| Principal Investigator | Jason Mitchell [vita] |
| Current members | Laura Lewis [e-mail to Laura Lewis] Laura is a current graduate student broadly interested in the evolution of social cognition, and she works with various nonhuman primate species to understand the extent to which their cognitive abilities are similar to our own. She is specifically interested in the evolution of the psychological mechanisms underlying Social Influence, or behavioral modifications due to changes in the social environment. Laura received her B.S. in Biology and Evolutionary Anthropology from Duke University in 2016. Ruben Van Genugten [e-mail to Ruben Van Genugten] Ruben is a current graduate student working with Drs. Jason Mitchell and Dan Schacter, with whom he conducts social neuroscience and memory research. Specifically, Ruben examines which representations the brain uses to make mental state judgments. He additionally studies how we use our previous experiences to imagine social situations. Emily Walco [e-mail to Emily Walco] Emily is a current graduate student interested in studying cognition and behavior in non-human primates as a tool to understanding what makes humans unique. In particular, she is interested in social cognition and decision making. |
| Alumni | Brandon Woo [website] Brandon was a graduate student from 2017-2019 and is currently pursuing his research in the Harvard Laboratory for Developmental Studies. He is interested in mind perception, moral cognition, and the intersection of the two topics. He received his B.Sc. from the University of British Columbia in 2017, where he studied how infants incorporate mental states in their sociomoral evaluations with Dr. Kiley Hamlin. Niv Reggev [e-mail to Niv Reggev] Niv was a postdoctocal fellow from 2016 to 2019. He received his Ph.D. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is interested in how stereotypes, group membership and prior knowledge bias our behavior to reinforce existing preconceptions. Furthermore, he investigates the downstream consequences of these biases and why and when individuals manifest behavioral preference for what they already think is true. Joakim Norberg [e-mail to Joakim Norberg] Jocke was a postdoctoral fellow from 2015 to 2016. He received his Ph.D. from Stockholm University. Mark Thornton [website] Mark was been a doctoral student from 2011 to 2017, and is interested in how the brain implements accurate, efficient solutions to computational problems in the social domain. As part of his work, he has developed mysocialbrain.org, where individuals can participate in a variety of social-cognitive studies. He received his A.B from Princeton University in 2011 and his PhD from Harvard University in 2017. Lee Gans [e-mail to Lee Gans] Lee was a doctoral student in 2015. He received his B.A. from Case Western University in 2012. Dan Ames [website] Dan was a research assistant from 2006 to 2008, and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA. He received his B.A. in psychology from Dartmouth College in 2006 and his PhD from Princeton University in 2014. Susana Carmona [website] Susana was a postdoctoral fellow in the lab from 2010 to 2012. She received her Ph.D. from Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (Spain) in 2008 and is currently a principal investigator in Madrid. Juan Manuel Contreras [website] Juan Manuel was a graduate student from 2009 to 2013, and is currently an innovation specialist in the White House Social and Behavioral Sciences Team. He received his A.B. from Princeton University in 2009 and Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2009. Dave Johnson [website] Dave was a research assistant from 2008 to 2010, and is currently a visiting professor at Manchester University. He received his B.A. in psychology from New York University in 2008, and his Ph.D. from Weill Cornell Medical College in 2015. Eshin Jolly [website] Eshin was a research assistant from 2010 to 2012, and is currently a doctoral student at Dartmouth College. He received his B.A. from the University of Rochester in 2010. Rita Ludwig [website] Rita was a research assistant from 2012 to 2014, and is currently a doctoral student at the University of Oregon. She received her B.A. from New York University in 2009 and her M.A. in Quantitative Methods from Columbia University in 2012. Joe Moran [website] Joe was a postdoctoral fellow from 2010 to 2013, and is currently a cognitive scientist with the US Army Natick Soldier Research and Development Center. He received his B.A. in 1999 from Leeds University and his Ph.D. in 2006 from Dartmouth College. Brandi Newell [website] Brandi was a graduate student from 2010 to 2012. She received her B.A. from Wellesley College in 2008. Franchesca Ramirez [e-mail to Franchesca Ramirez] Franchesca was a research assistant from 2014 to 2015, and is currently working in the Laboratory for Clinical and Developmental Research at Harvard University under Matt Nock. She received her B.A. from Florida International University in 2010 and her M.A. from New York University in 2014. Jessica Schirmer [e-mail to Jessica Schirmer] Jess was a research assistant from 2008 to 2010, and is currently a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at UC Berkeley. She received her B.S. from MIT in 2008. Diana Tamir [website] Diana was a graduate student from 2008 to 2014, and is currently Assistant Professor of Psychology at Princeton University. She received her Sc.B in cognitive neuroscience from Brown University in 2006 and her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2014. Sara Verosky [website] Sara was a postdoctoral fellow from 2012 to 2014, and is currently Assistant Professor at Oberlin College. She received her B.A. from Cornell University in 2004 and her Ph.D. from Princeton University in 2012. Adam Waytz [website] Adam was a postdoctoral fellow from 2009 to 2011, and is currently Associate Professor at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. He received his B.A. from Columbia University in 2003 and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 2009. Jamil Zaki [website] Jamil was a postdoctoral fellow from 2010 to 2012, and is currently Assistant Professor at Stanford University. He received his B.A. from Boston University in 2002 and his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2010 |