UT Dallas Think Lab

Think Lab members at Trunk or Treat! Thanks to those who stopped by, and happy Halloween!

DFW families: come to UTD’s Trunk or Treat event on Saturday, October 26 any time from 2-4 PM!

With the weather forecast for Halloween not looking so great, families may want to take advantage of Saturday’s lovely weather to celebrate the holiday at UTD. We hope to see you there!

Happy end of the spring semester from the Think Lab!

Congratulations to Bri Amador for presenting ber master’s poster, and to Faith Crighton for presenting her undergraduate research scholar award poster and making it to the finals!

The UTD Think Lab spent part of last week presenting research at the Cognitive Development Society conference in Pasadena, California!

Four of our undergraduate students received Santrock Undergraduate Travel Awards, one of our masters students received a departmental travel award, and two of our doctoral students received Diversity Awards from CDS to support their attendance. 🎉

Santa?!

The UTD Think Lab led by Dr. Candice Mills and the GMU Play Lab led by Dr. Thalia Goldstein have a journal article in press in the journal Developmental Psychology about children's changing beliefs in Santa Claus, and the article has gotten some press! Here are a few of the stories that have been published in the last few weeks:

NY Times Guest Essay:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/24/opinion/santa-claus-parenting-advice.html?unlocked_article_code=1.A00.unzn.WFt-87h2YSEr&smid=url-share

NY Times TikTok/Video Essay:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1CAW7MN3nS/?igsh=cTVremF6MmNtdWJi

UTD's news:
https://news.utdallas.edu/health-medicine/santa-beliefs-2023/

The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/dec/22/psychologists-pinpoint-age-when-children-become-sceptical-about-santa-claus

To those who celebrate, Merry Christmas! And to all, a happy winter break!

Opinion | There Are Better Ways to Talk With Your Kids About Santa (Gift Article) New psychological studies shed light on the matter.

The Think Lab celebrated the end of the fall semester with ice cream at Sweet Firefly! Special congratulations to Areeba and Zainab, who are both graduating this semester!

Stay tuned to our lab page to find out about some news stories about one of our recently published projects about how kids think about Santa Claus and for some new projects that will be launched this upcoming spring. Have a wonderful holiday season!

UPDATE: Unfortunately, due to the anticipated weather on Saturday, this year's Trunk or Treat event has been CANCELLED. We hope that we will see you at next year's event!

It's that time of year for UT Dallas's Trunk or Treat event! Swing by UT Dallas on Saturday, October 28th anytime between 2 and 4 PM. All families with children are welcome. Our Think Lab research team will have a car with a Disney Descendants theme. We hope to see you there!

The Think Lab is now on Linked In!

Former lab members, please feel free to list the Think Lab in your experience or follow our page and help newer lab members find connections!

We will also occasionally list research opportunities. For more information, see here:

UTD Think Lab | LinkedIn UTD Think Lab | 10 followers on LinkedIn. The Think Lab is a child development research lab at the University of Texas at Dallas directed by Dr. Candice Mills. | At the Think Lab at UT Dallas, we study how children and adults think about the world around them. We create studies that are designed to....

🎉🎉Are you a parent of a 5- to 10-year-old child?🎉🎉

Your child may be eligible to participate in fun research games with the Think Lab! Families who participate will receive a $5 or $10 gift card.

To learn more, fill out our interest form!
https://utd.link/thinklab-interest-form

Do you live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and have a child between the ages 0 to 3? Then the "Play With Me" program offered by the Center for Children and Families at UT Dallas may be for you! This program meets on Fridays for 12 weeks starting the beginning of February. For more information, please see the below flyers!

Para español, por favor vea abajo!

The Think Lab celebrated the end of the fall semester today with Starbucks and Insomnia cookies!

Thanks to all the families who helped us out with research this fall! We finished one study and will be working with kids on Zoom conference research studies during winter break, so if you're looking for something to do with your 6- to 10-year-old online during the holiday season, please sign up on our interest form to find out more:
https://utd.link/thinklab-interest-form

And finally, congratulations to Krystina, who is graduating this semester!

🎉🎉Are you a parent of a 5- to 10-year-old child?🎉🎉

Your child may be eligible to participate in fun research games with the Think Lab! Families who participate will receive a $5 or $10 gift card.

To learn more, fill out our interest form!
https://utd.link/thinklab-interest-form