{"id":141,"date":"2025-08-28T15:31:24","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T19:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/?page_id=141"},"modified":"2026-03-23T13:39:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T17:39:03","slug":"people","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/people\/","title":{"rendered":"The Team"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Martin Kocur<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assistant Professor & Lab Director<\/p>\n\n\n\n

martin.kocur@ucf.edu<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google Scholar<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Martin Kocur is an Assistant Professor in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Central Florida\u2019s Department of Psychology. He holds a B.A. in Media Informatics and Information Science and an M.Sc. of Media Informatics from the University of Regensburg in Germany. Before coming to the University of Central Florida, he did his PhD in Media Informatics also at University of Regensburg and worked as an Assistant Professor in the Department Digital Media at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria in Austria. His research focuses on human\u2013computer interaction, with a particular emphasis on the role of virtual avatars in shaping self-perception. He is especially interested in how altering users\u2019 self-representation in immersive virtual environments can enhance performance, enrich subjective experience, and modulate physiological responses during interaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Cheyenne Ivey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research Assistant<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Cheyenne is a senior majoring in psychology. Her research interests include human-technology interaction, psychopathology assessment, negative affect, and physiological psychology. Outside of the lab, she is currently working on an Honors Undergraduate Thesis on the intermediate variables within the relationship between problematic phone use and negative affect, specifically anxiety. She plans to apply to Ph.D. programs in clinical psychology in hopes of becoming a clinician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Adriana Chaparro-Gonzalez<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research Assistant<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Adriana is a senior majoring in Experimental Psychology. Her research interests lie in clinical and social psychology, focusing on mental health and social factors that contribute to well-being. She plans to pursue her master’s degree in Experimental Psychology, with the goal of continuing research in these areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Kale Lawhorne<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research Assistant<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Kale is a sophomore majoring in psychology. His research interests include social, cognitive, and abnormal psychology, which focus on social phenomena such as “FOMO,” response time, and the prevalence of certain psychological disorders in the modern technological age. He plans to pursue his master’s degree in either clinical psychology or data science in order to become a psychotherapist or a data analyst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Jonaris Delgado<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research Assistant<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Jonaris is a freshman at UCF studying Psychology on the general track. She personally finds VR super interesting, especially applied to video game like experiences. This is why she is excited to be able to do research at the VAAIL to be able to understand how VR can affect users. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Nyah McFarlane<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research Assistant<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Nyah is a Junior majoring in Psychology on the Neuroscience Track. Her research interests are concentrated in the field psychobiology, behavior, and emotion. Upon graduating she plans to pursue a master’s degree in clinical psychology. Eventually she will apply to Psy.D. Programs in hopes of continuing in research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Andres Palau<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research Assistant<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Andre is a senior majoring in Computer Science with a passion for UX\/UI and product design. His research interests lie in exploring how the visual design language of emerging software and hardware technologies shapes the way people understand and use them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Rajan Jinadra<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research Assistant<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Rajan is a junior majoring in Data Science with a passion for Analytics and research related to human factors, human data, and their correspondence. My research interests lie in exploring how new visual AI changes human carbon print and how that affects the overall world data, as new data is emerging every day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Joshua Malam<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research Assistant<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Joshua is a senior majoring in Clinical Psychology. His interests focus on the intersection of clinical and human factors psychology, particularly how this overlap influences mental health in an increasingly digital world. He plans to pursue a master\u2019s degree in Counseling Psychology and continue researching the interplay between these domains.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Grey-scale<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

This could be you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PhD Student<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Grey-scale<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

This could be you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PhD Student<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Martin Kocur Assistant Professor & Lab Director martin.kocur@ucf.edu Google Scholar Martin Kocur is an Assistant Professor in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Central Florida\u2019s Department of Psychology. He holds a B.A. in Media Informatics and Information Science and an M.Sc. of Media Informatics from the University of Regensburg […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":285,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-141","page","type-page","status-publish","czr-hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Team - Virtual Avatar & Agent Interaction Lab<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/people\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Team - Virtual Avatar & Agent Interaction Lab\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Martin Kocur Assistant Professor & Lab Director martin.kocur@ucf.edu Google Scholar Martin Kocur is an Assistant Professor in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Central Florida\u2019s Department of Psychology. He holds a B.A. in Media Informatics and Information Science and an M.Sc. of Media Informatics from the University of Regensburg […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/people\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Virtual Avatar & Agent Interaction Lab\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-23T17:39:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/51\/2025\/08\/MI-Teamfotos-Martin-Kocur-2019_Klein-2-edited-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1551\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1551\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/people\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/people\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Team - Virtual Avatar & Agent Interaction Lab\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/people\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/people\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/51\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/MI-Teamfotos-Martin-Kocur-2019_Klein-2-edited-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-28T19:31:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-23T17:39:03+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/people\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/people\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/people\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/51\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/MI-Teamfotos-Martin-Kocur-2019_Klein-2-edited-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/51\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/MI-Teamfotos-Martin-Kocur-2019_Klein-2-edited-2.jpg\",\"width\":1551,\"height\":1551,\"caption\":\"A man with short hair and a trimmed beard, wearing a black Henley shirt, stands outdoors among lab members, with blurred trees and a modern building in the background.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/people\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Team\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/\",\"name\":\"Virtual Avatar & Agent Interaction Lab\",\"description\":\"Researching Human - Avatar Interaction and Virtual Reality Experiences\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Virtual Avatar & Agent Interaction Lab\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/51\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/cropped-FinalLogo_Web.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/51\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/cropped-FinalLogo_Web.png\",\"width\":1004,\"height\":617,\"caption\":\"Virtual Avatar & Agent Interaction Lab\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/vaail\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Team - Virtual Avatar & Agent Interaction Lab","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/people\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Team - Virtual Avatar & Agent Interaction Lab","og_description":"Martin Kocur Assistant Professor & Lab Director martin.kocur@ucf.edu Google Scholar Martin Kocur is an Assistant Professor in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Central Florida\u2019s Department of Psychology. He holds a B.A. in Media Informatics and Information Science and an M.Sc. of Media Informatics from the University of Regensburg […]","og_url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/people\/","og_site_name":"Virtual Avatar & Agent Interaction Lab","article_modified_time":"2026-03-23T17:39:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1551,"height":1551,"url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/51\/2025\/08\/MI-Teamfotos-Martin-Kocur-2019_Klein-2-edited-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/people\/","url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/people\/","name":"The Team - Virtual Avatar & Agent Interaction Lab","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/people\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/people\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/51\/2025\/08\/MI-Teamfotos-Martin-Kocur-2019_Klein-2-edited-2.jpg","datePublished":"2025-08-28T19:31:24+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-23T17:39:03+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/people\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/people\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/people\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/51\/2025\/08\/MI-Teamfotos-Martin-Kocur-2019_Klein-2-edited-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/51\/2025\/08\/MI-Teamfotos-Martin-Kocur-2019_Klein-2-edited-2.jpg","width":1551,"height":1551,"caption":"A man with short hair and a trimmed beard, wearing a black Henley shirt, stands outdoors among lab members, with blurred trees and a modern building in the background."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/people\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Team"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/","name":"Virtual Avatar & Agent Interaction Lab","description":"Researching Human - Avatar Interaction and Virtual Reality Experiences","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/#organization","name":"Virtual Avatar & Agent Interaction Lab","url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/51\/2025\/10\/cropped-FinalLogo_Web.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/51\/2025\/10\/cropped-FinalLogo_Web.png","width":1004,"height":617,"caption":"Virtual Avatar & Agent Interaction Lab"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/285"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141"}],"version-history":[{"count":49,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":504,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/141\/revisions\/504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/vaail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}