Steve's research focuses on how face memory and the decoding of emotional expressions are shaped by contextual and situational factors. For example, his research on face recognition investigates how intergroup distinctions, perceiver motives, and the social context in which a face is encountered compel perceivers to carefully attend to and remember certain individuals (e.g., ingroup members) or disregard and poorly encode others (e.g., outgroup members). In a related line of research, he studies how social contexts and motives influence how accurately perceivers decode emotional expressions. Finally, in a separate program, he explores how we perceive the important people in our lives and how losing social connections tunes our attention to social information that may facilitate forging new relationships. Collectively, these research lines all reflect an overarching interest in the dynamic and reciprocal interactions between cognition, motivation, and emotion.

In addition to an appoitment at Baruch College, Steven is also a member of the CUNY Graduate Center's Basic and Applied Social Psychology and Cognitive and Comparative Psychology Ph.D. programs. See here for more information about doctoral training at CUNY.

Email: steven.young@gradcenter.cuny.edu

Ryan is a third year doctoral student in the Basic and Applied Social Psychology program at CUNY. His research examines how we make sense of our social worlds. In exploring this broad question, he focuses on three main aspects. In one, he explores how bottom-up perceptual information (e.g., face-based trait cues) and top-down social information (e.g., group membership) interact in the service of impression formation. In a second aspect, he explores how the perceptual fluency of visual information influences the impressions we form of others. In a third line of research, he examines people’s cognitive representations of character traits in another’s face and whether these representations are moderated by the social categories into which we place others.

Email: rtracy1@gradcenter.cuny.edu

Jordan's research explores the influences of morality and emotion on basic cognitive and perceptual processes. She is particularly interested in understanding how motivations and context bias the early stages of visual perception.

Jordan is currently a 5th year doctoral student in Basic and Applied Social Psychology at the City University of New York working with Dr. Justin Storbeck & Dr. Ana Gantman.

Email: jwylie@gradcenter.cuny.edu

Amy is a senior majoring in Finance and minoring in psychology. She is interested in combining business and psychology in her research in social psychology, in particular, first impressions, and nonverbal communication. Amy is currently working alongside with Dr.Young to continue her independent study by combining aspects of business and leadership into social psychology research.

Eduard recently completed his BA in Psychology with a minor in Philosophy at Baruch College. His plan is to pursue a Masters for Mental Health Counseling. His current research interests are open, but he is looking into reviewing the role of a username in first impressions in gaming culture.

Sammi is a junior SEEK student at Baruch College, majoring in Psychology and minoring in English. Currently, she's interested in learning more about social psychology—specifically in research that revolves around nonverbal behavior and the influence of groups—and is looking to pursue a career that focuses on mental health for both children and adults.

Megumi is a senior student at Baruch College, majoring in Psychology, and an international student from Japan. Before joining Baruch College, Megumi earned a Bachelor's degree in Humanity and Environment and a Master of Business Administration in Japan. Megumi is interested in Psychology Research methods and Applied psychology. After graduation, she hopes to study I/O psychology at a graduate school.

Adriana is a senior at Baruch college majoring in psychology. Her research interests in social psychology are centered on facial recognition and emotion expression identification, specifically how this information is used to form impressions and make social judgments. She is also interested in child and developmental psychology and plans on pursuing a master’s degree in applied psychology to work with children in the future.

Sabrina is a Senior heading into her last semester at Baruch, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Communications. After she graduate she hopes to get her MSW at Hunter College, Silberman School of Social Work or her masters in Mental Health Counseling at Baruch College. She is drawn to research in social psychology, especially nonverbal communication, motivations for prosocial behavior, and person perception.

Ellie is a psychology major in her final semester at Baruch College. She is interested in studying how an individual's personality is formed and develops throughout their lifetime. After graduation, she plans on getting a master's degree in school psychology to help children in a school environment.

Katharine recently completed her BBA in Computer Information Systems with a minor in Psychology at Baruch College. Her research interests lie primarily within these two areas of study as she continuously looks for different ways to combine the two for further research. Katharine is especially interested in the relationship between cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence, as well as other areas where psychology and AI intersect such as anthropomorphism in both AI and HCI (human-computer-interaction).

Momina is a recent graduate of Baruch College with a degree in psychology. She is intrigued by familial and cultural influences on human development and has a keen interest in conducting research around Eastern-collectivistic and Western-individualistic cultures, specifically how the differences between the two impact parental behavior, followed by the effect that would have on the overall wellbeing of an individual. Her long-term goal is to follow up on such findings and use them to understand their influence on the development of an individual's personality and behavioral tendencies.

David is currently a junior studying psychology at Baruch. He plans on applying to medical school upon graduation and hopes to fulfill his dream of becoming a psychiatrist. He is interested in all types of research related to psychology but is particularly drawn to research concerning psychopathology.