Research Interests

I am interested in understanding how people perceive, act in, and remember the spaces around them. For example, how do we perceive the steepness of hills or the magnitude of heights? How do we effectively navigate spaces and remember where we have been? Theoretically, my research addresses whether a person’s bodily states, be they emotional, physiological, or physical, and their bodily size modulates their perception of and memory for spatial layout (e.g., distance, slopes, height, and size). To conduct this research, I gather data in outdoor natural settings, indoors in hallways or buildings, and in mixed realities (virtual and augmented environments). I also test a wide range of age groups to further examine how the relationship between emotion and spatial cognition develops and changes over the lifespan. I find my work rewarding because I strive to make it applicable to issues beyond psychology, including but not limited to the design and development of virtual environments for simulation and training, the participation of women in STEM fields, and the treatment of anxiety disorders and phobias.

Opportunities For Students

I love hearing from students interested in joining our research group as an undergraduate research assistant, graduate student, or postdoctoral scholar. Please email me your credentials if interested.