The Team

Dr. Sarah Zanette

LAB DIRECTOR (PI)

Dr. Sarah Zanette received her PhD in Developmental Psychology and Education from the University of Toronto and is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Regina, Luther College.

Dr. Zanette is a developmental psychologist with research interests that lie at the intersections of social, moral, and forensic psychology. Broadly speaking, her research focuses on improving our understanding of childhood deception (i.e., lying and cheating) and applying this knowledge to legal, forensic, clinical, and parenting contexts. Specifically, she investigates two core research questions: (1) how do children learn to deceive and develop patterns of typical and atypical lie-telling; and (2) how can children's lies be reliably detected?

Her research has been funded by agencies such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS), and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS).

Dr. Zanette currently teaches the following courses at the University of Regina/Luther College:

Introductory Psychology: Social, Developmental, and Clinical Focus (PSYC 101) - Fall semesters
Lifespan Developmental Psychology (PSYC 210) - Winter semesters
Social and Emotional Development and Applications (PSYC 415AE) - Fall semesters
Advanced Developmental Psychology (PSYC 810) - Winter 2024
COMING SOON: The Psychology of Deception (PSYC 360)

Follow Dr. Zanette on social media:

Current Students

Siham Hagi Hussein

Masters Student

Siham is a second-year Master’s student in the Experimental and Applied Psychology program at the University of Regina working under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Zanette, whom she also worked with to complete her B.Sc. Honours in Psychology in 2021/2022. Siham received the Canadian Psychological Association Certificate of Academic Excellence for her honours thesis, which examined racial bias in adults’ deception judgments of children’s reports. More broadly, Siham’s research interests include examining biases in adults’ veracity judgments of children’s statements, and the legal, educational, and developmental implications of (in)accurate deception detection. Her work is supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Canada Graduate Scholarship Master’s Award (SSHRC CGS-M).

Steffi Oberthier

Masters Student

Steffi is a first-year Master's student in the Experimental and Applied Psychology program at the University of Regina working under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Zanette. In Spring 2022, she received her Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Psychology degree through the University of Regina under the supervision of Dr. Kaila Bruer. Her honours thesis, "Using Eyetracking Technology to Identify Looking Behaviours in Child Witnesses" examined children's looking behaviours to understand the mechanisms that factor into the accuracy of children's lineup decisions. Steffi has worked in a variety of research settings, both academic and professional, and has been a part of many volunteer research projects. Steffi gained extensive research experience during her undergraduate degree while working and volunteering for Dr. Kaila Bruer at the Child Evidence Lab. She also is currently a Research Assistant for the Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment (CIPSRT) on the PSPNET Families project as well as a Research Assistant and Project Coordinator for the Child Trauma Research Centre. Her research interests include childhood deception, parenting by lying, and children's perceptions of lies.

Research Volunteers

Manahil Fatima

Manahil is a fourth-year student at the University of Regina, pursuing a B.Sc. Honours degree in Psychology. Her primary passion lies in the field of clinical psychology. Her research interests specifically cater to psychological disorders, child psychopathology, chronic illnesses, lying, and deception. Working with a youth-led NPO (CAWI) has assisted her in empowering immigrant women in Canada through advocacy efforts. In her spare time she also volunteers at a clinic, shadowing a family physician. She looks forward to working with the team in the CaSPR Lab to delve deeper into her areas of interest under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Zanette.