Publications

Referred Publications

Please note: Electronic versions of some papers are provided for academic purposes only. Please do not repost or distribute without permission.

*indicates current or former student

Mills, C. M., Goldstein, T. R., Kanumuru, P., Monroe, A. J.*, & Quintero, N. B.* (in press). Debunking the Santa myth: The process and aftermath of becoming skeptical about Santa. Developmental Psychology. [View online]

Sands, K. R.*, Monroe, A. J.*, & Mills, C. M. (2023). “How do fish breathe underwater?” Young children’s ability to evaluate and remember different types of explanations regarding biological phenomena. Cognitive Development, 66, 101330.

Chandler-Campbell, I. L.*, Ghossainy, M., Mills, C. M., & Corriveau, K. H. (2022). Is secondhand information better read or said? Factors influencing children’s endorsement of text-based information. Cognitive Development, 63, 101215.

Mills, C. M., Danovitch, J. H., Mugambi, V. N.*, Sands, K. R.*, & Monroe, A. J.* (2022). Cognitive reflection and authoritarianism relate to how parents respond to children’s science questions. Developmental Psychology, 58, 417-424.

Mills, C. M., Danovitch, J. H., Sands, K. R., Mugambi, V., & Pattisapu Fox, C. (2022). “Why do dogs pant?”: Characteristics of parental explanations about science predict children’s knowledge. Child Development, 93, 326-340.  [View PDF]

Danovitch, J. H., Mills, C. M., Sands, K. R., & Williams, A. J. (2021). Mind the gap: How incomplete explanations influence children’s interest and learning behaviors. Cognitive Psychology, 130. doi: 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2021.101421

Danovitch, J. H., Mills, C. M., Duncan, R. G., Williams, A. J., & Girouard, L. N. (2021). Developmental changes in children’s recognition of the relevance of evidence to causal explanations. Cognitive Development, 58. doi: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2021.101017

Williams, A. J., Danovitch, J. H., & Mills, C. M. (2020). Exploring sources of individual differences in children’s interest in science. Mind, Brain, and Education, 15, 67-76. doi:10.1111/mbe.12263

Sheskin, M., Scott, K., Mills, C., Bergelson, E., Bonawitz, E., Spelke, E., Li, F., Keil, F., Gweon, H., Tenenbaum, J., Jara-Ettinger, J., Adolph, K., Rhodes, M., Frank, M., Mehr, S., & Schulz, L. (2020). Online developmental science to foster innovation, access, and impact. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 24, 675-678. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2020.06.004

Rowles, S. P.*, & Mills, C. M. (2019). “Is it worth my time and effort?”: How children selectively gather information from experts when faced with different kinds of costs. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 179, 308-323. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2018.11.016 [View PDF]

Mills, C. M., Sands, K. R.*, Rowles, S. P.*, & Campbell, I. L.* (2019). “I want to know more!”: Children are sensitive to explanation quality when exploring new information. Cognitive Science, 43, 1-28. doi: 10.1111/cogs.12706 [View PDF]

Rowles, S. P.*, & Mills, C. M. (2018). Preschoolers sometimes seek help from socially engaged informants over competent ones. Journal of Cognition and Development, 48, 19-31. doi: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2018.06.006 [View PDF]

Danovitch, J. H., & Mills, C. M. (2017). The influence of familiar characters and other appealing images on young children’s preference for low-quality objects. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 35, 476-481.

Mills, C. M., Danovitch, J. H., Rowles, S. P.*, & Campbell, I. L.* (2017). Children’s success at detecting circular explanations and their interest in future learning. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 24, 1465-1477. doi: 10.3758/s13423-016-1195-2 [View PDF]

Mills, C. M., & Landrum, A. R.* (2016). Learning who knows what: Children adjust their inquiry to gather information from others. Frontiers in Psychology, 7: 951, 1-12. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00951

Landrum, A. R.*, Pflaum, A., & Mills, C. M. (2016). Inducing knowledgeability from niceness: Children use social features for making epistemic inferences. Journal of Cognition and Development. doi: 10.1080/15248372.2015.1135799

Elashi, F. B.*, & Mills, C. M. (2015). Developing the Bias Blind Spot: Increasing skepticism towards others. PLoS ONE, 10, 1-11. [View PDF]

Johnston, A. R.*, Mills, C. M., & Landrum, A. R.* (2015). How do children weigh competence and benevolence when deciding whom to trust? Cognition, 144, 76-90. doi: 10.1/j.cognition.2015.07.015.

Landrum, A. R.*, & Mills, C. M. (2015). Developing expectations regarding the boundaries of expertise. Cognition, 134, 215-231. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2014.10.013

Elashi, F. B.*, & Mills, C. M. (2014). Do children trust based on group membership or prior accuracy? The role of group membership in children’s trust decisions. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 128, 88-104. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2014.07.003

Danovitch, J. H., & Mills, C. M. (2014). How familiar characters influence children’s judgments about information and products. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 128, 1-20. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2014.06.001

Mills, C. M., & Elashi, F. B.* (2014). Children’s skepticism: Developmental and individual differences in children’s ability to detect and explain distorted claims. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 124, 1-17. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2014.01.015 [View PDF]

Landrum, A. R.*, Mills, C. M., & Johnston, A. M.* (2013). When do children trust the expert? Benevolence information influences children’s trust more than expertise. Developmental Science, 16, 622-638. doi: 10.1111/desc.12059 [View PDF]

Mills, C. M. (2013). Knowing when to doubt: Developing a critical stance when learning from others. Developmental Psychology, 49(3), 404-418. doi:10.1037/a0029500 [View PDF]

Jerger, S. Damian, M. F., Mills, C. M., Bartlett, J., Tye-Murray, N., & Abdi, H. (2013). Effect of perceptual load on semantic access by speech in children. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 56, 388-403.

Legare, C. H., Mills, C. M., Souza, A. L., Plummer, L. E., & Yasskin, R. (2013). The use of questions as problem-solving strategies during early childhood. Journal Of Experimental Child Psychology, 114(1), 63-76. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2012.07.002

Mills, C. M., & Landrum, A. R.* (2012). Judging judges: How do children weigh the importance of capability and objectivity for being a good decision maker? British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 30(3), 393-414. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-835X.2011.02047.x.

Mills, C. M., Danovitch, J. H., Grant, M. G.*, & Elashi, F. B.* (2012). Little pitchers use their big ears: Preschoolers solve problems by listening to others ask questions. Child Development, 83, 568-580.

Mills, C. M., Al-Jabari, R.*, & Archacki, M. A.* (2012). Why do people disagree? Explaining and endorsing the possibility of partiality in judgments. Journal of Cognition and Development, 13, 111-136.

Mills, C. M., Legare, C. H., Grant, M. G.*, & Landrum, A. R.* (2011). Determining whom to question, what to ask, and how much information to ask for: The development of inquiry in young children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 110, 539-560. [View PDF]

Grant, M. G.*, & Mills, C. M. (2011). Children’s explanations of the intentions underlying others’ behavior. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 29, 504-523. 

Mills, C. M., Legare, C. H., Bills, M.*, & Mejias, C.* (2010). Preschoolers use questions as a tool to acquire knowledge from different sources. Journal of Cognition and Development, 11, 533-560. [View PDF]

Danovitch, J. H., Greif, M. L., & Mills, C. M. (2010). Working with undergraduate research assistants: Setting-up and maintaining a research lab. APS Observer, 28, 29-32.

Elashi, F. B.*, Mills, C. M., & Grant, M. G.* (2010). In-group and out-group attitudes of Muslim children. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 31, 379-385.

Mills, C. M., & Danovitch, J. H. (2009). Getting to know yourself…and others. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 32, 34-35.

Mills, C. M., & Grant, M. G.* (2009). Biased decision-making: Developing an understanding of how positive and negative relationships may skew judgments. Developmental Science, 12, 784-797.

Mills, C. M., & Keil, F. C. (2008). Children’s developing notions of (im)partiality. Cognition, 107, 528-551.

Mills, C. M., & Keil, F. C. (2005). The development of cynicism. Psychological Science, 16, 385-390.[View PDF]

Mills, C. M., & Keil, F. C. (2004). Knowing the limits of one’s understanding: The development of an awareness of an illusion of explanatory depth. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 87, 1-32. [View PDF]

Book Chapters

Mills, C. M., & Sands, K. S.* (in press). Understanding developmental and individual differences in the process of inquiry during the preschool years. In S. Ronfard, L. Butler, and K. Corriveau (Eds.), The Questioning Child.

Danovitch, J. H., & Mills, C. M. (2018). Children’s learning from explanations: When and how explanation leads to exploration. In M. Saylor and P. Ganea (Eds.), Active Learning from Infancy to Childhood: Social Motivation, Cognition, and Linguistic Mechanisms of Learning (pp. 95-112). New York, NY: Springer.

Mills, C. M., & Landrum, A. R.* (2014). Inquiring minds: Using questions to gather information from others. In E. J. Robinson and S. Einav (Eds), Trust and Skepticism: Children’s selective learning from testimony.

Keil, F., Rozenblit, L., & Mills, C. (2004). What lies beneath? Understanding the limits of understanding. In D.T. Levin (Ed), Thinking and Seeing: Visual Metacognition in Adults and Children. Westport, CT: Greenwood/Praeger.