I am an Associate Professor of Psychology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the Department of Social Science and Policy Studies . I received my Ph.D in Social Psychology
at the University of Virginia.
My research program attempts to understand how factors in our social environment, especially those factors we are unaware of,
influence decisions and interpersonal interactions.
I investigate how different types of external and internal influences (e.g., social tuning, stereotypes/stigmas, the ability to perspective take,
cultural orientation) affect attitudes, decisions, and interactions. I am particularly interested in how these factors influence decisions and relationships
within the legal and organizational domains. Ultimately, I aim to promote and enhance equality, diversity, and cultural understanding. I also enjoy teaching and mentoring students. This year, I am happy to have approximately 6 majors working on their senior theses (MQP), and 8 more students working on their Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP), Capstone for their minor,
or volunteering in the SPI Lab (Social Psychology Inquiry Lab)!
I would like to congratulate my recent award-winning students! First, nice work by Satia Miller and Melissa Paris presenting their poster at SPSP in January 2013! (see their picture to the right).
Satia Miller won WPI's Salisbury Prize (2012) and the Provost's Major Qualifying Project (MQP) Award (2012) and is now pursuing her Ph.D in Social Psychology
with Sam Sommers at Tufts University (see her picture)! Katherine Rondina won first place for the Provost's MQP Award (2011), Casey McKenna tied for first place for
her MQP in 2010, and Sarah Spear won Honorable Mention for her MQPin 2009!
Craig DiGiovanni won the Norman H. Berkowitz Undergraduate Experimental Research Paper Award at the 2009 New England Psychological Association (NEPA)
Annual Conference, and Casey McKenna won this same award in 2010! Congrats to my superstars!
At WPI, I teach: PSY1400: Introduction to Psychological Science, PSY1402: Social Psychology, SS2400: Methods, Modeling, and Analysis,
PSY2407: Psychology of Gender. In 2012-2013, I am teaching PSY1400: Introduction to Psychological Science A Term, PSY1402: Social Psychology B term,
PSY1400: Introduction to Psychological Science C Term, and PSY1402: Social Psychology D term.
