Annie Riggs, PhD
she/her, Associate Professor
Office
Location
AI 186
Website
Child Development Research GroupAbout
Dr. Riggs runs the Social Cognitive Development Lab, which is part of the Child Development Research Group at WWU. Our lab studies how young children think and learn about their social worlds, including their understanding of social norms, gender, and moral issues. Dr. Riggs will accept undergraduate research assistants for the 25-26 AY and review graduate applications for the experimental program for Fall 2025.
Research Interests
- child development
- cognitive development
- morality
- gender
- pretend play
Current Courses
230- Lifespan Development
307- Experimental Research and Statistics
334- Cognitive Development
430- Moral Development
(on professional leave Spring 2025)
Selected Publications
Recent publications from the Social Cognitive Development Lab:
Riggs, A.E. & Gonzalez, A.M. (2025). Similarity or Stereotypes? An investigation of how exemplar gender guides children’s math learning. Developmental Science.
Riggs, A.E. & Fast. A.A. (2025). Happy Normativists: Do children express happiness when following conventional norms? Developmental Science.
Riggs, A.E. & Fast, A.A. (2025). Children's beliefs about the emotional consequences of norm adherence and violation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.
Fast, A.A. & Riggs, A.E. (2024). Preschoolers negatively evaluate conventional norm violations in pretend play. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.
Riggs, A.E., Kinard, D. & Long, M. (2022) Children's evaluations of gender non-conforming peers. Sex Roles, 88(1-2), 17-34
McLean, K. C., & Riggs, A. E. (2022). No age differences? No problem. Infant and Child Development, 31(1), e2261.
Riggs, A.E.(2020) Riggs, A. E. (2020). Is or ought? Reactions to violations help children to distinguish norms and regularities. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 194, 104822.
Riggs, A. E.,& Long, M. (2020). The Domain Frequency Association: A mental shortcut to guide children’s generalization of norms and preferences. Cognitive Development, 54, 100853.