Hello! I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto. I direct the StarLab for Mind and Development, a group of researchers studying social and moral reasoning in children and adults. This page contains some information about me and my work, as well as some resources that you might find helpful if you are interested in working in our lab, contacting me, enrolling in one of my courses, etc. You may also want to visit our main lab webpage, or see a list of publications.
Research
Graduate Students
We will be actively considering applications for graduate students
for the upcoming year!
Applications are due December 1. If you are interested in applying, please
contact Dr. Starmans.
Undergraduates
Early in the Fall, Winter, and Summer semesters, we accept applications for volunteer research assistants. Exceptional undergraduates may also apply to work in the lab for course credit. Students typically spend 8-10 hours per week assisting with research in the lab, as well as attending our weekly lab meeting. If you are a U of T student interested in a research experience in the lab, please contact our Lab Coordinator.
Find out more
To learn more about the research we do in the StarLab, please visit our
lab webpage!
Courses
Introduction to Developmental Psychology
PSY 210
A broad introduction to the developmental approach to the study of behaviour with reference to sensorimotor skills, cognition, social learning, conceptual development, language, parenting & attachment, and emotions.
Social Development
PSY 311
This course examines the developmental of social cognition, including self & other, minds, morals, fairness, learning, parenting, and imagination, with discussion of methodological issues. Emphasis is on current experimental findings and how they address centuries-old debates surrounding the origin and nature of human knowledge.
Developmental Laboratory
PSY 319
This course provides an overview of developmental psychology methods. The class conducts an original research project, including design, data collection and analysis, and a written report.
Developmental, Social, and Philosophical Perspectives on the Self
PSY 1200
This graduate-level course pairs recent findings in developmental psychology, social psychology, and cognitive science with central texts from classical and contemporary philosophy. The course is structured around three intertwined topics related to how we reason about the self: Mind Perception, Morality and Justice, and Personal Identity.
About
Academic
Before coming to the University of Toronto, I did my graduate and postdoctoral work in the Department of Psychology at Yale University. Before that, I got my first taste of developmental research as an infant lab manager at New York University, and I was an undergraduate at the University of Waterloo, where I studied Philosophy, Psychology, and Cognitive Science.
Personal
I was born in Toronto, and lived the first three years of my life just a few blocks from where my office is now! After that, I lived in 26 different houses in Etobicoke, Alliston, Waterloo, Guelph, Pickering, Montreal, New York, and New Haven, before finding my way back to where it all began. When I'm not in the lab, I like to take photos, and grow edible gardens in strange places.