My general area of expertise is in the field of cognitive development with a special emphasis on conceptual development in childhood. A major cognitive task for children, which can be easily taken for granted by adults, is to be able to make sense of what William James described as the “blooming, buzzing confusion” of the world around them. In my work I seek to understand how children structure the world into coherent conceptual systems and how these systems change over the course of development. I also seek to understand how these conceptual systems provide children with a foundation for acquiring knowledge about the world. If you are interested in learning more about my research, please feel free to visit my lab's website.

Select Publications

Nguyen, S. P. (2007). Cross-classification and category representation in children’s concepts.
    Developmental Psychology, 43, 719-731.

Nguyen, S. P. (2007). An apple a day keeps the doctor away: Children’s evaluative category
    representation of food. Appetite, 48, 114-118.

Nguyen, S. P., & Murphy, G. L. (2003). An apple is more than a fruit: Cross-classification in
    children’s concepts. Child Development, 74, 1-24.

Teaching

Courses Taught:

• PSY 220: Child Psychology
• PSY 320: Introduction to Infancy & Early Childhood
• PSY 495: Seminar in Conceptual Development
• PSY 520: Developmental Psychology

Research Mentoring:

• PSY 491: Directed Independent Study
• PSY 499: Honors Work in Psychology