I am an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Appalachian State University. My research focuses on how culture influences cognition, particularly in terms of within-person and within-culture variation.

An overarching goal of my work is to understand the cognitive building blocks of culture and the cognitive outcomes associated with cultural change. This includes the flexibility and malleability of culturally-influenced cognitive strategies (e.g., acculturation, training). I am currently establishing there is variation in American cognitive processing with a focus on Appalachia.

For more about my research, see the SC lab website: The Situated Cognition Lab

For more about me and why I study what I do, see 'my background' and 'my training' above.

Positionality Statement

I was the first in my immediate family to travel abroad, the first to get a college degree, and the first to become a doctor. Because of my background and experiences, I am deeply passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as understanding cultural differences in how people think. My background has made me think about culture in a more nuanced and encompassing way than is sometimes characterized in the literature (including SES, within-culture variation and regional differences, and change in cultural values within individuals) and driven me to use methods that are accessible in regions like those of my family origins (e.g., EEG rather than fMRI). I am also highly invested in finding ways to improve educational and cognitive aging outcomes for under-served populations through strength-based and culturally-sensitive approaches.

I am a White, cis-gender, bisexual woman, and the groups I study will often include other races, ethnicities, and cultural, gender, and sexual identities. I hope to always consult with and give back to the groups I study, especially when I do not belong to them. In working with non-WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) populations, my intention is always to contribute better representation of the world's diversity in scientific literature and not to center my own voice as a WEIRD researcher.

I also examine variation within what we think of as the WEIRD!

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