Bolivar Reyes-Jaquez

Bolivar “Boli” Reyes-Jaquez is Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), College of Liberal Arts, Department of Psychology. He directs the Social Cognition Development Lab and studies how culture shapes the emergence of moral evaluations, stereotyping, and political cognition in childhood.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Psychology – University of Texas

Research Focus:
Reyes-Jaquez investigates moral and social cognition development, with particular attention to culture, gender, race, immigration, and social justice. His work asks how children reason about fairness, power, bribery, and inter-group attitudes across diverse cultural contexts such as the Dominican Republic and the United States. Studies explore when and why children begin to link power with gender, reject corrupt authorities, or excuse mistakes based on causal clarity.

Across more than a decade of publications (2011–2024), Reyes-Jaquez has advanced three intersecting research streams:

1. Moral condemnation of power abuse – demonstrating early sensitivity to bribery and corruption.
2. Gendered power associations – revealing how boys and girls differentially map power onto gender categories.
3. Cross-cultural variability in racial and religious cognition – showing how being a numerical majority or minority influences children’s racial attitudes and belief formation.

Teaching: Reyes-Jaquez teaches undergraduate and graduate courses including Research Methods in Psychology, Applications of Psychology, Advanced Seminar in Developmental Psychology, and specialized topics on socio-moral judgment development.

Labs & Collaborations: He leads the Social Cognition Development Lab at UNH and is an active member of the international Developing Belief Network.

Contact: Boli.Reyes-Jaquez@unh.edu