Dr Sunae Kim

PhD in Educational Psychology

Senior Lecturer in Psychology

School of Psychology, Social Work and Public Health

Role

PhD Supervision. I am currently supervising Carlos Magzel at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.

Student Support: I currently lead the Kim Learning Lab, where I mentor several undergraduate students in my projects and support their career development.

Teaching and supervision

Modules taught

PSYC4014 Contemporary Issues in Psychology (Module Leader)
PSYC5020 Attachment and Human Development: Lifespan Approach (Module Leader)
PSYC6015 Neurodiversity and Developmental Disorder (Module Leader)
PSYC6023 Specialised Research Skills in Psychology
PSYC7008 Cognitive and Social Aspects of Development
Year 1 Tutorial
Undergraduate final year dissertation supervision
MSc dissertation supervision

Research

I am interested in a broad range of topics in social cognition, particularly:
1) children’s social learning, informing, and teaching, and
2) metacognition (including monitoring and control) as potential mechanisms underlying these processes.

Groups

Developmental Psychology

Projects as Principal Investigator, or Lead Academic if project is led by another Institution

The role of adaptive strategies in children’s task persistence (01/09/2025 - 31/08/2026), funded by: Leverhulme Trust

Publications

Kim S, Pond N, Harris PL, Hulme C, Revisiting Persistence in Developmental Psychology: An Integrative Framework for Flexible Persistence
Human Development [online first] (2026) ISSN: 0018-716X eISSN: 1423-0054 Revisiting Persistence in Developmental Psychology: An Integrative Framework for Flexible Persistence Open Access version on RADAR
Magzel C, Kiraly I, Kim S, Reifen-Tagar M, Group-Dependent Selective Forgetting in Arab-Israeli Children
Developmental Psychology [in press] (2026) ISSN: 0012-1649 eISSN: 1939-0599 Group-Dependent Selective Forgetting in Arab-Israeli Children Open Access version on RADAR
Kim S, Harris PL, Néher B, Curiosity can influence metacognitive processes
Metacognition and Learning 20 (2025) ISSN: 1556-1623 eISSN: 1556-1631 Curiosity can influence metacognitive processes Open Access version on RADAR
Kim S, Arif MI, Children’s expectations of selective informing: The role of informational relevance on group membership based informing
Cognitive Development 71 (2024) ISSN: 0885-2014 eISSN: 1879-226X Children’s expectations of selective informing: The role of informational relevance on group membership based informing Open Access version on RADAR
Kim S, Sakaki M, Murayama K , Metacognition of curiosity: People underestimate the seductive lure of non-instrumental information
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 31 (3) (2024) pp.1233-1244 ISSN: 1069-9384 eISSN: 1531-5320 Metacognition of curiosity: People underestimate the seductive lure of non-instrumental information Open Access version on RADAR
Kim S, Senju A, Sodian B, Paulus M, Itakura S, Okuno A, Ueno M, Proust J, Memory Monitoring and Control in Japanese and German Preschoolers
Memory & Cognition 51 (3) (2023) pp.708-717 ISSN: 0090-502X eISSN: 1532-5946 Memory Monitoring and Control in Japanese and German Preschoolers Open Access version on RADAR
Kim S, Le Guen O, Sodian B, Proust J, Are Children Sensitive to What They Know?: An Insight from Yucatec Mayan Children
Journal of Cognition and Culture 21 (3/4) (2021) pp.226-242 ISSN: 1567-7095 eISSN: 1568-5373
Kim S, Kristen-Antonow S, Sodian B, A longitudinal study of early pretense: Metarepresentational or not
International Journal of Behavioral Development 45 (4) (2021) pp.345-354 ISSN: 0165-0254 eISSN: 1464-0651
Kloo D, Sodian B, Kristen‐Antonow S, Kim S, Paulus M, Knowing minds: Linking early perspective taking and later metacognitive insight
British Journal of Developmental Psychology 39 (1) (2020) pp.39-53 ISSN: 0261-510X eISSN: 2044-835X
Kim S, Sodian B, Paulus M, Senju A, Okuno A, Ueno M, Itakura S, Proust J, Metacognition and mindreading in young children: A cross-cultural study
Consciousness and Cognition 85 (2020) ISSN: 1053-8100 eISSN: 1090-2376
Kim S, Sodian B, Proust J, 12- and 24-Month-Old Infants’ Search Behavior Under Informational Uncertainty
Frontiers in Psychology 11 (2020) ISSN: 1664-1078 eISSN: 1664-1078
Kim S, Paulus M, Sodian B, Proust J, Children’s prior experiences of their successes and failures modulate belief alignment
European Journal of Developmental Psychology 17 (5) (2020) pp.664-678 ISSN: 1740-5629 eISSN: 1740-5610
Kim S, Spelke ES, Learning from multiple informants: Children’s response to epistemic bases for consensus judgments
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 192 (2020) ISSN: 0022-0965 eISSN: 1096-0457
Kim S, Paulus M, Sodian B, Itakura S, Ueno M, Senju A, Proust J, Selective learning and teaching among Japanese and German children.
Developmental Psychology 54 (3) (2018) pp.536-542 ISSN: 0012-1649 eISSN: 1939-0599
Kim S, Paulus M, Kalish C, Young Children's Reliance on Information From Inaccurate Informants
Cognitive Science: A Multidisciplinary Journal 41 (S3) (2016) pp.601-621 ISSN: 0364-0213 eISSN: 1551-6709
Kim S, Paulus M, Sodian B, Proust J, Young Children’s Sensitivity to Their Own Ignorance in Informing Others
PLoS ONE 11 (3) (2016) ISSN: 1932-6203 eISSN: 1932-6203
Kim S, Kalish CW., Weisman K, Johnson MV., Shutts K, Young Children Choose to Inform Previously Knowledgeable Others
Journal of Cognition and Development 17 (2) (2015) pp.320-340 ISSN: 1524-8372 eISSN: 1532-7647
Paulus M, Kim S, Sodian B, Clarifying the range of social-cognitive processes subserving human teaching
Behavioral and Brain Sciences: An International Journal of Current Research and Theory with Open Peer Commentary 38 (2015) ISSN: 0140-525X eISSN: 1469-1825
Kim S, Harris PL, Selecting among extraordinary informants
British Journal of Developmental Psychology 32 (4) (2014) pp.394-396 ISSN: 0261-510X eISSN: 2044-835X
Kim S, Sodian B, Paulus M, Does he need help or can he help himself? Preschool children's expectations about others' instrumental helping versus self-helping
Frontiers in Psychology 5 (2014) ISSN: 1664-1078 eISSN: 1664-1078
Kim S, Harris PL, Children prefer to learn from mind‐readers
British Journal of Developmental Psychology 32 (4) (2014) pp.375-387 ISSN: 0261-510X eISSN: 2044-835X
Kim S, Harris PL, Warneken F, Is it okay to tell? Children's judgements about information disclosure
British Journal of Developmental Psychology 32 (3) (2014) pp.291-304 ISSN: 0261-510X eISSN: 2044-835X
Kim S, Harris PL, Belief in Magic Predicts Children's Selective Trust in Informants
Journal of Cognition and Development 15 (2) (2014) pp.181-196 ISSN: 1524-8372 eISSN: 1532-7647
Kalish CW, Kim S, Young AG, How Young Children Learn From Examples: Descriptive and Inferential Problems
Cognitive Science: A Multidisciplinary Journal 36 (8) (2012) pp.1427-1448 ISSN: 0364-0213 eISSN: 1551-6709
Kim S, Kalish CW, Harris PL, Speaker reliability guides children's inductive inferences about novel properties
Cognitive Development 27 (2) (2012) pp.114-125 ISSN: 0885-2014 eISSN: 1879-226X
Kim S, Kalish CW, Children's ascriptions of property rights with changes of ownership
Cognitive Development 24 (3) (2009) pp.322-336 ISSN: 0885-2014 eISSN: 1879-226X
Nathan MJ, Kim S, Pattern Generalization with Graphs and Words: A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analysis of Middle School Students' Representational Fluency
Mathematical Thinking and Learning 9 (3) (2007) pp.193-219 ISSN: 1098-6065 eISSN: 1532-7833

Harris M, Westermann G, Kim S, Bazhydai M, A Student's Guide to Developmental Psychology ,
Routledge Taylor and Francis group (2024) ISBN: 9780367471040

Kim S, Shahaeian A, Proust J, Developmental diversity in mindreading and metacognition
in Metacognitive Diversity: An Interdisciplinary Approach, Oxford University Press (2018) ISBN: 9780198789710 eISBN: 9780191841675
Fortier M, Kim S, From the Impossible to the Improbable: A Probabilistic Account of Magical Beliefs and Practices Across Development and Cultures
in The Science of Lay Theories, Springer International Publishing (2017) ISBN: 9783319573052 eISBN: 9783319573069

Professional information

Memberships of professional bodies

British Psychological Society

Further details

PhD in Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA (2007-2010).
Project Assistantship - full tuition and stipend for PhD degree
Postdoctoral Fellow/Researcher in Psychology at Harvard (USA) (2010-2013)
and Ludwig Maximilian University-Munich (Germany) (2013-2016) –
supported by NIH (PI: Prof. Elizabeth Spelke) and EU grant (PI: Prof. Joelle Proust ENS, Paris, France)
Assistant Professor - Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey (2016-2017)
Assistant, Associate Professor - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary (2017-2021) (Habilitation awarded; Hungarian National Grant, OTKA FK21, 36 million HUF awarded, declined)