Associate Professor 

Director of the Numeracy Development and Learning Lab

Office: 4L45

Contact: s.bugden@uwinnipeg.ca

Dr. Bugden (she/her) joined the Department of Psychology in July 2021. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Western Ontario and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Developing Minds Lab at the University of Pennsylvania. She is thrilled to work with students on questions focusing on child development and learning. Her goal is to leverage tools from cognitive science and neuroscience to understand individual differences in the development of early numeracy skills that can translate to education.  

When she’s not engaging in teaching and research, she enjoys photography, painting, and exploring the outdoors with her Australian shepherd, Scout.  

Lab Coordinator/ Research Assistant

Alina (she/her) is a lab coordinator and a senior research assistant at the Numeracy, Development and Learning Lab. She graduated with BSc Honours in Neuroscience in June of 2024. She started her research journey working on a thesis with Dr. Bruce Bolster and Dr. Stephanie Bugden examining cognitive associations between the perception-taking spatial skills and mathematical abilities in young adults. In the past year, Alina has been involved in an ERP project exploring the association of early literacy and numeracy skills in young children before the beginning of formal schooling.  Alina’s research interests involve the neural underpinnings of learning and memory, neurodegenerative diseases, and traumatic brain injuries. In her spare time, Alina enjoys backwoods camping, kayaking, snowboarding, and anything to do with the outdoors.

Research Assistant

Madelyn (she/her/hers) is an honours psychology student at the University of Winnipeg with plans to graduate in spring of 2024. Her thesis is yet to be decided, however, some research she has been apart of includes the Center for the Understanding of Moral Understanding during the summer of 2021, and examining numeracy and literacy skills in preschool children in October 2022. Her main research interests include child development, cognitive psychology, and clinical psychology. She is hoping to pursue a masters degree in one of these areas. When shes not studying or working, she really enjoys rollerblading in the spring and summer months and travelling as much as possible. She is hoping to backpack through Southeast Asia for a few months when she finishes her first degree. She also really enjoys gardening and grew strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, tomatoes, and lavender among other things on her balcony for the first time this past summer and has over 30 plants in her apartment. She also has a passion for reading and just finished the book People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Hendry, which was a fun, light read. 

Research Assistant

Olivia (she/her) is currently working on getting her Honours degree in psychology at the University of Winnipeg. She is interested in how children reason about order and how it relates to their performance in order production and verification tasks, as well as how children think about phenomena that are counterintuitive, like magnets. Olivia is hoping to do her thesis in 2025 under the supervision of Dr. Stephanie Bugden and Dr. Brandon Goulding. In her free time, Olivia enjoys crocheting, going to live shows, and hanging out with animals! 

Research Assistant 

Erica (she/her) is a recent University of Winnipeg Honours Psychology graduate (2025) who joined the lab in the Spring of 2024. Her main research area of interest is children’s math development, and the effects of math anxiety on children’s learning and achievement.

Her undergraduate thesis investigated the origins of math anxiety in preschoolers. This study found that preschoolers’ math anxiety was higher than baseline and children with a stronger understanding of number scored significantly higher on math anxiety than those who had weaker number knowledge, but math anxiety in this age group was unrelated to parent math anxiety scores. Overall, her findings suggest math anxiety may be emerging before children receive formal schooling and emphasizes the need to foster early positive math experiences. She continues to recruit participants and collect data for additional analyses.When she is not in the lab, she loves to spend time with her loved ones, browse bookstores (especially McNally Robinson), and try out new dessert spots around the city.

Research Assistant

Katie (she/her/hers) is an Honours student in Psychology at the University of Winnipeg, planning on graduating in spring 2026. She is passionate about understanding and positively impacting the lives of young people. Her ultimate career goal is to work in school psychology, where she hopes to make a positive impact by helping students navigate challenges in the classroom and their personal lives. In addition to her studies, she works part-time at a restaurant. Outside of academics and work, Katie enjoys travelling, indoor cycling, and spending time with her friends and her dogs, Daisy and Nitro.

Research Assistant

Vivian is an undergraduate Psychology student at the University of Winnipeg with a strong interest in child development and resilience. Through work experience with a nonprofit organization supporting newcomer families, she has had the opportunity to work with children from many different cultural backgrounds. This experience has deepened her understanding of how children learn and adapt across different environments. Vivian is passionate about supporting children’s development and learning more through research. When she's not studying or working in the lab, she loves crocheting, attending yoga classes, and spending time with her very chubby (and very loved) cat, Cora.

Research Assistant

Hailey (she/her) is an honours student in psychology interested primarily in developmental and cognitive psych and the application of developmental knowledge in educational settings. With plans to graduate in the Spring of 2027, she hopes to complete her thesis under the supervision of Dr. Stephanie Bugden and aspires to further her education in grad school after graduation.. Hailey’s involvement in the numeracy lab currently includes school testing in association with the JumpMath project. Outside of academia however, Hailey loves to write and perform music as ‘Clementine’ on the stage, as well as immerse herself in the rich world of fiction, nonfiction, and philosophical literature curled up next to her beloved doggy, Shadow. 

Honours Thesis Student

Julia (she/her) is an honours psychology student at the University of Winnipeg with plans to graduate in the spring of 2026. For her thesis, she plans to research the impact that emotional understanding has on numeracy and literacy skills in kindergarten-aged children. Julia is passionate about developmental and educational psychology, with the goal of pursuing graduate studies in School Psychology in order to help children and adolescents receive more positive and rewarding educational experiences. In her free time, Julia enjoys spending time at the cabin, where she loves to go on hikes, watch the sunset, have bonfires, and simply be outdoors. She also has a love for baking, shopping, animals (especially cats), and hanging out with friends.