Biography 

I received my bachelor's degree in Psychology in 2018 at Amsterdam University College, and my research master’s and clinical master’s degree in Developmental Psychology in 2020 and 2021, respectively, at Utrecht University. I started my Ph.D. in 2022 at the Research Institute of Child Development and Education at the University of Amsterdam. I investigate the development of prosocial behavior in the first year of infants’ lives and test whether self-conscious emotions (e.g., shyness, guilt, shame) and environmental factors (e.g., parenting behaviors, peers, social norms) influence this development. I pay attention to both their unique and their additional/synergistic effects.

Research interests

I’m very interested in social cognition and emotions in social situations. I’m interested in understanding how children and adults feel in social situations, how they think about other people, and how these feelings and thoughts influence their social behaviors. I'm keen to investigate how self-conscious emotions, such as shame, shyness and guilt develop in infants and young children and how these emotions guide social behavior. Additionally, I’m interested in understanding these processes by taking into account the social context - for example, how parenting behaviors, interactions with peers, and presence of (unfamiliar) others may modulate the influence of emotions on social behaviour.

Research methods

• Experiment (longitudinal and cross-sectional) 

Research projects

• LEF (Love Ends Fear): This project focuses on the development of prosocial behaviour from early childhood to older age, starting at the micro-level with individual traits like temperament and character. It then expands to include environmental influences such as parenting, particularly when challenged by issues like multiple problems or intellectual disabilities, and peer relationships, especially in school settings. The project also examines the mutual influence of friendships and how they can contribute to bullying behaviour, with the aim of developing interventions that shift bullying into more helpful, prosocial behaviours.
• Project Shyness
• Sociale ontwikkeling van kinderen
• Samen spelen? – Voorjaarsvakantie 2022: Als we nieuwe mensen ontmoeten, vormen we snel een eerste indruk. Meteen beslissen we of we vriendschap willen sluiten en samen willen werken. In deze studie onderzoeken we wat deze beslissingen beïnvloedt.
  Kinderen vanaf 8 jaar en hun ouders kunnen meedoen aan dit onderzoek.
  Onderzoekers: dr. Milicia Nikolic, dr Mariska Kret, Chrisopher Riddell
  Onderzoeksinstelling: Universiteit van Amsterdam, Universiteit Leiden
  Aantal Proefpersonen: 468