Psychology Day

Schedule of Events

Research Presentations

Dr.Nate George – 10:05am-10:45am

Title: Strengthening Cognition through Everyday Activities
Summary: We are all likely aware that our physical health depends upon our everyday routines, like diet and exercise. But what can we do to keep ourselves cognitively sharp? In the Adelphi University Cognitive Development Lab, Dr. George and his team study this question from multiple different angles. In this talk, you will first hear about some of the potential threats to our cognitive health, such as stress. Then, we will look at research regarding several ways we can strengthen our cognition, including difficult challenges like learning a new language as well as everyday fun activities such as playing games.
Presenting Students: Christina Korotki (MA student); Amy McCaffrey (Undergrad Student)

Dr. Mike Moore – 10:50am-11:30am

Title: The Study of Affect and Depression (S.A.D.)
Summary: How we think and process information can have a powerful impact on our mood. In the Study of Affect and Depression lab, we study how people think and how this may impact whether or not they feel sad in the face of negative life events. In particular, we study the process of assigning causes to the events that
happen to us and how this may impact our mood. Master’s student Mei Asakawa will describe her research in this area on loneliness and Clinical Ph.D. student Austin Kaplan will describe his research on the relationships between test anxiety, personality, and academic self-confidence.
Presenting Students: Mei Asakawa (Masters Student), and Austin Kaplan, (1st year Doctoral Student))

Dr. Damian Stanley – 12:30pm-1:10pm

Title: Deciphering the Social Mind: investigations of social learning, decision-making, and mind wandering
Summary: The ability to learn and make accurate predictions about other people is critical for successful navigation of our social environment and the consequences of failure can be severe (e.g., inequity, loss of employment, damage to relationships, etc.). Specialized neural systems may support these social-cognitive processes, and their impairment is characteristic of many mental health disorders. Research in my lab uses behavioral and neuroimaging experiments to better understand what is unique about social processing as well as how it can be influenced by the social biases we hold and how it can break down in mental health disorders. In this talk, I will present an overview of the topics studied and techniques used in my lab. Then Lindsey Wolfram, a graduate student in my lab, will present her dissertation project which uses Ecological Momentary Assessment
to explore how spontaneous mind-wandering thought content relates to mental health symptomatology. Finally, Christina DeLuca, an Honors College student in my lab, will present her thesis project research investigating how gender biases may influence mock jury decisions.
Presenting Students: Lindsey Wolfram (3rd year Doctoral Student), Christina DeLuca (Undergrad Student)

Dr. Dominic Fareri – 1:15pm-1:55pm

Title: How the social world shapes our choices and experiences of reward
Summary: Our day-to-day experiences are often colored by our social world. From sharing a meal with a friend, to collaborating with a business partner, to deciding whether to make an investment for someone, our choices and their consequences involve and affect not just ourselves but those around us. My lab’s focus centers on characterizing the neurocomputational mechanisms through which the social world influences decision-making and the ways in which our brains encode the value of rewarding experiences. We use a combination of behavioral and neuroimaging techniques, in conjunction with computational models, to address this question. I will begin by giving an overview of our lab’s research program, focusing on how decisions with social consequences are influenced by close relationships. Then, Jordan Dejoie, a third-year doctoral student in my
lab will then discuss findings from two of her projects, one investigating the role of social rejection in shaping the value of choice, and another probing the neural circuits underlying the degree to which people value social over non-social rewarding experiences.
Presenting Student: Jordan Dejoie (3rd year Doctoral Student)

For more information, please contact Grace Adamo at gadamo@adelphi.edu.