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Esha Massand
Birkbeck, University of London www.bbk.ac.uk/psychology/ What does your research focus on? My research focuses on neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Down’s syndrome. I am interested in the impact of these disorders on developmental trajectories, particularly as it concerns cognitive abilities. In my research on ASD I have shown that even when overt behaviours are similar to typically developing controls, those with ASD display different underlying brain processes. In my most recent research, I have started to investigate the links between Down’s syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease.
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Tiago V. Maia
University of Lisbon, Portugal, and Columbia University http://tiagomaia.org/ What does your research focus on? In terms of psychological processes, I am interested in automatic behaviors, such as habits, and emotional responses, such as fear, with an emphasis on how such behaviors and responses are learned and can be unlearned. In terms of brain function, I am interested in the structures that subserve and modulate these psychological processes, especially the basal ganglia, prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and neuromodulatory systems.
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Bernhard Leidner
University of Massachusetts Amherst http://people.umass.edu/bleidner/ What does your research focus on? My research focuses on questions of morality and justice in the context of large-scale violence and conflict between groups. Why do people engage in destructive conflict? How do they justify it to others and themselves? How do their identities shape, and are shaped by, conflict? I’m specifically interested in the destructive and constructive powers of morality as well as justice mechanisms (e.g., trials), how they can foster reconciliation or plant seeds for future violence. What drew you to this line of research and why is it exciting to you?
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Michael W. Kraus
Michael W. Kraus University of Illinois at Urbana—Champaign www.krauslab.com What does your research focus on? I study a wide variety of topics that can be organized into a few specific themes. One major area of research focuses on how different aspects of social hierarchy (e.g., social class, power, respect) influence self-expressive or empathic processes. A second area of research investigates the social functions of emotions — in particular, how positive emotion expressions (e.g., smiles, touch) leak information about our core motivations. A third area of research is focused on how working models from past relationships influence the formation of new relationships.
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Spring Breakers Beware: Psychological Science Explores Excess Drinking
South Beach, Cancun, and other warm destinations are beckoning many college students as spring break descends across the United States and Canada. The annual trek to sunny beaches offers a change of pace from students’ academic lives, but it also tempts many freshly minted adults to engage in alcohol-fueled hedonism. Researchers have a long history of examining both the psychological lure and effects of binge drinking. They’ve found that the science of drinking is highly complex, with a mix of genetic and situational influences driving behavioral outcomes.
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Kristiina Kompus
University of Bergen, Norway www.uib.no/persons/Kristiina.Kompus What does your research focus on? Involuntary cognition, that is: complex mental acts which occur without volition or intention to perform them. For instance, involuntary retrieval of episodic memories, having a song “stuck” in your head, auditory hallucinations. Thus, such experiences range from benign features of everyday life to symptoms of psychiatric disorders, which is apparently determined by how much cognitive control you are able to exert over the experience once you become conscious of it.
