Updated 12/2022
Aarti Bodas
abodas@BU.Edu| AartiBodas.com
Education
September 2021 – present Boston University, Boston, MA
PhD in Psychology (Developmental Science)
Advisor: Dr. Deborah Kelemen
September 2021 – May 2023 Boston University, Boston, MA
MA in Psychology (Developmental Science)
August 2019 – September 2021 Villanova University, Villanova, PA
Master of Science in Psychology, September 2021
Thesis: Investigating the Influence of Educational Media on Children’s Environmental Views
Committee: Dr. Deena Weisberg (Chairperson), Dr. Janette Herbers, Dr. Irene Kan
September 2015 – June 2019 University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Bachelor of Science in Psychology, June 2019
Minor: Global Health
Honor’s Thesis: “Can I Count on You?”: Infants’ Expectations of Prosocial Behavior Across Contexts
Mentors: Dr. Jessica Sommerville, Dr. Kelsey Lucca
Profile
- The development of scientific reasoning skills during early childhood and how this development is shaped by various social factors.
- How do scientific reasoning skills develop inside and outside of formal education settings?
Honors and Awards
- 2023: Boston University Pardee Center for Global Studies Graduate Summer Fellowship
- 2022: Boston University Center for Innovation in Social Science Mini Grant
- 2021: Graduate Teaching Fellowship, Boston University
- 2019-2021: Graduate Student Research Assistantship, Villanova University
- 2020: Villanova Graduate Summer Research Fellowship
- 2019: Undergraduate Research Conference Travel Award
- 2019: Guthrie Prize for Best Empirical Paper, University of Washington
- 2019: Hagenstein Endowment Travel Scholarship
- 2018: Research Scholarship from the Mary Gates Endowment
Professional Skills
• Conducting quantitative and qualitative psychological research
• Conducting research in applied (museums, preschools and elementary schools) and laboratory settings
• Using SPSS, R and JASP for data analysis.
• Using Eye-Tracking programs to collect child participant data
• Developing scientific research studies, designing data collection methodology and planning analyses
• Writing scientific research proposals, manuscripts, and giving research presentations
• Using Datavyu and BeGaze Data coding programs; experience transcribing participant interviews
• Bilingual: English (native speaker), Marathi (native speaker)
• Recruiting participants via Phone, Email, Social Media (Facebook), and in large public settings (Museums and Public Parks)
Manuscripts in Preparation
Bodas, A., Chlebuch, N., & Weisberg, D.S. Water Woes: The Effects of Children’s Science Media on Conservation Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, and Environmental Worry. Manuscript in preparation.
Ting, F., Bodas, A., Harfouche, L. & Kelemen, D. (2023). Children’s Sensitivity to Physical and Cognitive Disability Status when Judging Norm Violations. Manuscript in preparation.
Chlebuch, N., Bodas, A., & Weisberg, D.S. Still Hidden Figures: Gender and Race Representation in Children’s Educational Science Media. Manuscript in preparation.
Research Manuscripts
Chlebuch, N., Bodas, A., & Weisberg, D. S. (2022). What does the cat in the hat know about that? An analysis of the educational and unrealistic content of children’s narrative science media. Psychology of Popular Media. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000388 [PDF]
Conference Presentations
Chlebuch, N., Bodas, A. & Weisberg, D.S. (2023). Still Hidden Figures: Gender and Race Representation in Children’s Educational Science Media. Poster to be presented at the Society for Research on Child Development Bi-ennial Conference. Salt Lake City , UT: March 2023.
Bodas, A., Chlebuch, N., & Weisberg, D.S. (2022). An inconvenient truth: Educational media increases preschoolers’ worry about the environment, but not their knowledge. Poster presented at the Cognitive Development Society Bi-ennial Conference. Madison, WI: April 2022.
Weisberg, D. S., Chlebuch, N., & Bodas, A. (2022). Impossible elements in children’s educational media. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Society for Fiction and Fictionality Studies. Chicago, IL: March 2022.
Chlebuch, N., Bodas, A., Weisberg, D.S. (2021) Wile E. Coyote, Physical Science Genius: A content analysis of children’s science media. Poster for the Society for Research on Child Development Biennial Meeting.
Herbers, J.A., Jennings, K., Cutili, J.J., Abdul-Masih, M., & Bodas, A. (2021) Parent-child relationship quality among dyads with infants and toddlers experiencing family homelessness. Paper Symposium presentation for the Society for Research on Child Development Biennial Meeting.
Bodas, A., Kyuchukova, K., Lucca, K. & Sommerville, J. (2019) “Can I Count on You?” Siblings influence infants’ expectations of trustworthiness of fair and unfair agents. Presented at the Association for Psychological Science 31st Annual Convention. Washington D.C.
Bodas, A., Kyuchukova, K., Lucca, K. & Sommerville, J. (2019) “Can I Count on You?” Siblings influence infants’ expectations of trustworthiness of fair and unfair agents. Presented at the University of Washington Undergraduate Research Symposium.
Bodas, A., Kyuchukova, K., Lucca, K. & Sommerville, J. (2019) “Can I Count on You?” Infants notice inconsistencies in prosocial behavior across contexts. Presented at the 2019 Northwest Social Cognitive Development Conference. Friday Harbor, WA.
Research Talks
Ting, F., Bodas, A., Harfouche, L. & Kelemen, D. Children’s Sensitivity to Physical and Cognitive Disability Status when Judging Norm Violations. Flash Talk to be presented at the Society for Research on Child Development Bi-ennial Conference. Salt Lake City, UT: March 2023
Bodas, A. (2022) Children’s learning from science media. Invited speaker for Boston University Academic Immersion program in Psychology
Peer Review Experience
Ad-hoc Journal Reviewing: Cognitive Development (co-reviewed)
Conference Reviewing: CogSci Conference (2022)
Academic Service
2022-2023: Boston University Developmental Science Colloquium Series Co-Organizer
Mentoring Experience
-
Malvika Khandelwal, Boston University, Recipient of 2022 Kilichand Honors College Award
-
Ankita Kumar, Boston University, Recipient of Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Award (Autumn 2022 and Spring 2023)
Community Outreach
Bodas, A. (2022) Pursuing a career in Psychological Research. Invited speaker through Skype a Scientist at Rossall School, Lancashire, North West England.
Bodas, A. (2022) Pursuing a career in Psychological Research. Invited speaker at Weston
High School, Weston, MA.
Bodas, A. (2020) Applying to experimental psychology masters programs, navigating the first year of graduate school, and staying positive during Covid-19. Invited speaker for Emerging Minds Lab, Arizona State University.
Honors and Awards
Summer 2022– Boston University Center for Innovation in Social Science Mini Grant
Fall 2021– Graduate Teaching Fellowship, Boston University
Fall 2019 -2021 Graduate Student Assistantship, Villanova University
Summer 2020 Villanova Graduate Research Fellowship for Summer 2020
Spring 2020 Induction into Psi Chi Psychology Honor Society
Spring 2019 Guthrie Prize for Best Empirical Research Paper
Spring 2019 Undergraduate Research Conference Travel Award
Winter 2019 Hagenstein Endowment Travel Scholarship
Autumn 2018 Research Scholarship from the Mary Gates Endowment
Relevant Coursework
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (Developmental Science, in progress; Boston University, Boston, MA)
Cognitive Development, Professional Issues in Psychology, Statistics in Psychology I and II (General linear modeling, interaction effects, statistical analysis with latent variables, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation models, latent growth models, psychometrics), Childhood Adversity, Social Development, Psychological Research Methods
Master of Science Psychology (Villanova University, Villlanova, PA)
Professional Seminar, Biopsychology, Development of Imagination, Statistics and Experimental Design, Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Science, Translating Developmental Science, Independent Study: Investigating Associations between Positive Parenting and Caregivers’ Use of Pretend Play
Bachelor of Science Psychology (University of Washington, Seattle, WA)
Introduction to Psychology, Writing in Social Sciences, Biopsychology, Research Methods, Abnormal Psychology, Probability and Statistics, Statistical Inferences, Introduction to Drugs and Behavior, Evolutionary Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Creativity in Early Childhood Education, Cognitive Psychology
Academic Work Experience
August 2018 – June 2019 Peer Mentor, Odegaard Writing and Research Center
• Mentored tutors in improving their tutoring style and abilities
• Planned and organized bi-weekly workshops and small-group meetings for mentees
• Created resources and reference guides for writers and tutors
July 2016 – August 2018 Tutor, Odegaard Writing and Research Center
• Provided feedback to graduate and undergraduate students on writing and research assignments
• Conducted independent research to improve marketing of Health Sciences Library satellite site
• Assisted managers in annual hiring cycle
Leadership Experience
May 2020 – Present Vice President, Psi Chi, Villanova Chapter
• Co-organizes community events, such as annual banquet for Psi Chi members
• Co-authored statement on commitment to diversity and inclusion
May 2018 – June 2019 Social Media Coordinator, Diversity in Psychology
• Co-organized conference for high-school students from under-represented minorities to learn about the Psychology program at UW
• Designed marketing materials for bi-weekly meetings
• Communicated with club members via weekly email newsletters
• Communicated with Psychology Department about club activities
Professional Membership
Graduate student member of Cognitive Development Society
Graduate student member of the Society for Research on Child Development
Graduate student member of Psi Chi, the National Honor Society for Psychology
Aarti Bodas 