Celeste Kidd

Celeste Kidd is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, leading the Kidd Lab. Her research bridges computational modeling and behavioral experiments to study knowledge acquisition in young children, drawing from foundational theories by Piaget, Montessori, and Vygotsky.

• Education: Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Rochester

Her work focuses on attention, curiosity, and learning dynamics, particularly how children explore and attend to information during development. She employs eye-trackers, touchscreens, and observational play studies to quantify learning processes.

Recent publications highlight her exploration of belief formation, social learning, and the intersection of AI with cognitive development. Her findings inform educational technologies and clinical practices.

Her lab emphasizes cross-cultural studies and computational models of curiosity, with experiments spanning infancy to adolescence. She investigates how predictability, physical cues, and linguistic structures shape cognitive growth.