Hi! My name is Radhika Santhanagopalan (sun-thaa-naa-go-paa-lun).

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I was born and raised in Hong Kong. I got a B.S. degree from the University of Michigan, where I hopped around five labs trying to find my research niche. I eventually found the Lee lab, working with Drs. Fiona Lee and Sarah Huff on identity integration in cross-cultural settings. I completed my thesis in the Language and Literacy Lab, working with Drs. Ioulia Kovelman and Neelima Wagley on using neuroimaging methods to understand language acquisition in bilingual and monolingual infants.  

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I started my Ph.D. in Psychology at Cornell University, working with Dr. Katherine Kinzler on projects related to children's thinking about social groups and hierarchies, examining children's abstract intuitions about nationality, language, gender, and immigration. After transferring to the University of Chicago, my interests grew to include the origins of judgment and decision-making abilities, exploring children as strategic decision-makers (e.g., their ability to maximize value in negotiation tasks), and when they make decisions against their own interests (e.g., avoiding useful information). This led me to pursue a joint PhD with Drs. Katherine Kinzler and Jane Risen in the Department of Psychology and Booth School of Business.