Hello! My name is Hunter Meyers, and I study industrial-organizational psychology under the guidance and mentorship of Dr. Dan Newman and Dr. Jun-Yeob Kim, an alum of the Master of Science in Psychological Science (MSPS) and Industrial-Organizational PhD programs. Together, we are investigating the role of influence on perceived leadership ability and how these perceptions differ based on the...

My name is Maggie Palmiero. I am a second year Master of Science in Psychological Science (MSPS) student, and I work closely with both my advisor, Dr. Chris Fraley, and the director of the MSPS program, Dr. Caroline Tancredy. Over the past year and a half, I have conducted original research addressing the potential for bias in retrospective reports of adult romantic attachment. Though I am...

My name is Linyuan (Carol) Shi. I am a second year Master of Science in Psychological Science (MSPS) student who will soon become a PhD student working with Dr. Joshua Gulley. I recently finished a project that is a collaboration with Dr. Nu-Chu Liang’s lab on the effects of concurrent use of alcohol and THC—the main active component in cannabis— on the neuronal plasticity of the medial...

My name is Jingfeng Zhang. I am in my second year of the MSPS program where I co-lead a project in the Learning and Language Laboratory with Professor Jon Willits. We aim to create a simulation of humans in a natural environment, using neural networks built with Unity3d to visualize the learning process. Psychologists use neural network techniques to model the neural changes in the brain...

My name is Yifan (Catherine) Yang. I am a second-year student in MSPS program, where I am a member of Dr. Daniel Simons’ lab. My research with Dr. Simons focuses on attention and visual perception. My interest in attention began during my undergraduate study at Whitman College. After taking Introduction to Psychology and learning about change blindness, I wondered why people cannot detect...

Grace Goodwin is this year’s recipient of the Graduate Award for Excellence in Psychological Science for her outstanding performance in research, academics and professional development in the Master of Science in Psychological Science program. As her letter writer said, “Grace has distinguished herself in every domain of performance. She has performed remarkably well in the...

Carly began her undergraduate career studying psychology and ended it with a focus on human culture and gender with a double major in anthropology and gender studies. Her focus at that time was on advocacy for survivors of domestic violence.  After graduation, she attended law school in order to pursue a law degree as a powerful tool for making change in people’s lives. Carly...

We invited Yadong Dai to join our MSPS program because of his notable achievements and interest in memory research. Originally, Yadong studied civil engineering at the Sichuan University. His interests shifted from engineering to psychology after he directly observed the differential impact of stressful events on people’s well-being in the aftermath of the Wenchuan Earthquake in China—a...

Congratulations to Zoe Xu, winner of the Graduate Award for Excellence in Psychological Science. As a high-achieving student of the inaugural class, Zoe has optimized every opportunity available to her. Known as a diligent student, outstanding investigator, and excellent collaborator, Zoe passionately evaluates research design and data modeling. Her research spans several areas of attention and...

Rhyann is a first-year student in the MSPS program who is collaborating with Dr. Carla Hunter. In this Spotlight, Rhyann tells us about her goals for her study at Illinois. What were you doing prior to joining the MSPS program? I was completing my undergraduate education at Santa Clara University, where I earned a B.S. in Psychology and Ethnic Studies. Why are you...