The Team

Dr. Sarah Zanette

LAB DIRECTOR (PI)

Dr. Sarah Zanette is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Regina, Luther College. Before joining UofR, Dr. Zanette taught at the University of Toronto and the University of the Fraser Valley. She holds a PhD and a Master's degree in Developmental Psychology and Education from the University of Toronto.

As a developmental psychologist, Dr. Zanette's research interests lie at the intersections of child development and 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 teaches the following courses at the University of Regina/Luther College:

Introductory Psychology: Social, Developmental, and Clinical Focus (PSYC 101) - every fall semester
Lifespan Developmental Psychology (PSYC 210) - not currently scheduled
The Psychology of Deception (PSYC 360) - next offering winter 2027
Social and Emotional Development & Applications (PSYC 415AE) - next offering winter 2027
Advanced Developmental Psychology (PSYC 810) - next offering winter 2027

Follow Dr. Zanette on Instagram @zanettesarah

Current Students

Siham Hagi Hussein

Doctoral Student

Siham is a PhD 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 MSc and BSc Honours in Psychology. 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 Doctoral Award (SSHRC CGS-D).

Manahil Fatima

Clinical Masters Student

Manahil is a MSc student in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Regina working working under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Zanette, whom she also worked with to complete her BSc Honours in Psychology. Manahil's MSc research examines the role of empathy and callous-unemotional traits in children's antisocial and prosocial lies. Her work is supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Canada Graduate Scholarship Masters Award (SSHRC CGS-M).

Lab Alumni

Graduate Students

Steffi Oberthier, MSc

Research Associate, Child Trauma Research Centre

Steffi completed a Master's of Science in Experimental and Applied Psychology in 2025. Her thesis explored children's everyday experiences of being deceived. She is currently a Research Associate at the Child Trauma Research Centre at the University of Regina.