Our Team
Team Members
Principal Investigator
Dr. Stephanie Denison
Stephanie is the director of the Developmental Learning Lab. She studies infant and early childhood cognition, mostly as it relates to how children learn and integrate multiple types of information in their inferences. Current topics of interest in the lab include infant probabilistic reasoning, how children attribute preferences to others, the development of heuristics and biases, how children use probability to infer others’ emotions, the cues that infants use to detect agency, and multi-modal ratio abstraction.
Post-Doctoral Researchers
Dr. Elizabeth Lapidow
Liz is a postdoctoral researcher in the lab. She is interested in how learners seek to figure out the world around them by taking actions and considering possibilities. Her research looks at learning and reasoning about causality and how learners make decisions during exploration.
Lab Coordinators
Paige Wahl
Paige recently graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a research-intensive specialization, and is now the Research Coordinator with the Developmental Learning Lab. She is interested primarily in continuing her thesis work in the domain of causal reasoning. Outside the lab, she spends her time organizing the KW Kids with Cancer Charity Run/Walk!
Daniel Agostino
Daniel is currently completing his Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Honours Psychology at the University of Waterloo and is currently in his fourth year of the program. He is interested in how technology use affects children's language development. Outside the lab, Daniel enjoys reading, solving sudoku and going to the gym!
Graduate Students
Candice Rubie
Candice is a second-year PhD student in the lab, and completed her BA, MASc, and MA in Psychology at the University of Waterloo. Her research looks at how children use the Approximate Number System to estimate quantities, the development of negativity biases in learning and attitude formation, and frameworks to give more effective failure feedback. Outside of her research, Candice loves baking sourdough and reading every genre of book possible!
Ayshe Ozlu
Ayshe is a second year student in the Master of Arts program, pursuing a degree in Developmental Psychology. She completed her Bachelor's at The University of British Columbia with a double major in Psychology and Film Studies. Her research interests include children's decision-making processes and understanding of social connections.
Leanne Schut
Leanne is a first-year MA student in Developmental Psychology. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Honours Psychology with a Research Intensive Specialization and a minor in Communication Studies at the University of Waterloo. Her current research continues her undergraduate work on causal reasoning, focusing on how people reason when faced with inconsistencies. She is also interested in how children’s natural ways of learning and interacting with their environment can support their understanding of new math concepts.
Kirruthikah Vadivel
Honours Thesis Students
Amy Bota
Amy is a 4th year student in Honours Psychology with the Research Intensive Specialization and a minor in Human Resource Management. Outside the lab, she loves to thrift jewellery with friends and discover new music!
Chloé Champredon
Chloé is a 4th year undergraduate student completing a BA in Honours Psychology with a Research-Intensive Specialization and a minor in Sexuality, Relationships, & Family Studies. She is currently an NSERC USRA research assistant at the lab, supervised by Dr. Stephanie Denison. She is broadly interested in children's cognition and will be starting her Honours Thesis in Fall 2026. Outside the lab, she enjoys swimming, reading, and drawing!
Xander Prevatt
Xander is a fourth-year student in the Bachelor of Sciences (B.Sc.) Psychology program. He is currently completing his honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Denison. Outside the lab, he enjoys playing soccer and watching movies.
Evelyn Sweet
Evelyn is in her third year of the Honours Bachelor of Science Psychology program, with a Biochemistry minor. She is broadly interested in developmental psychology, as well as genetics. Outside the lab, she enjoys spending time with her friends and is on the UW dance team.
Research Assistants/Directed Studies
Nismah Afridi
Nismah is a fourth-year psychology student with a minor in cognitive science. She is interested in how children understand causality, probability, and making inferences, along with how their prior knowledge of the world supports their learning. Outside the lab, she enjoys hiking, painting, and watching (and re-watching) Tim Burton movies!
Jocelyn Miu
Jocelyn is an undergraduate psychology student and RA with the Developmental Learning Lab. She also works with children in the UW Early Childhood Education Centre, tutoring, and Scouts. Outside the lab, she enjoys watching shows, exploring Waterloo, and dancing.
Avean Ayati Ghaffari
Avean is a fourth year undergraduate student in Honours Arts Psychology (Co-op), with a double minor in English Language and Literature, & Sexualities, Relationships, and Families. Outside the lab, she loves to read, bake, and spend time with her German shepherd, Nala!
Caitlin Nguyen
Caitlin is a Psychology Honours Arts major, with a research-intensive specialization and minor in sociology. Outside the lab she likes movies and music.
Claire Bolton
Claire is a fourth-year psychology student with a research intensive specialization and a human resources minor at the University of Waterloo. Outside of the lab, Claire enjoys reading, baking sourdough and spending time outdoors.