Pearl Han Li

Research Area(s)
Developmental

Lab Website
Social and Moral Learning Lab

Research Interests
My research explores how children across cultures balance independent thinking and reliance on others’ testimony when developing and updating their beliefs. Specifically, my work investigates how testimony influences children’s moral judgments, the role of interpersonal trust and collaboration in social learning, and the situational and cultural mechanisms that make children either too resistant or too credulous toward adult testimony

In the Social and Moral Learning Lab, our current projects examine how children navigate moral dilemmas, revise their beliefs, and evaluate epistemic and moral virtues in learning (such as intellectual humility). Using experimental and cross-cultural approaches, we aim to empower children to become more compassionate and open-minded learners and promote constructive dialogue in disagreement.

Representative Publications

1. Li, P.H., & Koenig, M. (2025). Appealing to consequences, or authority? The influence of explanations on children’s moral judgments across two cultures. Cognition.
2. Li, P.H., & Koenig, M., (2023). Understanding the Role of Testimony in Children’s Moral Development: Theories, Controversies, and Implications. Developmental Review, 67, 101053.
3. Li, P.H., & Kushnir, T. (2024). Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White: Do Children Appreciate Intellectual Humility in the Face of Moral Dilemmas? Developmental Science.
4. Li, P.H., Hoff, E.S.& Koenig, M., (2022). Children’s Attributions of Moral and Epistemic Virtue: Effects on Learning and Memory. Developmental Psychology, 58, 1114-1127.
5. Li, P.H., Deangelis, E., Glaspie, N., & Koenig, M., (2024). The Collaborative Nature of Testimonial Learning. Topics in Cognitive Science.
6. Li, P.H., Harris, P.L., & Koenig, M. (2019). The Role of Adult Testimony in Children’s Moral Decision Making: Evidence from China and United States. Developmental Psychology, 55, 2603.
7. Li, P.H., & Koenig, M. (2020). Children’s Evaluations of Informants and their Surprising Claims in Direct and Overheard Contexts. Journal of Cognition and Development, 1-22.