Assistant Professor, Psychological and Brain Sciences

Tara graduated from Duke University with a B.A. in Biological Anthropology, then from the University of Chicago with her Ph.D. in Comparative Human Development. She loves developing research studies to figure out how kids think about the people and places around them.

Dr. Mandalaywala is not accepting applications for graduate students to start in Fall 2026.

Jordan Legaspi, M.S., is a 6th year PhD Student in the Cognition Across Development Lab, based at UMass Amherst. He is interested in the global development of cognitive heuristics and social bias, with special consideration to how essentialism and stereotyping affect intra- and inter- personal relations.

Yuchen Tian (she/her/hers), M.A. is a 5th-year PhD student in the CAD lab, based at Boston University. She studies how adults and children think about leadership, social status, and socioeconomic inequalities. In asking these questions, Yuchen pays particular attention to how culture (e.g., macro-level: U.S. vs. China; micro-level: contact to certain social groups) shapes differences in people’s social thinking. In her dissertation, Yuchen is investigating the development of 4- to 12-year-old children’s beliefs about social mobility across different social groups and in a cross-cultural context.

Before joining the CAD lab, Yuchen received her Master's degree in Developmental Psychology from Cornell University. You can learn more about Yuchen by clicking here.

Sam is a junior at Boston University, where he blends his love for language, literature, and science by majoring in Japanese Language & Literature and minoring in Chemistry. On a pre-medical track, he’s driven by a passion for research and knowledge, with plans to go to medical school. Sam is especially fascinated by how children from diverse backgrounds perceive and navigate the world, and he's eager to explore these insights further in the CAD
Lab.

Amirtha is a sophomore at Boston University, majoring in humanphysiology on the premedical track. She is excited to work in the CAD Lab
because of the great people she works with and because she wants to gain
insight into how children think about the world! In the future, she hopes to
attend medical school after graduation and potentially work in pediatrics.

Ashleigh is a sophomore at Boston University, majoring in psychology and minoring in deaf studies. Her time as a mentor and ABA behavioral therapist fostered her love for working with children and plans to pursue a graduate degree in developmental neuropsychology. She hopes to become a neuropsychologist and conduct research on ASD, specifically in children. She is so excited to be working with the CAD Lab and learning more about children’s perspectives of our world!

Eric graduated from Macalester College with a double major in psychology and political science. He is interested in social identity, perception, development, and connections to well-being. He's interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in developmental psychology and learning more about identity!