Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · Sep 1

Like a parent, AI can guide or smother. It's time to think about how we build this relationship.

Check out my new essay with Brett Smith www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/deve...

Will AI Become a Helicopter Parent?

Like a parent, AI can guide or smother. It's time to think about how we build this relationship.

www.psychologytoday.com

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Reposted by Julia Leonard

Mika Asaba @mika-asaba.bsky.social · Aug 28

Hiring a part-time Design & Research Associate!

Details here: tinyurl.com/TangleDesign...
Apply here: forms.gle/46twwHFJPKXx...

What you'll do:
✨ Design prototypes for math activities
🔬 Coordinate experiments in education contexts
🤖 Explore AI tools, educational applications

Design & Research Associate

Design & Research Associate #edtech #ai #learningdesign #edresearch #middleschoolmath ➜ About the Project Project Tangle & Thrive project explores ways to increase engagement and motivation for middl...

tinyurl.com

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Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · Aug 13

This book is a masterclass at weaving personal narrative and science with empathy and nuance. A beautiful mix of science and art—just like me and my sister

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Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · Aug 13

In Chapter 2, you’ll find the story of how my relationship with my sister inspired my work. You’ll also learn about how adults can influence children’s persistence, for better and for worse. I’m used to talking to the press about science, but opening up about something so personal was frightening.

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Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · Aug 13

I’ve been talking with the phenomenal NYTimes reporter @susandominus.bsky.social about my research since 2018, and her new book *The Family Dynamic* is finally out!

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Reposted by Julia Leonard

Lexi Decker @lexidecker.bsky.social · Jul 31

Thrilled to share our new @NatureComms
paper: "Exploration is associated with socioeconomic disparities in learning and academic achievement in adolescence." www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵1/7

Exploration is associated with socioeconomic disparities in learning and academic achievement in adolescence - Nature Communications

Children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds often show lower academic achievement, commonly linked to limited resources. Here, the authors show that reduced exploration–a behavior tuned for learning...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Julia Leonard

Chaz Firestone @chazfirestone.bsky.social · Jul 30

Is research, in fact, me-search? In the latest issue of @psychscience.bsky.social Observer, @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social and I go toe-to-toe on this age-old question.

An interview with Chaz. When asked how he got interested in his research questions, he says "I wish I had a compelling 'research is me-search story to share here'".

An interview with Julia. When asked how she got interested in her research questions, she says "…I'll tell you a 'research is me-search' story".

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Reposted by Julia Leonard

Leonard Learning Lab @leonardlearnlab.bsky.social · Jul 28

The Learning Lab is heading to CogSci 2025 (@cogscisociety.bsky.social) to share our latest research! Come say hello!

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Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · Jul 2

Congrats!!!!!!

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Reposted by Julia Leonard

Charley Wu | hiring PhDs/Postdocs @thecharleywu.bsky.social · Jul 1

Just 1 week left to apply! 🙏 Pls share with anyone you think might be interested. If there are any Q's, get in touch!
👉 3x PhD position: hmc-lab.com/ERC_PhDs.html
👉 2yr Postdoc position: hmc-lab.com/ERC_Postdoc....

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Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · Jun 30

Wirecutter crowned Ben & Jerry’s the best vanilla ice cream. I scoffed.
Our lab managers Surya and Nat ran a blind taste test.
Guess what won?
Ben & Jerry’s.
Science is brutal.

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Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · Jun 26

Amazing opportunity!!!!!!!

Jessica Sommerville @jessicas.bsky.social · Jun 26

🚨 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: [email protected]
RTs appreciated 💫

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Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · Jun 5

On 6/21, come to @amant-arts.bsky.social for the exhibition On Education and a screening of Baby Group by Emanuel Almborg — with commentary by me!

A joyful blend of art and science, the film explores how a group of babies behave in the absence of adults.

www.amant.org/programs/115...

Minor Drama: Emanuel Almborg’s Baby Group - Amant

Amant is an arts organization that fosters artistic experimentation and dialogue across disciplines through residencies and public programming. Amant is situated in the New York City borough of Brookl...

www.amant.org

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Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · May 21

Honored to win the 2025 APS Janet Taylor Spence Award! You can read more about my research and journey here www.psychologicalscience.org/publications...

Member Spotlight: 2025 Spence Awardee Julia Leonard on Celebrating Children’s Progress

This Yale University researcher discusses her efforts to understand children’s approach to learning.

www.psychologicalscience.org

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Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · May 14

with @mika-asaba.bsky.social and @mariannazhang.bsky.social - an all star team!

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Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · May 14

New preprint! Despite ongoing efforts to combat gender bias in education, our work reveals a striking and under-explored challenge: By the time children enter elementary school, children already expect adults to hold gender stereotypes and approve when adults act on them.

osf.io/preprints/ps...

OSF

osf.io

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Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · May 3

@leonardlearnlab.bsky.social had a great time at @srcdorg.bsky.social

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Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · Apr 28

We just had our last lab meeting with @leonardlearnlab.bsky.social seniors. 🥺 Some of these folks have been in the lab for as long as I have! A true honor to work with these brilliant and wonderful people!

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Reposted by Julia Leonard

Rebecca Peretz-Lange @rebeccaperetzlange.bsky.social · Apr 28

Check out our symposium on *parents' lay theories of cognitive development* at #SRCD2025!

Ft. work by @reutshachnai.bsky.social, @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social, @dominicgibson.bsky.social, and yours truly, discussed by @andrewshtulman.bsky.social !

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Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · Apr 28

Come check out the lab's research at @srcdorg.bsky.social this week! @leonardlearnlab.bsky.social

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Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · Apr 9

Congrats to my first PhD student Dr Flora Zhang!!!!! Make sure to check out her amazing work on intuitive theories of acquisition (and why they matter) @leonardlearnlab.bsky.social

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Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · Mar 11

So so so terrible! I’m sorry Tristan this is wild

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Reposted by Julia Leonard

Melissa Kline Struhl @mekline.bsky.social · Mar 10

The platform I run, Children Helping Science, is supported almost entirely by US government science funding, both directly and in collaboration with CHS researchers.

Here's the note we sent to users today - we need help gathering your stories and citations! Submit here: forms.gle/zFnzrVURntdZ...

I'm writing today with a big request during a difficult time for all of us. Together, we've grown Children Helping Science into a cornerstone for online developmental research. Researchers from roughly 150 institutions have conducted remote studies with over 15,000 families since 2020, with many of those families returning to participate in multiple studies across labs.
The CHS team and infrastructure is currently supported almost entirely by the United States government (NSF and NIH). Like many US researchers, we're facing substantial uncertainty about what this means for our financial stability over the coming months and years, and we are hard at work pursuing every angle to keep this platform available to the community. This includes exploring new funding strategies we have previously not considered, like possibly allowing some carefully vetted companies to display ads to families.
Researchers will continue to be able to use the CHS platform for free, but your support right now is critical. At the same time, we know that many of you, especially those of you in the United States, are facing the same instability to present and future funding as we are.
Today, we are asking for three FREE actions from all of you to support our immediate fundraising efforts:

**Send us your citations.**
If you have publications that collected data or advertised studies through CHS or Lookit, please share those references. These citations are essential for demonstrating CHS’s impact to funders. A list of all the citations we're aware of is linked here, in case you're not sure whether we have your recent articles.
**Send us publicly shareable materials and press coverage.**
If you have cute study designs, engaging visuals, or images of adorable kids (with the necessary permissions) we’d love to use them in presentations to potential funders. Similarly, if your research has been covered in any public media (university publications, podcasts, news articles), please send these to us.
**Share your funding applications and ideas.**
If you are preparing a grant proposal (to any funding source), please reach out to discuss how you can include a budget line to support CHS. If you have ideas for joint projects, or even of funders you think we should reach out to - we're all ears! And if you have ever received funding to conduct studies using CHS/Lookit, please also make sure we know about it.

You can do all of these things right now at this link (https://forms.gle/zFnzrVURntdZizMK8). Please also feel free to email us (best address: mekline@mit.edu) with any other questions or ideas.
We are committed to keeping CHS running and serving this community, and we will do everything in our power to keep the lights on. Thank you for helping to make CHS such a wonderful community resource and for helping us in whatever ways you can!
With appreciation,
Melissa Kline Struhl
Executive Director
Laura Schulz
Scientific Director

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Julia Leonard @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social · Mar 11

So excited for @relbelluck.bsky.social to be joining the lab!!!!

Arielle Belluck @relbelluck.bsky.social · Mar 11

So so excited to be starting my PhD at Yale this fall with @leonardlearnlab.bsky.social!! If you know me you know this is the dream! Huge thanks to @adelegoldberg.bsky.social, @julia-a-leonard.bsky.social, @reutshachnai.bsky.social, Tracy Gleason, and @wellesley.edu for helping me get here

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Reposted by Julia Leonard

Reut Shachnai @reutshachnai.bsky.social · Mar 10

Overparenting can hold kids back—but our research shows that framing tasks as learning opportunities helps parents step back and foster kids' independence! ✨ Read more in our latest Psychology Today piece: www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/deve...
@julia-a-leonard.bsky.social @mika-asaba.bsky.social

Overparenting Is Holding Kids Back—Here’s What to Do Instead

Overparenting can hinder kids' independence. Research shows that reframing everyday tasks as learning opportunities helps parents step back and let kids grow.

www.psychologytoday.com

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