Graduate Student in Developmental Psychology
Area: Developmental

Psychology Office: 2422 East Hall
Psychology Phone: 734-615-3858

Email: sgulgoz@umich.edu

Faculty Advisor:

Susan Gelman

Research Interests:

Broadly, I am interested in various aspects of conceptual development. More specifically, one issue I am interested in is how children develop essentialist reasoning, regarding both natural kinds and social categories (gender, ethnicity). I am also interested in how essentialist beliefs about categories are transmitted through language via labels and generic noun phrases. In addition, I examine the relationship between essentialist beliefs about social categories and biased behavior towards people of that category, as well as how cultural input plays a role in the development of these beliefs and attitudes.