Allison Williams
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Dr. Allison J. Williams is a postdoctoral research associate at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. She works in the Social Learning Lab and is a core team member of the Developing Belief Network.
Dr. Williams’ research interests focus on children’s thinking and learning. She examines how children identify who (or what) is a good source of information and how this preference might change depending on the domain (e.g., religious vs scientific). Her research program addresses these issues by examining how children select sources of information, how children’s beliefs in testimony differ depending on the type of informant, and how new information about an informant’s accuracy changes children’s judgments of that informant. She is also interested in children’s evaluations and transmission of information in the domains of science and religion.
Pronouns: she/her
Recent News
Education
PhD, Experimental Psychology, University of Louisville
MS, Experimental Psychology, University of Louisville
BA, Psychology, Rider University
Courses
RS600 (B1)
Selected Publications
Williams, A. J., & Danovitch, J. H. (2023). The role of accuracy in children's judgments of experts' knowledge. Child Development, 00, 1–16. doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13965
Williams, A. J., & Danovitch, J. H. (2022). Is what Mickey Mouse says impossible? Informant reality status and children’s beliefs in extraordinary events. Journal of Cognition and Development, 23, 1-17 doi:10.1080/15248372.2021.2022680
Williams, A. J., Danovitch, J. H., & Mills, C. (2020). Exploring sources of individual differences in children’s interest in science. Mind, Brain, and Education, 15, 67-76. doi:10.1111/mbe.12263