Dr. Cvencek is a Research Scientist at the Institute of Learning and Brain Sciences. Before coming to the Institute, he earned a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology at the University of Washington, working with Tony Greenwald. Dr. Cvencek’s research focuses on the developmental origins of social cognition and its links to education. Dr. Cvencek investigates the role of social learning in the development of children’s gender stereotypes about math, in-group attitudes, and self-esteem using implicit and explicit measures. He also considers how this social-cognitive development in children may be facilitated by a tendency of the human mind to keep one's cognitions consistent with one another.
Publications:
Greenwald. A. G., Brendl, M., Cai, H., Cvencek, D., Dovidio, J., F., Hahn, A., Hehman, E., Hofmann, W., Hughes, S., Hussey, I., Jordan, C., Kirby, T. A., Lai, C. K., Lang, J. W. B., Lindgren, K. P., Maison, D., Ostafin, B. D., Rae, J. R., Ratliff, K. A., . . . Wiers, R. W. (2021). Best research practices for using the Implicit Association Test. Behavioral Research Methods. Click here for reprint.
Cvencek, D., Brečić, R., Gaćeša, D., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2021). Development of math attitudes and math self-concepts: Gender differences, implicit–explicit dissociations, and relations to math achievement. Child Development. Click here for reprint. Click here for supplemental materials.
Reid-Russell, A., Miller, A. B., Cvencek, D., Meltzoff, A. N., & McLaughlin, K. A. (2021). Lower implicit self-esteem as a pathway linking childhood abuse to depression and suicidal ideation. Development and Psychopathology. Click here for reprint.
Cvencek, D., Paz-Albo, J., Master, A., Herranz Llácer, C. V., Hervás-Escobar, A., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2020). Math is for me: A field intervention to strengthen math self-concepts in Spanish-speaking 3rd grade children. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 593995. Click here for reprint.
Cvencek, D., & Greenwald, A. G. (2020). Expressions of self-esteem. In B. J. Carducci & C. S. Nave (Eds.), The Wiley encyclopedia of personality and individual differences: Personality processes and individual differences (1st ed., Vol. 3, pp. 399–404). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Click here for reprint.
Del Río, M. F., Susperreguy, M. I., Strasser, K., Cvencek, D., Iturra, C., Gallardo, I., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2020). Early sources of children's math achievement in Chile: The role of parental beliefs and feelings about math. Early Education and Development. Click here for reprint.
Cvencek, D., Greenwald, A. G., McLaughlin, K. A., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2020). Early implicit–explicit discrepancies in self-esteem as correlates of childhood depressive symptoms. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 200, 104962. Click here for reprint. Click here for supplemental materials.
Greenwald, A. G., Brendl, M., Cai, H., Cvencek, D., Dovidio, J. F., Friese, M., . . . Wiers, R. (2020, April 7). The Implicit Association Test at age 20: What is known and what is not known about implicit bias. Click here for reprint.
Cvencek, D., Meltzoff, A. N., Maddox, C. D., Nosek, B. A., Rudman, L. A., Devos, T., Dunham, Y., Baron, A. S., Steffens, M. C., Lane, K., Horcajo, J., Ashburn-Nardo, L., Quinby, A., Srivastava, S. B., Schmidt, K., Aidman, E., Tang, E., Farnham, S., Mellott, D. S., Banaji, M. R., & Greenwald, A. G. (2021). Meta-analytic use of Balanced Identity Theory to validate the Implicit Association Test. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 47, 185–200. Click here for reprint. Click here for supplemental materials.
Del Río, M. F., Strasser, K., Cvencek, D., Susperreguy, M. I., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2019). Chilean kindergarten children’s beliefs about mathematics: Family matters. Developmental Psychology, 55, 687–702. Click here for reprint.
Meltzoff, A. N., & Cvencek, D. (2019). How stereotypes shape children’s STEM identity and learning. In P. K. Kuhl, S.-S. Lim, S. Guerriero, & D. van Damme (Eds.), Developing minds in the digital age: Towards a science of learning for 21st century education. Paris, France: OECD. Click here for reprint.
Cvencek, D., Fryberg, S. A., Covarrubias, R., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2017). Self-concepts, self-esteem, and academic achievement of minority and majority North American elementary school children. Child Development, 89, 1099-1109. Click here to receive a reprint.
Paz-Albo Prieto, J., Cvencek, D., Herranz Llácer, C. V., Hervás Escobar, A., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2017). Preschoolers' mathematical play and colour preferences: A new window into the development of gendered beliefs about math. Early Child Development and Care, 187, 1273–1283. Click here to receive a reprint.
Lindgren, K. P., Neighbors, C., Gasser, M. L., Ramirez, J. J., & Cvencek, D. (2016). A review of implicit and explicit substance self-concept as a predictor of alcohol and tobacco use and misuse. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 43, 237–246. Click here to receive a reprint.
Cvencek, D., Greenwald, A. G., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2016). Implicit measures for preschool children confirm self-esteem's role in maintaining a balanced identity. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 62, 50–57. Click here to receive a reprint
Cvencek, D., Kapur, M., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2015). Math achievement, stereotypes, and math self-concepts among elementary-school students in Singapore. Learning and Instruction, 39, 1–10. Click here to receive a reprint
Cvencek, D., Nasir, N. S., O’Connor, K., Wischnia, S., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2015). The development of math–race stereotypes: “They say Chinese people are the best at math.” Journal of Research on Adolescence, 25, 630-637. Click here to receive a reprint
Cvencek, D., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2015). Developing implicit social cognition in early childhood: Methods, phenomena, prospects. In S. Flannery Quinn & S. Robson (Eds.), The Routledge international handbook of young children’s thinking and understanding (pp. 43–53). Abingdon, England: Routledge. Click here to receive a reprint
Baron, A. S., Schmader, T., Cvencek, D., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2014). The gendered self-concept: How implicit gender stereotypes and attitudes shape self-definition. In P. J. Leman & H. R. Tenenbaum (Eds.), Gender and development (pp. 109–132). East Sussex, England: Psychology Press. Click here to receive a reprint
Cvencek, D., Meltzoff, A. N., & Kapur, M. (2014). Cognitive consistency and math-gender stereotypes in Singaporean children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 117, 73–91. Click here to receive a reprint
Cvencek, D., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2012). Math–gender stereotypes in elementary school children. In J. A. Banks (Ed.), Encyclopedia of diversity in education, (Vol. 3, pp. 1455–1460). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Click here to receive a reprint
Cvencek, D., Meltzoff, A. N., & Baron, A. S. (2012). Implicit measures of attitudes of preschool children. In J. A. Banks (Ed.), Encyclopedia of diversity in education, (Vol. 1, pp. 192–196). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Click here to receive a reprint
Cvencek, D., Greenwald, A. G., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2012). Balanced identity theory: Evidence for implicit consistency in social cognition. In B. Gawronski & F. Strack (Eds.), Cognitive consistency: A unifying concept in social psychology (pp. 157–177). Guilford, NY: Guilford Press. Click here to receive a reprint
Cvencek, D., Greenwald, A. G., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2011). Measuring implicit attitudes of 4-year-olds: The Preschool Implicit Association Test. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 109, 187–200. Click here to receive a reprint
Cvencek, D., Meltzoff, A. N., & Greenwald, A.G. (2011). Math–gender stereotypes in elementary school children. Child Development, 82, 776–779. Click here to receive a reprint
Cvencek, D., Greenwald, A. G., Brown, A. S., Gray, N. S., & Snowden, R. J. (2010). Faking of the Implicit Association Test is statistically detectable and partly correctable. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 32, 302–314. Click here to receive a reprint
