Liz Lapidow

Liz Lapidow is a Postdoctoral Fellow and Researcher at the University of Waterloo, investigating how children and adults learn causal systems through exploration and decision-making. Her interdisciplinary work bridges cognitive development, philosophy, and computational modeling to understand spontaneous learner behaviors.

Her research centers on cognitive development and causal reasoning, specifically examining preschoolers' uncertainty handling, exploration-exploitation trade-offs, and question-asking strategies. Key interests include how learners recognize inconsistent evidence, transfer causal knowledge across domains, and use causality to guide information-seeking during self-directed learning.

Analysis of her 2020-2025 publications reveals methodological innovation (in-person, Zoom, and online platforms) and thematic focus on confidence judgments, directed questioning in classrooms, and inconsistent causal relationship processing. Her work demonstrates how children function as intuitive scientists, with implications for educational practices and developmental theory.