I am an Assistant 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 have investigated how different types of external and internal influences (e.g., subtle contextual signs, stereotypes/stigmas, perceptions of others, the ability to perspective take) affect perceptions, decisions, and self-views, especially in the legal and organizational domains. I also enjoy teaching and mentoring students (two of my Honors Students from UVA are pictured on the right, both are now pursuing Ph.D's!). This past year, I was happy to have approximately 15 students working and volunteering in the SPI Lab (Social Psychology Inquiry Lab)! In addition, three of my students won various awards: Sarah Spear won Honorable Mention for her MQP (Major Qualifying Project) in the Spring of 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 tied for first place for her MQP 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. I will be teaching PSY2407: Psychology of Gender in D Term 2012.
