Kirsten A. Lesage
ABOUT ME
I am a data-driven psychological scientist with expertise in how culture and society shape individuals’ attitudes and behavior, and how this varies by demographics and lived experiences. I have 10+ years of experience in research, project management, survey design and measurement, data analytics, data visualization, quality control, data management, and science communication. My projects are collaborative and employ quantitative and qualitative methods, including analyses in SPSS, R, and Displayr.
WORK EXPERIENCE
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Developmental Psychology
University of California, Riverside
2020
M.A., Psychology
University of California, Riverside
2016
B.A., Psychology (Honors), Spanish
Northwestern College
2013
Research Project Manager
Veris Insights
05/2022 -- Present
Postdoctoral Psychology Research Scientist & Project Manager
Boston University
09/2020 -- 05/2022
Doctoral Student Researcher
University of California, Riverside
09/2014 -- 08/2020
Instructor & Teaching Assistant
University of California, Riverside
06/2015 -- 08/2019
ACADEMIC RESEARCH
In my academic research, I explored how the cultural context shapes how individuals reason and explain the world around them, and how beliefs and attitudes form and change or remain stable. I took a lifespan perspective in much of this work by examining how both children and adults think.
I employed both quantitative and qualitative methods as well as a variety of research designs and techniques to answer research questions, including: longitudinal and cross-sectional designs, experimental and observational studies, focus groups, semi-structured qualitative interviews, surveys, and cognitive tasks.
Selected Publications
Lesage, K.A., & Richert, R.A. (2021). Can God do the impossible? Anthropomorphism and children's certainty that God can make impossible things possible. Cognitive Development. (PDF)
Richert, R.A.,* Weisman, K., Lesage, K.A., Ghossainy, M.E., Reyes-Jaquez, B., & Corriveau, K.H.* (2022). Belief, culture, & development: Insights from studying the development of religious beliefs and behaviors. Advances in Child Development and Behavior. (PDF)
Lesage, K.A., Ghossainy, M.E., Richert, R.A. & Corriveau, K.H. (2023, In-Press). Social learning and religion. In J. Tehrani, J. Kendal & R. Kendal (eds.) Oxford Handbook of Cultural Evolution.