Connected Science Community Human Behavior and Sustainability Sciences PhD Program

Research includes representation and communication of social–ecological models, cultural models in environmental decision making, stakeholder engagement in environmental policy, and environmental communication.

We examine socio-ecological plant systems that preserve biodiversity and foster resilience to a changing climate, including how plant population and community dynamics impact human well-being and management decision-making, and how those decisions feed back to influence ecosystem dynamics.

Research in the Psychology of Misinformation Lab investigates what drives belief in inaccurate information, why certain individuals are predisposed to refrain from belief change even in the face of good corrective evidence, and how corrections can be designed to maximize impact.

Led by Dr. Brie Reid, we study how climate stress, environmental stressors, water insecurity, metal exposures, climate-change induced food insecurity can impact human development through prenatal/postnatal stress physiology and nutrient mechanisms.

Led by Drs. Aaron Seitz and Susanne Jaeggi, our lab strives to improve your brain’s fitness. We research, test, and disseminate evidence-based, scientifically optimized brain fitness games that assist you in real life with memory, vision, hearing, learning, and more. We have a track record of making our tested procedures publicly available so that our innovations help our community and the world.

How do we use information we have learned? Does the way people learn and apply knowledge change across development? In the Learning and Brain Development lab, we investigate the development of brain systems for different ways of learning during adolescence, and the impact of learning on memory, decision making, and cognitive control. We are interested in understanding how behavioral and brain changes in adolescence may be adaptive for the situations and goals that arise in this stage of life.

The Center investigates the effects of lifestyle choices and health behaviors (e.g., physical activity, diet) and their physiological sequelae (e.g., fitness, adiposity) on brain and cognition. From a neuroimaging perspective, the researchers’ interests lie in understanding how health influences brain and behavior as it relates to increased health and effective functioning for individuals across the lifespan.

The CORE lab seeks to answer questions about basic cognitive processes like conceptual organization, reasoning, and conceptual development.

Dr. DeSteno’s research focuses on the role of emotion in social cognition and behavior.