PEOPLE
Principal Investigator
Vivian P. Ta
Vivian is Assistant Professor of Psychology at Lake Forest College and Mellon Faculty Fellow. She received her Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington where she was a recipient of a National Science Foundation LSAMP BD fellowship. Her research examines how language shapes the development of a variety of psychological processes such as common-ground understanding, negotiations, political discussions, among others. Her other research projects focus on computer-mediated communication, personality, and close relationships.
Her CV can be found here (updated 17 December 2019):
Lab Manager
Annie Keller
Annie is a junior at Lake Forest College majoring in Psychology and minoring in Neuroscience and Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies. She is doing research on part-set cueing and memory in a cognitive psychology lab, and language analysis on persuasion and attitude change in a social psychology lab. She hopes to go back to school after graduation to pursue her PhD in social psychology. Her interests in social psychology lie in intergroup relations, stereotyping, prejudice, contact hypothesis, and prosocial/antisocial behaviors.
Research Assistants
Esther DeCero
Esther is a Sophomore at at Lake Forest College majoring in Psychology and Theatre. This is her first semester working in a lab and she looks forward to continuing research in the future. Esther would like to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
Caroline Griffith
Caroline is a senior majoring in Psychology. She is experienced working as a research assistant for the Childhood Mood Disorders Lab under Dr. Mary Fristad at The Ohio State University. Caroline was also an intern at the Family Recovery Centers in Lake Bluff. More recently, she is completing a research internship at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Health Psychology Lab led by Dr. Rachel Greenley. She hopes to obtain a PhD in Clinical Psychology after graduation.
Carolynn Boatfield
Carolynn is an undergraduate at Lake Forest College on the path to completing her degree in Neuroscience and Psychology. She has experience in providing counseling and leadership to children with exceptional needs, and has for the past 3 years been involved with programs such as Tourette Syndrome Camp USA, NEDSRA, and local mental health volunteer efforts. In her free time, Carolynn enjoys reading literature related to criminology in the 20 and 21st century. Her copious volunteer involvement and special interests inspires her own personal research work, and she has taken an interest in how epigenetic factors influence modern behavior. She is especially interested in how generational trauma effects modern generations in terms of their morality as well as psychological diagnoses in specific populations. Using a multidisciplinary method, she hopes to combine advancements in technology and AI mechanisms to help those affected by these aforementioned issues to better cope with their reality.
Xinyu (Amy) Wang
Amy is a Junior at Lake Forest College double majoring in Psychology and Data Science. This is her second year working in the lab. She is interested in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, as well as Social Psychology. She plans to pursue her PhD in IO Psychology.
Maria Civitello
Maria is a junior at Lake Forest College double-majoring in Psychology and French with a minor in Music. Prior to joining the Technology, Language, and Relationships lab, she gained research experience through Lake Forest’s Richter Scholar program by studying themes of physics in modern literature. Her academic interests include childhood language development, bilingualism, theories of emotion, and the neuropsychological mechanisms underpinning our appreciation of music. After graduation, she plans to pursue graduate work in psychology or speech-language pathology.
Lab Alumni
Lamia Yanouri, University of North Texas
Banan Ramadan
Emmalie Moe, Southern Methodist University
Haley Bader, University of Denver