Chenlu Gao, Baylor University
The causal effects of irregular sleep patterns on acquisition and consolidation of STEM knowledge
Sleep is an important contributor to academic success. Getting enough sleep improves academic outcomes by promoting cognitive functions, such as attention and long-term memory, as well as mental health, through mood and stress regulation. Though many students maintain the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep on average, they may engage in irregular sleep patterns by going to bed and/or waking up at different times each day. While correlational studies have shown that irregular sleep patterns are associated with worse cognitive functions and educational outcomes, little is known about the causal effects of irregular sleep patterns on learning in an educational setting. Gao’s dissertation study aims to test whether maintaining regular sleep patterns increases motivation, improves stress regulation, and promotes acquisition and retention of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) knowledge.
Gao is a PhD candidate in the department of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University, working under the guidance of Michael Scullin, PhD. She studies sleep, cognitive functions, and academic outcomes in students. Gao earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and master’s degree in psychology and education from the University of Pittsburgh.
Emily Grossner, The Pennsylvania State University
Identifying distinct metacognitive phenotypes following traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in a variety of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral deficits, including a disruption in metacognition. Metacognition is defined as the ability to reflect on one’s own cognitive processes and has great importance to recovery, relationships, and rehabilitation following TBI. The goal of Grossner’s dissertation is to understand distinct dimensions of metacognitive deficit following TBI, identify neural correlates of each of these aspects of metacognition, and detect cognitive and neural profiles predictive of metacognitive deficit. The results of this study will help clarify what cognitive and neural processes contribute to metacognitive deficit after TBI and provide a step for creating individualized recommendations for treatment and rehabilitation.
Grossner is a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at Pennsylvania State University under the mentorship of Frank Hillary, PhD, where her research broadly focuses on cognitive deficits and neural disruption following moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Emily earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Franklin & Marshall College and a master’s degree in experimental neuropsychology from Saint Joseph’s University.
Melissa Schick, University of Rhode Island
Associations among affect, alcohol use, and risky sex: A daily diary study of First Nation adults
Indigenous communities experience significantly worse health outcomes compared with members of other racial and ethnic groups in the United States, particularly in the areas of preventable death and disease. Key risk factors for a number of these disparities include alcohol use and risky sexual behavior which commonly co-occur. Thus, it is important to identify factors that influence engagement in such behaviors. Schick’s dissertation aims to examine the proximal, time-dependent associations among affect, alcohol use, and risky sexual behavior through the use of a 14-day daily diary protocol with a sample of reserve-dwelling First Nation adults. The project will follow the principles and methods of community-based participatory research. Results from this study may help to inform interventions that address the stark health disparities experienced by Indigenous communities.
Schick is a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology working with Nichea Spillane, PhD, at the University of Rhode Island. Her work seeks to understand the role of positive affective processes in the etiology and maintenance of substance use and substance-related health disparities, particularly among Indigenous communities. Schick earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Suffolk University.
Anna Shafer-Skelton, University of California San Diego
Robustness of scene surface representations to task manipulations and varying spatial attention
As we go about our daily lives, we are faced with a barrage of relevant and irrelevant visual information. While much of vision research focuses on how we perceive and remember discrete objects, Shafer-Skelton’s dissertation work will investigate how different types of information (discrete objects vs. large extended surfaces, like walls or a sidewalk) might be more or less available under competing task demands. One possibility is that we only actively maintain visual information for the task at hand, regardless of the type of information. However, given existing work suggesting that representations of scene surfaces may not be as limited by our focus of attention, it is possible that they persist even when attention is occupied by an irrelevant visual task or with a different spatial focus.
Shafer-Skelton is a doctoral student in psychology at UC San Diego, working with John Serences, PhD, and Tim Brady, PhD. Her work focuses on differential visual processing of discrete objects vs. the large extended surfaces of a scene. Before graduate school, she worked with Julie Golomb, PhD, at The Ohio State University, studying visual attention and memory across eye movements. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis.
McKenzie Stokes, North Caroline State University
Understanding the racial socialization of biracial Black-White youth: A meta-ethnographic review and scale development study
Parent-child communication about race can equip children of color with the psychological resilience necessary to flourish in a world that is afflicted by oppression. However, there is a major gap in our empirical understanding of how parental racial socialization impacts biracial Black-White youth, who are one of the fastest growing demographics in the United States. Stokes’ dissertation will advance this line of research through the development and validation of the first measure of racial socialization for biracial Black-White adolescents. Once validated, the scale can be used to evaluate what biracial youth learn about being Black and White from their parents, which has important implications for promoting well-being and reducing risks associated with their mental health.
Stokes is a doctoral candidate in psychology at North Carolina State University. Working under the mentorship of Elan Hope, PhD, Stokes examines the impact of race-based protective factors and family processes on the psychological well-being of monoracial and biracial Black youth. Stokes earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and African American studies from Virginia Commonwealth University.
