Dr. Erin Hennes
Principal Investigator
Dr. Erin Hennes is an Associate Professor at the University of Missouri, recruited through the MizzouForward initiative. She holds a joint appointment in Psychological Sciences and the Truman School of Government & Public Affairs and is Core Faculty at the MU Institute for Data Science & Informatics. At MU, Dr. Hennes is the director of both the Social Cognition of Social Change Lab and the mpower project. Dr. Hennes holds a BA in Music, Psychology, and Liberal Arts & Management from Indiana University and a PhD in Social Psychology with a minor in Quantitative Methods from New York University. Following graduation, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles and a Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
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Email: ehennes@missouri.edu
Postdoc & Graduate Students
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Janel Jett is a Sloan Foundation and National Carbon Economy Consortium postdoctoral fellow in the SCSC Lab at the Truman School at MU. She received her PhD in Political Science at Purdue University in 2021. Her main research interests are American politics, political communication, political psychology, and public opinion. Her research focuses on understanding how nontraditional media sources serve as sources of political information and how those sources shape policy attitudes. She has been a member of the SCSC Lab since 2018, where she examines the impact of progressive vs. restorative policy frames on attitudes regarding anthropogenic climate change in the United States and France. She was also the recipient of a Chateaubriand Fellowship to conduct this research in Paris, France for the Spring 2020 semester. Starting Fall 2024, she will be an Assistant Professor at the University of Oregon.
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Email: janeljett@missouri.edu
Graduate Student
Evelyn Eunbyul Do joined the SCSC lab as a PhD student in Fall 2024 with a Fulbright graduate student scholarship. Prior to joining the lab, she completed a BA in French Literature and Psychology from Sungkyunkwan University and a MA in Social Psychology from the same institution. Her research interest centers on affective polarization and social injustice, and how they influence the broader democratic culture. Evelyn is also interested in how political behaviors shape people's psychological well-being. When she's not in the lab, she enjoys trying out new activities and learning new languages.
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Email: edt62@missouri.edu
Graduate Student
Logan Edmondson joined the SCSC lab as a PhD student in Fall 2024. He earned his BS in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Kansas in the Spring of 2024. Logan is primarily interested in motivation and belief formation in the context of contentious social issues. He is also interested how individuals navigate perceived changes in the social world (e.g. examining why statements like, "Nobody wants to work anymore" reoccur every generation.) For example, while at KU, Logan's work (advised by Dr. Mark Landau) examined differences in intertemporal choice and time-horizons due to exposure to an emerging sensational discourse surrounding climate change. In his spare time, Logan plays the guitar, cycles, goes camping, bakes and spends time with his dog, Mike.
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Email: edmondsonl@missouri.edu
Graduate Student
Aijia Gao joined the SCSC Lab as a PhD student in Fall 2020. She earned a BA in Intensive Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2018, a MA in Psychology from Wake Forest University in 2020, and an MS in Psychology from Purdue University in 2022 prior to moving to the University of Missouri. Her past research experience includes work on infant social-cognitive development (thesis advised by Dr. Su-Hua Wang) and the impact of visual aid formats on risk perception (thesis advised by Dr. Eric Stone). Her current research interests focus on two areas. First is in the integration of basic, cognitive and decision-making theories with social psychological considerations to holistically understand how we process information on contentious social issues. The second focus is on improving applied outcomes of research by calibrating intervention and policy recommendations to meet long-haul challenges presented by systems, mainly through the lens of social norms and social power. In her free time, she loves to learn new skills and hang out with other people's pets!
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Email: agao@mail.missouri.edu
Graduate Student
Taeik Kim joined the SCSC Lab as a PhD student in Fall 2019. His research broadly focuses on understanding motivated and cognitive processes that underpin resistance to social change, particularly in the context of climate change and social inequities. He completed his BA in Psychology at Yeungnam University in South Korea, an MA degree in Cultural and Social Psychology at Korea University, and an MS degree in Psychology from Purdue University prior to moving to the University of Missouri. Using traditional and cutting-edge methodologies, including surveys, experiments, and natural language processing, his research endeavors to investigate two interrelated research questions:
First, when and why not only those ignorant but aware of climate change or social inequities fail to support for changes to address the problems? Also, how do individuals justify their inaction when they fail to engage in action despite being aware?
Second, how do individuals respond to solutions proposed to address social problems? Especially, under what circumstances and why do proposed solutions aimed at addressing climate change or social inequities paradoxically fuel resistance to social change, especially for those who are aware?
In his spare time, he enjoys playing the piano and riding bicycles.
Email: taeikkim@mail.missouri.edu
Affiliated Graduate Students
Layla Dang began her doctoral studies in the Social Cognition of Social Change Lab in 2019 and is currently co-mentored by Dr. Thekla Morgenroth at Purdue University. Broadly, she is interested in examining the psychological processes that allow systemic social inequities to persist as well as those that engender social change. In a current line of research, she is investigating whether the characteristics of those who challenge the status quo influence the degree to which their recommendations for change are dismissed. Prior to beginning her graduate work, Layla graduated from St. Olaf College with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and was subsequently the Lab Manager of the Social Cognition of Social Change Lab from 2018 to 2019.
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Email: dang24@purdue.edu
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Aubree Hardesty is a PhD student in Political Science at the University of Missouri primarily focuses on American politics with a secondary field of study in public policy. Her research centers on descriptive representation, gender and politics, voter turnout, and political behavior. She is interested in exploring these topics through a political psychology framework. Aubree previously earned her Master's in Atlantic History and Politics from Mizzou's Kinder Institute and her B.A. in political science from Mizzou as well. Aubree is a recipient of the G. Ellsworth Huggins Fellowship
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Email: ajhf5w@mail.missouri.edu
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Aryanna Hyde is a PhD student in Political Science at the University of Missouri working under the primary mentorship of Dr. Hannah Paul. Aryanna is a graduate of Brigham Young University with majors in International Relations and Arabic. She joined the Social Cognition of Social Change Lab in 2023. Her research focuses on perceptions of migrants and the migrant experience with identity and democracy.
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Yanzi Huang is a PhD student in Social Psychology at the University of Deleware working under the primary mentorship of Dr. Peter Mende-Siedlecki. She was the Project Coordinator of Dr. Hennes's SuperPower Project at Purdue University from 2021 to 2022 and the Lab Manager of the SCSC Lab from 2020 to 2021. Yanzi received a BS in Applied Psychology from Hong Kong Baptist University in 2018, and a MA in Psychology from New York University in 2020. She is interested in understanding how top-down factors (e.g., attitudes, stereotypes, ideology) shape social perception and intergroup relations, with a particular focus on issues related to gender and racial biases.
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Email: yzhuang@udel.edu
Katie Mason is a PhD student in Social Psychology at New York University working under the primary mentorship of Dr. John Jost and supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. She is a Spring 2021 graduate of Purdue University with majors in Psychology and Political Science and a minor in Spanish. She joined the SCSC Lab as a high school student in 2016 and was subsequently a Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Scholar, a Research-Focused Honors Program Scholar, and the Lab Manager. She also completed the Diversity Science Research Experience at the University of Washington in 2019, working with Drs. Sapna Cheryan and Linda Zou. Her research interests broadly lie within the psychology of social justice. She is interested in (a) why people are resistant to positive social change, instead defending flawed systems, and (b) stereotyping and prejudice on the basis of racial and gender identity. She is interested in how scientists, politicians, the media, and universities can encourage change that promotes equity.
Email: kam9836@nyu.edu
Donny Snyder is a PhD student in Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, working under the primary mentorship of Dr. Alex Theodoridis and supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Donny is a Spring 2020 graduate of Purdue University, with majors in Psychology, Political Science, and Peace Studies. He joined the Social Cognition of Social Change Lab in 2019. Donny is interested in personality and political ideology change, persuasion, and opinion formation.
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Email: desnyder@umass.edu
Sydney Wicks is a PhD student in Experimental Psychology at the University of Mississippi, under the primary mentorship of Dr. Andrew Hales and supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. He is a graduate of Mississippi State University, where he majored in Psychology with minors in Sociology and Marketing. He joined the Social Cognition of Social Change Lab in 2021 through the Society of Personality and Social Psychology’s Social Psychology Undergraduate Research (SPUR) Program. He is interested in relationships, social connection and exclusion, and media use.​
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Email: swicks@go.olemiss.edu
Mairéad Willis is a PhD student in Clinical Psychology working under the primary mentorship of Dr. Sean Lane at the University of Missouri. Mairéad graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a BA in Neuroscience and Behavior in 2018, where she was a research assistant to Dr. K. Lira Yoon in the Cognition, Emotion, and Emotional Disorders lab. She completed an MA in Creative Writing from University College Cork in 2020. Prior to PhD studies, she was the project coordinator of Dr. Hennes and Dr. Lane’s SuperPower Project and a research assistant to Dr. Marion Underwood at Purdue University. She has been an affiliate of the Social Cognition of Social Change Lab since 2019. Mairéad is interested in social emotion regulation processes across the lifespan, including emotion socialization, emotion co-regulation, and social learning of emotion regulation strategies, as well as developing organizational best practices for the promotion of advantageous mental health outcomes.
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Email: m.willis@mail.missouri.edu
Lab Manager & Research-Focused Mentorship Programs Scholars
Undergraduate Honors Capstone (University of Missouri)
Lab Manager
Ronald Or joined the lab in 2021 as a Research-Focused Honors Program Scholar and a Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Scholar. He has since graduated with undergraduate degrees in Psychological Sciences and Sociology from Purdue University, and is now managing the SCSC lab. Ronald is interested in how people's life experiences and biases influence their perceptions of social issues and decision-making. He is especially interested in studying the psychology of stereotyping and prejudice. He will begin graduate studies at the University of Maryland in Fall 2024.
Email: ronaldor@missouri.edu
Sage Bouchard is an undergraduate student at the University of Missouri majoring in Psychology with a minor in Biology. She joined the lab in 2022, and will be starting her honors capstone in Fall of 2023. Sage is interested in researching social justice concerns related to sustainability and inequality, as well as the ways in which people collective act to improve these issues. Upon graduation, Sage plans to apply to research-oriented graduate programs in Psychology.
Email: sebhpg@mail.missouri.edu
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Summer Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR)
Linh Pham is a Social-Personality Undergraduate Program (SPUR) 2023 mentee under the primary mentorship of Dr. Erin Hennes. She is currently a lab manager working with Dr. Sapna Cheryan at the Stereotypes, Identity, and Belonging Lab at the University of Washington. Linh graduated in 2022 with a BA in Philosophy and Psychology from the University of Washington. Her interest broadly lies in how people's identities influence their experiences and outcomes in different social contexts and their impacts on social justice. She is interested in applying social psychology to change policies and develop practices that encourage diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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Email: lpham247@uw.edu
Summer Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR)
Shine Soki joined the lab as a 2024 Social-Personality Undergraduate Research (SPUR) mentee under the primary mentorship of Dr. Erin Hennes. Her research interests are centered on the intersections of ethnicity, identity, and gender, particularly in how they influence psychological well-being. Underlying Shine's passion for research is her drive for social justice with a keen focus on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Shine is currently a lab manager working with Dr. Chad Danyluck at the Carleton University Social Psychophysiology Lab at Carleton University. She is on track to earn a BA in Health Psychology in 2025 and aims to pursue a Ph.D. in social or clinical psychology.
Email: shinesoki@cmail.carleton.ca
Research Assistants
Enora Cattanach is an undergraduate student at the University of Missouri, double majoring in Psychology and Statistics. She joined the Social Cognition of Social Change Lab in 2022. She is interested in how social processes and biases, both explicit and implicit, affect political behaviors. Upon graduation, Enora plans to apply to Social Psychology PhD programs.
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Email: ercrny@mail.missouri.edu
Faith Glasgow is an undergraduate student at the University of Missouri, double majoring in Political Science and Psychology with a minor in Spanish. She joined the lab in 2024. Faith intends to engage in research connected to the cognitive psychology of criminal justice reform and online political engagement. Upon graduation, Faith plans to attend law school with a focus in discrimination law.
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Email: fgdgr@missouri.edu
Jasna Hardin is a licensed pharmacist and Spring 2023 graduate of New York University with a Master's degree in Psychology, where she worked under the primary mentorship of Dr. John Jost. She graduated from Purdue University with a PharmD in 2016. She has been a member of the Social Cognition of Social Change Lab since 2019. Jasna is interested in understanding how technology, and especially AI, influences intra- and interpersonal processes. She hopes to pursue a career in social psychology.
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Email: jch490@nyu.edu
Lab Alumni
Mysha Clarke (PhD) was a graduate affiliate of the SCSC Lab from 2016 to 2018. She completed a PhD in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources and is now an Assistant Professor of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at the University of Florida.
Kimberly Ordonez was a graduate affiliate of the SCSC Lab from 2017 to 2020. She completed an MS in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources and is now enrolled in the PhD program in Environmental Social Sciences at The Ohio State University.
Young Ju Ryu was a research assistant and graduate affiliate of the SCSC Lab from 2020 to 2022. She is now enrolled in the PhD program in Social Psychology at the University of Kansas.
Ezgi Ozgumus was the lab manager of the SCSC Lab from 2017 to 2018. She is now enrolled in the PhD program in Organisational Behaviour at London Business School.
Carlos Rebollar was an undergraduate Psychology student at Texas Christian University, and was part of the SCSC Lab in 2022 through Social Personality Undergraduate Research (SPUR) program. He has since become lab manager of Dr. Kurt Gray's lab at the University of North Carolina. He plans to continue pursuing a career in intervention science research related to contentious sociopolitical issues.
Xiyao Ge was a summer intern in the SCSC Lab visiting from Reed College in 2017. He is now enrolled in Social Psychology at the MS program in applied statistics and psychometrics at Boston College.
Alec Pedersen graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Psychological Sciences and a B.A. in Law and Society in 2021. He held multiple positions across the joint labs, including the lab manager for the SCSC Lab, the project coordinator for the SuperPower lab, and the lab manager for the REACT lab. In the future, he plans to continue doing work related to personality research and psychedelic assisted therapy.
Leslie Remache was the lab manager of the SCSC Lab from 2019 to 2020. She is now enrolled in the PhD program in Social Psychology at Stanford University.
Emily Boyne (EdS) was a research assistant in the SCSC Lab from 2015 to 2016. She subsequently completed the EdS program in School Psychology at The Ohio State University.
Abigael Click was a research assistant in the SCSC lab from 2022 to 2024. She has since graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Psychological Sciences and Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies, with a minor in Sociology and Critical Disability Studies at Purdue University. She is now enrolled in the PhD program in Social Psychology at the University of Connecticut.
Hayley Green was a research assistant in the SCSC Lab in 2017. She is now enrolled in the MSc program in International Migration and Public Policy at The London School of Economics and Political Science.
Thomas Hamori (MS) was a research assistant in the SCSC Lab in 2017. He is now enrolled in the PhD program in Applied Mathematics at the University of South Carolina.
Sungmin (Derek) Kahng was a research assistant at the SCSC Lab from 2018 to 2020. He is now enrolled in the PhD program in Psychology at the University of Kentucky.
Taewon Kang was a research assistant in the SCSC lab from 2019 to 2021. He is now enrolled in the Master of Science in Social Entrepreneurship program at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.
Diana Lizarazo Pereira was a research assistant in the SCSC Lab in 2017. She is now enrolled in the MSc program in the Psychology of Global Mobility Inclusion & Diversity in Society program at the University of Limerick.
Celine Jusuf was a research assistant in the SCSC Lab from 2018 to 2019. She is now enrolled in the MA program in Psychology at San Diego State University.
Colby Light was a research assistant in the SCSC Lab in 2017. He is now enrolled in the MSc program in Socio-Ecological Economics and Policy program at WU Vienna (Austria).
Kyler Richard was a research assistant in the SCSC lab from 2023 to 2024. She has since graduated from the University of Missouri with a B.S. in Political Science with minors in Spanish Language and Psychology. Upon graduation, Kyler plans to attend graduate school.
Antonia Roach was a research assistant at the SCSC Lab from 2017 to 2018. She is now enrolled in the PhD program in Sociology at Washington University in St. Louis.
Zehan (Leo) Li (MHS) was a research assistant in the SCSC Lab from 2017 to 2018. He is now enrolled in the PhD program in Biomedical Informatics at the University of Texas at Houston.
Brittany Mihalec-Adkins was a research assistant and graduate affiliate of the SCSC Lab from 2015 to 2017. She is now enrolled in the PhD program in Human Development and Family Studies at Purdue University.
Hannah Mullin was a research assistant in the SCSC Lab from 2020 to 2021. She is now enrolled in the MSW program at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
Priyanka Subrahmanyam was a research assistant in the SCSC lab from 2021 to 2023. She has since graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Brain and Behavioral Science and a B.A. in French Studies. She is currently applying to law school.
Kelly Velazquez was a Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) scholar in the SCSC Lab in 2019. She is now enrolled in the PhD program in Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Stefanie Walsh was a research assistant in the SCSC Lab from 2017 to 2020. She is now enrolled in the Master of Science in Business Analytics and Information Management program at Purdue University.