Nicole J. Wen
Ph.D. | Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Psychology
Director of the Culture and Minds Lab
Centre for Culture and Evolution
Brunel University of London
I'm a psychologist studying how culture influences children's learning, cooperation, and social connections.
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About
I am a Lecturer in Psychology in the Centre for Culture and Evolution at Brunel University of London, where I lead the Learning, Parenting, and Child Development Theme, and direct the Culture and Minds Lab.
I completed a postdoctoral fellowship from 2018-2020 in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan. In Dr. Felix Warneken’s Social Minds Lab, I studied the development of social cognition and the role of cultural practices, like rituals, in children’s cooperation.
I received my Ph.D. in Psychology and portfolio in Applied Statistical Modeling from the University of Texas at Austin in 2018. In Dr. Cristine Legare’s Evolution, Variation and Ontogeny of Learning Laboratory, my research focused on how children identify and learn cultural conventions to bond with social groups. I also explored how children flexibly use imitation and innovation for cultural learning in both the U.S. and Vanuatu. I graduated from UT Austin with a B.S. in Psychology with Departmental Honors, a B.A. in Plan II Honors with Departmental Honors, and a minor in History in 2013. I also received my M.A. in Psychology from UT Austin in 2015.
I received the 2022 Cultural Evolution Society New Investigator Award, 2017 APF Elizabeth M. Koppitz Child Psychology Fellowship and the 2016 UT Austin University Graduate Continuing Fellowship. ​​I was a Museum Science Communication Fellow through the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History and worked with the University of Michigan Living Lab to make science and research accessible to families in the community. I serve on the Executive Committee for the Cultural Evolution Society and the Culture & Ontogeny Research Initiative.
DEPARTMENTAL AFFILIATIONS
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY AFFILIATIONS
Research
I study cognitive and social development from an interdisciplinary perspective using a variety of methods to understand how children learn within and across cultures. My research has explored how children flexibly use imitation and innovation for cultural learning, in both the U.S. and Vanuatu. I have recently focused on how cultural practices, such as rituals, promote group cohesion.
Currently, I am investigating how rituals influence cooperation, particularly in relation to resource sharing, helping behaviors, and group commitment. I argue that humans are psychologically predisposed to engage in rituals, which serve as powerful tools for fostering in-group affiliation and inclusion. I'm also exploring how rituals can be integrated into classrooms to create supportive and effective learning environments. Additionally, I'm collaborating with Petite Giants to study how personalized books empower young children.
Publications
+Undergraduate student, ^Graduate Student, *Joint first-authorship
PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES
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1. Wen, N. J., Amir, D., Clegg, J. M., Davis, H. E., Dutra, N., Kline, M. A., Lew-Levy, S., MacGillivray, T., Pamei, G. ^, Wang, Y. ^, Xu, J., & Rawlings, B. S. (in press). Construct validity in cross-cultural, developmental research: Challenges and strategies for improvement. Evolutionary Human Sciences.
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2. Wen, N. J., & Legare, C. H. (in press). Growing belief: Developmental insights into the cognitive science of religion. Invited Commentary. Religion, Brain, & Behaviour.
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3. Wen, N. J.*, Lo, S. L.*, & Miller, A. L. (2023). Mindfulness processes that mitigate COVID-related stress exposure in parents in the United States. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 33, 352-366. doi: 10.1007/s10826-023-02681-2 PDF
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4. Wen, N. J.*, Clegg, J. M.*, & Legare, C. H. (2023) Cooperative signaling in the sandbox: Future directions for examining collective ritual in child development. Invited Commentary. Religon, Brain, and Behaviour. doi: 10.1080/2153599X.2023.2214398 PDF
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5. Clegg, J. M., Wen, N. J., & Rawlings, B. S. (2022). Culture is an optometrist: Cultural contexts adjust the prescription of social learning bifocals. Invited commentary. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X22001376 PDF
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6. Clegg, J. M., Wen, N. J., +Hartman, P. E., +Alcott, A., +Keltner, E., & Legare, C. H. (2021). Teaching through collaboration: Flexibility and diversity in caregiver–child interaction across cultures. Child Development. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13443 PDF
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7. Wen, N. J., Willard, A. K., +Caughy, M., & Legare, C. H. (2020). Watch me, watch you: Ritual participation increases in-group displays and out-group monitoring in children. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2019-0437 PDF | DATA
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8. Wen, N. J., Clegg, J. M., & Legare, C. H. (2019). Smart conformists: Children and adolescents associate conformity with intelligence early across cultures. Child Development, 90(3) 746-758. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12935 PDF
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9. Legare, C. H., Clegg, J. M., & Wen, N. J. (2018). Evolutionary developmental psychology: 2017 redux. Child Development, 89(6), 2282-2287. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13021 PDF
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10. Clegg, J. M., Wen, N. J., & Legare, C. H. (2017). ). Is non- conformity WEIRD? Cultural variation in adults’ beliefs about children’s conformity and competency. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 146(3), 428-441. doi: 10.1037/xge0000275 PDF | DATA
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11. Wen, N. J., Herrmann, P. A. & Legare, C. H. (2016). Ritual increases children’s affiliation with in-group members. Evolution and Human Behavior, 37(1) 54-60. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2015.08.002 PDF
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12. Legare, C. H., Wen, N. J., Herrmann, P. A., & Whitehouse, H. (2015). Imitative flexibility and the development of cultural learning. Cognition, 142, 351-361. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2015.05.020 PDF
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NON-PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
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1. Amir, D., Kline, M. A., Ndlovu, N.^, Rawlings, B. S., Pope-Caldwell, S., Wen, N. J., Rosun, N.^, Badiani, F.^, Haun, D., & Davis, H. E. (in press). Studying childhood learning across cultures. A field guide to doing cross-cultural research on childhood learning. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers.
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2. Watson-Jones, R. E., Wen, N. J., & Legare, C. H. (2017). The psychological foundations of ritual learning. In M. Gelfand, C. Chiu and Y. Hong (Eds). Advances in culture and psychology. Oxford University Press. Link
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3. Legare, C. H., Wen, N. J., & Watson-Jones, R. E. (2016). Ritual. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of lifespan human development. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. PDF
4. Legare, C. H., & Wen, N. J. (2014). The effects of ritual on social group cognition. The International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development Bulletin, 66(2), 9-12. PDF
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PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES UNDER REVIEW ​
1. Gervais, W. M. & Wen, N. J. (under review). Atheism Comes Easily: How disbelief can reshape theory on the cognitive and evolutionary origins of religion.
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2. ^Kertesz, A. F.*, Fong, F. T. K*, Clegg, J. M., Erut, A., Nielsen, M., Wen, N. J., & Legare, C. H. (under review). WEIRD Adults have gender-stereotypical expectations about high-fidelity copying in children. Pre-registration
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​MANUSCRIPTS IN PREPARATION
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1. ​Wen, N. J., Clegg, J. M., +Estrera, S. E., Fong, F. T. K., ^Kertesz, A. F., Erut, A., Nielsen, M. & Legare, C. H. (in prep). The ontogeny of American individualism: Individual differences in the association between non-conformity and intelligence. Pre-registration ​
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2. Wen, N. J. & Warneken, F. (in prep). Children use ritual and instrumental competency to infer who is a more prosocial sharer and helper. Pre-registration
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3. Wen, N. J. & Warneken, F. (in prep). Rituals in childhood: Cooperative motivations.
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4. Wen, N. J.*, Clegg, J. M.*, +Cicardo, C. G., +Jacome, A. P., & Legare, C. H. (in prep). Cultural variation in first- versus third-party attention and imitation.
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5. Kline, M. A., & Wen, N. J. (in prep). A close look at cultural learning: Proximate mechanisms across theoretical perspectives.
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6. Fong, F. T. K.*, ^Kertesz, A. F.*, Clegg, J. M., Erut, A., Wen, N. J., Nielsen, M., & Legare, C. H. (in prep). Underlying rationales of adults’ association of children’s conformity and desirable traits. Pre-registration
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Teaching & Mentorship
As an interdisciplinary cognitive developmental scientist and educator, I have three primary pedagogical goals: (1) fostering critical thinking, (2) connecting research to real world policy and practice, and (3) promoting an understanding of the diversity of human experience. These principles equip students with valuable skills applicable to any career path. I have been recognized with multiple teaching and mentorship awards, including the 2016 UT Austin Psychology Department Janet T. Spence Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, the 2017 UT Austin IE Program JoyLynn Hailey Reed Graduate Mentorship Award, and hold an Inclusive Classrooms Leadership Certificate from UT Austin’s Division of Diversity and Community Engagement.
LECTURER & LAB INSTRUCTOR
I am currently a Lecturer in Psychology at Brunel University of London. I was a lab instructor and teaching assistant in the Psychology Department at the University of Texas at Austin. Please feel free to contact me for a summary of my teaching evaluations, teaching statement, and sample syllabus.
HONORS THESIS ADVISOR
I have supervised multiple talented honors thesis students through the Psychology Departmental Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin and the Psychology Departmental Honors Program and the University of Michigan.
RESEARCH SUPERVISOR
I have trained teams of research assistants in the Culture & Minds Lab (Divsion of Psychology, Brunel University of London), the Social Minds Lab (Psychology Department, University of Michigan), the Evolution, Variation, and Ontogeny of Learning Lab (Psychology Department, UT Austin) and through the Research and Field Experience Internship Program (Psychology Department, St. Edward’s University). I have also mentored interns through the Michigan Summer Program in Cognition and Early Development (Psychology Department, University of Michigan), which trains students in developmental psychological research. I also have mentored through the Intellectual Entrepreneurship Pre-Graduate School Internship Program (Moody College of Communication, UT Austin), which connects undergraduates with graduate students to explore the unique aspects of graduate study that make it distinct from the undergraduate experience. Additionally, I have mentored interns through the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Program (Psychology Department, UT Austin), which provides hands-on training to undergraduate students (from traditionally underrepresented groups) planning to apply to doctoral training programs.
Courses Taught
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Developmental Psychology- MSc Postgraduate (Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2025)
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Developmental Psychology-Undergraduate (Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2025)
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Foundations of Cross-Cultural Psychology- MSc Postgraduate (Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2025)
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Special Topics in Culture and Evolution- MSc Postgraduate (Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2025)
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Conceptual and Historical Issues in Psychology- Undergraduate (Fall 2020)
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Statistics and Research Design- Undergraduate (Spring 2016, 2 sections)
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Honors Thesis Research II- Undergraduate (Fall 2015)
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Honors Thesis Research I- Undergraduate (Spring 2015)
Honors Thesis Students Advised
Caroline Maywood
2021-2022
University of Michigan
"Children’s Expectations and Judgements of Conformity to Ritual Activities"
Stephanie Estrera
2017-2018
The University of Texas at Austin
"Variation in U.S. adults’ perceptions of children’s intelligence"
Michaela Caughy
2016-2017
The University of Texas at Austin
"The relationship between ritual-play and group affiliation mediated by self-regulation"
McKenzie Ratcliffe
2014-2015
The University of Texas at Austin
"Ritual’s effect on instrumental tool use"
Interns & Research Assistants Trained
MSPICED PROGRAM, University of Michigan
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2019: Anna Groffsky
RAS TRAINED, University of Michigan
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2019-2020: Max Baron, Susan He, Caroline Maywood, Rachel Miller, Amy Nowack, Angela Shi, Madeline Taylor, Jazmine Thomas, Olivia Waelchli, Erin Yi, Price Zimmer
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2018-2019: Anna Barr, Alisa Cui, Amanda Golden Eddy, Anna Groffsky, Emily Levy, Caroline Maywood, Alex Parks, Annie Rashes, Ryan Rich, Kari Sherwood, Aashika Sulabelle, Irein Thomas, Jiayin Yuan
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IE PROGRAM, The University of Texas at Austin
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2017-2018: Felicia Calo, Jensen Edwards, Hong (Anh) Nguyen, Keonnie Parilla (Kuhn Scholar)
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2016-2017: Mahera Badat (Kuhn Scholar), Michaela Caughy, Quyen (Sally) Do, Stephanie Estrera, Ana Jacome, Yasmeen Nofal
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2015-2016: Shama Momin (Kuhn Scholar), Anisa Nabily, Isabella Prines, Michelle Ross, Debbie Yeh
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2014-2015: Stephanie Gonzalez, McKenzie Ratcliffe, Holly Weir
SURE PROGRAM, The University of Texas at Austin
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2017: Atira Hinton
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2016: Angelica Langdon
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2015: Evelyn Mendoza
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2014: Victoria Vento
RAS TRAINED, The University of Texas at Austin
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2017-2018: Felicia Calo, Jensen Edwards, Keyun Li, Keonnie Parilla
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2016-2017: Michaela Caughy, Stephanie Estrera, Hong (Anh) Nguyen, Yasmeen Nofal
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2015-2016: Mahera Badat, Quyen (Sally) Do, Eunice Iyalho, Shirley Li
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2014-2015: Leah Duran, Shama Momin, Anisa Nabily, McKenzie Ratcliffe
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2013-2014: Adam Alcott, Niki Akhaiveissy, Andrea Arguetta, Joseph Barron, Stephanie Gonzalez, Cintia Hinojosa, Dorothy Pang, Isabella Prines, Michelle Ross, Allison Tsao, Monica Vela, Holly Weir, Debbie Yeh
RESEARCH & FIELD EXPERIENCE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM, St. Edward’s University
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2014-2015: Carmen Cardenas
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2012-2013: Adrienne Fowler
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2011-2012: Lacey Hutchison, Michelle Jorgenson, Tiffany Roshanian
Media & Press
Let's Connect
Brunel University of London
Centre for Culture & Evolution
Division of Psychology
Department of Life Sciences
Kingston Lane
Uxbridge
Middlesex UB8 3PH