Samantha Barbosa-Silva Bio

Samantha Barbosa-Silva is a third-year PhD student in the Child Memory Lab at Wilfrid Laurier University, specializing in cognitive development with a focus on information processing and executive functioning. Her research examines how children and adults engage with digital content, particularly how they evaluate online information and respond to advertising.

She holds a BSc in Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour from McMaster University, an Ontario College Graduate Certificate in Brain Disorder Management, and an MA in Developmental Psychology from Wilfrid Laurier. Samantha is a member of the Developmental Research Database at Laurier and has collaborated with other research labs focused on literacy development in parents and children.

Her current work includes a large-scale study investigating how children judge the credibility and trustworthiness of websites, alongside efforts to validate a corpus of online materials for use in open science. While her core focus is on cognitive processes, her research is beginning to explore emotional and relational responses to digital content, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of how individuals navigate online environments.