My research broadly focuses on understanding how cooperation is maintained within and across communities, as well as how people respond to wrongdoing.
The Role of Punishment in Maintaining Cooperation
One key way that societies maintain cooperation is through responses to transgressions, such as punishment. I am interested in exploring how individuals, particularly children, engage in punishment to uphold social norms and the motivations that drive their punitive decisions. My research considers how contextual factors, such as group affiliation and community size, influence these behaviors. Additionally, I am curious about how children and adults differ in their sensitivity to the severity of transgressions and the ways in which these differences emerge across cultures.
The Influence of Social Relationships on Moral Reasoning
Moral decisions often depend on the social relationships between those involved. I am interested in how children and adults navigate these dynamics when making judgments about helping, reporting wrongdoing, or intervening in moral transgressions. My work examines how social closeness—whether someone is a friend, family member, or stranger—affects moral judgments and actions. I also explore how these patterns develop over time and vary across different cultural contexts, with a particular interest in understanding the interplay between relationships and moral obligations.