the Distinguished Early Career Contribution Award, Outstanding Dissertation Award and Translational Research Award. Close March 26, 2026. infantstudies.org/merit-awards/
Text against a light blue background: Merit Awards - Distinguished Early Career Contribution, Outstanding Dissertation, Translational Research. Submission deadline: March 26
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Sarah L. Kiefer @sarahkiefer.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
New paper out in Child Development (@srcdorg.bsky.social) with Dave Sobel (@candmlab.bsky.social)! ✨ We investigated how 5- to 7-year-old children decide to take on easy versus hard tasks while pursuing a goal. doi.org/10.1093/chid...
doi.org
Children's decision to challenge themselves on a novel task relates to their metacognitive monitoring of their ability
Abstract. We examined potential processes by which children decide to make hard as opposed to easy choices to accomplish a goal. Five- to 7-year olds (N =
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
I was so excited when I saw your name on the list! will you be at CDS?
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Dr. Laura Elenbaas @drlauraelenbaas.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
The first generation to grow up with AI deserves healthy social relationships. I'm pleased to be a part of this international, interdisciplinary Research Fellowship childhoodandailab.org/our-fellows-... with the #ChildhoodAndAILab from #AIChildSafety.org.
Childhood and AI Lab welcome page
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Big news on #SaferInternetDay: I’ve been elected as a Research Fellow with the AIChildSafety.org Childhood & AI Lab. Grateful to John Zoltner and the Lab for creating space for this kind of work. 🔗 lnkd.in/ggm6bgtv #AIChildSafety #ChildhoodAndAI #ResponsibleAI #DevSci
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joshuaconfer.bsky.social @joshuaconfer.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Why do otherwise rational people disagree about the same evidence? Our new paper finds that group membership is a deeply rooted influence on how we form beliefs, leading even preschoolers to bias their evidential standards and form inaccurate beliefs. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
💥New paper alert! Dyadic Decisions About Effort: How Caregivers Shape Young Children’s Persistence (with @reutshachnai.bsky.social) One of my favorites! If you’re curious about what we’ve been up to in @leonardlearnlab.bsky.social, take a look! journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
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Fernando Sánchez @fernandosanchezh.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
We propose that 2-year-olds show emerging sensitivity to disadvantageous outcomes, but only 4-year-olds' costly responses to unfairness reflect true disadvantageous inequity aversion. Read more at: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
The emergence of disadvantageous inequity aversion between 2–4 years
When and how children begin responding to inequitable resource distributions, particularly those that put them at a disadvantage, remains unclear. Acr…
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
New lab paper with Dave Sobel @candmlab.bsky.social and led by the remarkable @radovanovic.bsky.social and @jaeminhwang.bsky.social. Infants expect equality not only in resource distributions but also resource collections.
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Mia Radovanovic @radovanovic.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Out in @cognitionjournal.bsky.social with @jaeminhwang.bsky.social, David Sobel (@candmlab.bsky.social), and @jessicas.bsky.social! Most studies of infants’ fairness expectations focus on resource distribution, but in everyday life, we engage in many different kinds of resource exchanges.
Figure shows the methods used in the paper's experiments. In the left column are the methods for Exp 1 (Collection) and in the right are the methods for Exp 2 (Distribution). In each video, three women sit at a table. One sits in the middle, serving as a collector/distributor, and two sit in the foreground with plates. During familiarization trials, resources were collected from or distributed to their plates with an occluder on the screen hiding the outcomes. During test trials, the same videos were played but with the outcomes shown such that infants either viewed an equal collection/distribution or an unequal collection/distribution.
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Larisa Heiphetz Solomon @drlarisa.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
This paper about inferences that kids draw on the basis of parental incarceration is now published! Pretty version here: psycnet.apa.org/record/2026-.... Link to full text & summary in thread below. 🧪 #PsychSciSky #SocialPsyc #DevPsyc @socphilpsych.bsky.social
psycnet.apa.org
APA PsycNet
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
Is it wrong that I'm trying to use AI to try to come up with AI proof assignments for my students? (pls say no, or better yet, give me some suggestions!).
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U Miami Dept of Psychology @umiamipsych.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Congrats, Dr. @tiffany6390.bsky.social! 👏 news.miami.edu/stories/2025...
news.miami.edu
Big ideas in 180 seconds
The 10th Annual Three Minute Thesis Competition showcased graduate students across the University of Miami presenting research in fields ranging from medicine and computer engineering to literature an...
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Kristina Olson @olsonista.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Are you a US-based PhD student WITHOUT summer funding who is interested in adolescent development, trans youth, and/or gender? Reach out to me about applying to join my lab in Summer 2026 for the VIPS program! psych.princeton.edu/diversity/vi...
psych.princeton.edu
Visiting Internship for Ph.D. Students (VIPS) Program
The VIPS program is an initiative of the DEI committee of the Department of Psychology at Princeton University. VIPS will support up to 4 Ph.D. students who are full-time students at other universitie...
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Dirk Bernhardt-Walther @dirkbwalther.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Who's afraid of AI? toronto2025.ai
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John Anderson 🇨🇦 @janderz8.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Hi #canadian researchers - please sign this petition to help ensure funding isn’t cut to tri council agencies (NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR). We’re looking at potential 15% cuts to ALL federal spending including grants win.newmode.net/canadianasso...
win.newmode.net
New/Mode | Make your voice impossible to ignore
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
congratulations!!!
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AAHHHHH!ddy, @addyct.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
two figurines on a white background. one side is labeled Labubu, with your typically furry Labubu figure. the other side is Lakiki, and it's fur has been photoshopped to be spiky.
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
📣📣📣 Hi Everyone! I'm accepting PhD students for the Fall 2026 cycle! Our lab topics include the developmental origins and elaboration of moral cognition/prosocial behavior, persistence, and optimism. More info below!!
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International Congress of Infant Studies @infantstudies.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
Lazarus et al. (2025): A simple act with a lasting impact: Holding babies skin-to-skin in the NICU helped support their development and reduced differences linked to family income. Early touch can be a powerful way to promote equity from the very start #infancypapers doi.org/10.1111/infa...
doi.org
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Kiley Hamlin @jkileyhamlin.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
New paper! Here (in Nature Communications) we (Ale Geraci, Luca Surian, Lucia Gabriella Tina, & I; work led/run by Ale) show that 5-day-old newborns selectively attend to two distinct forms of prosocial over antisocial action: approaching versus avoiding and helping versus hindering. rdcu.be/evorW
rdcu.be
Human newborns spontaneously attend to prosocial interactions
Nature Communications - Abilities to distinguish between prosocial and antisocial actions are crucial for sustaining cooperative systems. Here, the authors show that human newborns with just 5 days...
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Annie Wertz @anniewertz.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
I'm hiring a full-time #labmanager for my new Lab for Infant Learning and Cognition (LILAC) at UCSB! The start date is flexible, but could be as early as August 1, 2025. Application review begins July 17th and will continue until the position is filled 👶🪴 recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF02992 #academicjobs
recruit.ap.ucsb.edu
Junior Specialist-Lab for Infant Learning And Cognition (LILAC), Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
University of California Santa Barbara is hiring. Apply now!
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Ah, thank you Andrea!!
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
🚨 Postdoc Opportunity!!! The Toronto Early Cognition Lab (@UofT) is hiring a postdoc to study early optimism in infants & young children. Work w/ multi-method approach, amazing undergrads & grads. Start: Fall 2025 or later. Details: jessica.sommerville@utoronto.ca RTs appreciated 💫
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Wow this is cool!!
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Dr Veena D Dwivedi @vddwivedi.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PnO... Check out this 1 min clip where I describe why it's impossible for AI to 'understand' language. based on @theconversation.com article lnkd.in/gh97_cbW #Neuroscience @brocku.ca
youtube.com
Veena Dwivedi discusses limits to AI’s ability to ‘understand’ like a human brain
YouTube video by Brock University
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
looking forward to reading it!
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Dr Veena D Dwivedi @vddwivedi.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Check out my new article in The Conversation Canada, based on my research in #Neuroscience at @brocku.ca theconversation.com/a-neuroscien...
theconversation.com
A neuroscientist explains why it’s impossible for AI to ‘understand’ language
Describing artificial intelligence as having neural networks and understanding language has implications for how we understand both AI and the human brain.
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Melissa Kline Struhl @mekline.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Just had the chance to present on an @infantstudies.bsky.social panel about inexpensive methods for data collection with children - if you're curious about how Children Helping Science works/the kinds of studies you can run, this slide deck is a good place to start! docs.google.com/presentation...
docs.google.com
2025 - CHS (ICIS Webinar)
Conducting developmental studies online with Children Helping Science Melissa Kline Struhl ICIS Webinar 05/29/2025 1 1 Children Helping Science
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
congratulations!!!
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
My ICIS blog post about some of our lab's recent work: infantstudies.org/to-try-or-no...
infantstudies.org
To try or not to try: That is the (developmental) question - The International Congress of Infant Studies
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Mia Radovanovic @radovanovic.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
#SRCD2025 come check out the Toronto Early Cognition Lab (@jessicas.bsky.social)! @elainewang.bsky.social will also be presenting work with @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social that we got to collaborate on :)
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
Congratulations!!!
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 29/04/2025
Breaking News: Canada’s Liberal Party is projected to win, electing Mark Carney, who ran on an anti-Trump platform, as prime minister. nyti.ms/4308UmS
Mark Carney is pictured in a suit and tie speaking into a microphone. Headline reads: "Mark Carney Wins Full Term as Canada’s Prime Minister on Anti-Trump Platform." Photo credit: Cole Burston for The New York Times.
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
Phew!!!!!!
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
totally despicable!! (I think you mean the reverse for the male/female %s)
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
I'm so sorry. this is completely awful!!
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Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
🤣😅
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