Faculty
Dr. Valerie Sims
Research interests: human-computer interaction, human-animal interaction, and individual differences in spatial ability
Dr. Matthew Chin
Research interests: intergroup discrimination, social identity, human-animal interaction, and human-robot interaction
Graduate Students
Briana Sobel
Briana is a current third year PhD student in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology program. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2018 with a major in Psychology and a minor in Industrial Design. Her research interests lie in the anthropomorphism of technology, which includes studying the cognitive underpinnings and methods of assessment, as well as the application to Human-Computer Interaction and the design of more effective human-technology relationships. Briana serves as the Lab Manager of the ACAT lab, and she is also the current Treasurer of the UCF chapter of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES).
Jason Parker
Jason is a doctoral student in the Applied Experimental and Human Factors Psychology program at the University of Central Florida. Jason received an MA in Spanish and an MS in Experimental Psychology from Georgia Southern University. His interests are at the intersection of cognition, technology, and human decision-making. Jason’s current research examines the impact of descriptive influence on decision-making under uncertainty. The intention of such research is to explore aspects of perceptual threat detection and risk analysis as to improve adaptive cognitions and behaviors in response to emergency warnings (i.e., tornadoes, hurricanes, terrorist attacks).
Ecem Olçum
Ecem is a doctoral candidate in Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology program at the University of Central Florida. She received an MA in Experimental Psychology from CUNY Brooklyn College. Her research interests include instructional design, game-based learning, and gamification in higher education. Currently, she is working on her dissertation on the use of anthropomorphism in instructional design.
Kristen Schmidt
Kristen is a first-year student in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology program at University of Central Florida. She received her Bachelor’s in 2019 with a dual major in Psychology and English/Creative Writing at SUNY Binghamton. Her research interests include UI and UX design, game and simulation design, game learning, the relationship between video games and cognition, and how technology influences human communication and relationships.
Post-Baccalaureate
Peace Adetula
Peace Adetula holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Health Sciences from the University of Central Florida. Her current research observes how families are presented within children’s books. She has served as a mentor to student-athletes as well as those interested in pursuing undergraduate research amongst many other leadership roles. Her post-baccalaureate plans center on the community: namely with youth, minorities, and low-income families. In her free time, Peace enjoys listening to music, watching Avatar: The Last Airbender, and dancing.
Long Nguyen
Long is volunteer post-graduate research assistant. He graduated in 2016 with a BS in Psychology from the University of Central Florida with Honors in the Major. For his honor’s thesis, he explored the neighborhood effect with the characteristics of Chinese Characters and its relationship with morphology. He has also graduated from Florida State University in 2007 with a BA in German and Italian and an MA in German in 2009. Currently, he is working on projects related to risk, context, and decision making. He is exploring in ways unknown context affects our emotions and our abilities to make risky decisions. In the future, he hopes to apply for programs to study decision making and the many ways our environment and our personal characteristics affects our ability to make decisions.
Dakota Stratton
Dakota is in their first semester of the Research Administration graduate certificate program. They graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology with a neuroscience track. Their research interests include clinical and cognitive psychology.
Undergraduate Members
Stefanie Gottfried
Major: Psychology
Accomplishments: Vice President of Chabad Jewish Student Group
Projects: Research on Dyslexia at Hebrew University
Research Interests: Autism, Dyslexia, Cognitive and Developmental Psychology
Sunny Barboj
Major: Psychology, Economics
Accomplishments: Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship 2020
Projects: Research on COVID-19 and Ethnic Bias
Research Interests: Consumer Perceptions of Firms, Personality Theory
Julia Rifenberg
Major: Biology, Psychology Minor
Accomplishments: UCF Summer Research Academy
Projects: Honors Undergraduate Thesis, Independent Research on North American River Otters, Research on Vertebrate Impact on Living Shorelines
Research Interests: Human and Animal Behavior, Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology
Giavana Hanna
Major: Psychology, Clinical Track
Accomplishments: Honors Undergraduate Thesis
Projects: Research on BHRT vs. Pharmacotherapy in Menopausal Women
Marielle Garvey
Major: Psychology, Neuroscience Track
Accomplishments: Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship
Projects: Understanding Perceptions of Transracial Adoptions
Research Interests: Racial Biases, Perceptions of Transracial Adoptions
Summer O’Dwyer
Major: Clinical Psychology
Accomplishments: Burnett Honors Scholar, Knights of Distinction
Research Interests: Early Childhood Development
Gabriella Markovich
Major: Clinical Psychology, Medical Anthropology Minor
Accomplishments: Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship 2020
Research Interests: Gender Perception, Implicit and Explicit Bias, Methods of Cognition in Relation to Dyslexia, Interplay of Mental Disorders and the Criminal Justice System
Ana Camargo DaCosta
Major: Psychology, Computer Science Minor, Cognitive Science Minor
Research Interests: Artificial Intelligence, Diversity and Inclusion, Disability Accessibility
Sabah Qureshi
Major: Biomedical Sciences, Psychology Minor
Research Interests: Human-Technology Interaction, Perceptions of Healthcare, Language Acquisition
Angela Yen
Major: Psychology, History, Biology Minor
Accomplishments: Honors in the Major, Student Director for the Multicultural Student Center
Projects: Research on COVID-19 and Ethnic Bias
Research Interests: Implicit Bias in Healthcare Settings, Convergence of Multiple Minority Identities in Bias
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