I am an Associate Professor at the University of Amsterdam, Jacobs Foundation Research Fellow 2021-2023, and board member of The Young Academy (De Jonge Akademie) of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).

I study the developing self: how children develop self-views, how these self-views shape mental health and educational outcomes, and how interventions that target self-views can help at-risk children flourish.

I am committed to using developmental science to address social problems, such as inequality. With our Schools2030 project, we are developing tools to combat inequality in learning and achievement in marginalized communities in Kyrgyzstan. With our citizen science project Lil’Scientist, we involve children from underprivileged backgrounds as real scientists in ongoing research. With our Niet de Eerste de Beste project, we study the challenges and opportunities faced by first-generation scientists in academia.

LINKS

• Accessible overviews of my work: here, here, and here
• A sketchnote summarizing my work
• My book on narcissism and self-esteem
• My book on praise
• Our special sections for Child Development, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Developmental Science, and npj Science of Learning
• Our symposium on inequality in education at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
• I write popular science articles for Scientific American, Behavioral Scientist, Psyche Magazine, Character & Context, Psychology Today, The Conversation, BOLD, and The Child and Family Blog
• For my research and outreach, I received the National Postdoc Prize (KNAW & KHMW), George Butterworth Young Scientist Award (EADP), Rising Star Award (APS), Achievement Award for Early Career Psychologists (APA), SRCD Early Career Research Contributions Award (SRCD), KNAW Early Career Award (KNAW), and Boyd McCandless Award (APA)

POSITIONS

• 2021-present: Associate Professor, Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam
• 2018-2021: Assistant Professor, Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam
• 2016-2018: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, Department of Psychology, Stanford University
• 2014-2018: Postdoc, Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam
• 2013-2014: Fulbright Scholar, The Ohio State University & Stanford University
• 2011-2014: Ph.D. student, Developmental Psychology, Utrecht University

EDUCATION

• 2015: Ph.D., cum laude, Developmental Psychology, Utrecht University
• 2011: M.A., cum laude, Social and Health Psychology, 2-year Research Master, Utrecht University
• 2009: B.A., cum laude, Clinical and Health Psychology, Utrecht University