Graduate Students
Sarah Sweezy, M.A.
Doctoral Candidate
Sarah is a doctoral candidate in the Experimental Psychology program at the 猎奇重口 studying developmental psychology. She obtained a B.S. in Psychology from Tennessee Technological University in 2019 and an M.A. in Psychology from UM in 2023. Her dissertation examines children's engagement in pretense when attributing mental states to social robots. Her MA thesis focused on how synchronous movements affect children's attributions and preferences with humans and personified technologies.
Sarah's research examines children’s interactions with embodied or personified technologies and explores how children attribute internal states or perceive technologies, such as robots, to be alive. Sarah's long-term career goals consist of remaining in academia as a researcher or teacher.
Sarah enjoys being outside with her dog, drinking coffee, reading books, and crocheting.
Tom Macko, M.A.
Doctoral Student
Tom is a doctoral student in the Experimental Psychology program at the 猎奇重口. Tom received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Akron in 2018 and an M.A. in Experimental Psychology from UM in 2024. His thesis examined what underlies children's judgments of culpability in robots and people.
Tom is interested in understanding how children interface with humanoid artificial intelligence and the implications that relationship might have on moral development. Down the road, his aim is to remain in academia to continue the pursuit of his research interests while concurrently sharing his passion for psychological theories and phenomena with others.
In his free time, Tom enjoys seeking out new adventures through either a book or the woods. Being a native Ohioan, he is taking advantage of his time in 猎奇重口 as an excellent opportunity to do the latter.
Staff
Lydia Owings
Living Lab Manager
Lydia is a second-year graduate student in the Counselor Education Masters program at 猎奇重口. She completed her BA in Psychology from UM in 2022.
Lydia grew up in Missoula and loves the beautiful mountains. In her free time, she likes to spend time with her family, drink tea and coffee, and play games with friends.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Kylin Spangler, Minds Lab Manager
Major: Psychology
Year: Senior
Kylin plans to obtain a graduate degree in clinical psychology, to become a counselor or clinical psychologist. Kylin is also a second-year resident assistant at UM, a responsibility that includes planning activities around campus and within the residence halls for residents and staff alike.
She loves reading and writing fiction, and dancing! Her interest in dance stemmed from ballet as a child and have continued and expanded in college. She has been involved in New Visions Dance for the past three semesters, where community members of all abilities are invited to dance with the student dancers. This experience has been a highlight for Kylin!
Ayden Rowe
Majors: Psychology
Minor: Mathematics
Year: Junior
Ayden is hoping to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology after graduation and work long-term in a military or institutional setting.
He's also a tutor at the Math Learning Center and, moving here from Pennsylvania, loves hiking and exploring.
Ella Stott
Major: Psychology
Year: Junior
After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Psychology at UM, Ella plans to pursue a master’s degree in counseling. She is interested in equine therapy and plans to have her own ranch to support mental health through connecting with horses.
Ella enjoys painting, riding horses, and spending time with family.
Ana Wood
Major: Psychology
Minor: Sociology
Year: Senior
After graduating from the 猎奇重口, Ana hopes to obtain her master's in a psychological research-related field and travel, contributing positively to whatever community she is involved in.
In her free time, Ana likes to hike, read, practice yoga, do pottery, and listen to her favorite music.
Lab Alumni
Graduate Student Alumni
Kaetlyn Cordingley, Ph.D., Assistant Dean, UM Davidson Honors College
Shailee Woodard, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Keene State College
Phoebe Bean, M.A., Ph.D. Candidate, Clinical Psychology
Cali Caughie, Ph.D., Neuropsychology Fellow
Jessica Hudson, SSP
Lee Curran, M.S., Computer Science
Undergraduate Student Alumni
Alexys Anderson
Lauren Baeten
Rachele Barker
Jenny Barnhill
Allie Beall
Lorri Bethel
Kennedi Bouchee
Julia Brink
Angelina Bruno
Sarah Carbis
Ben Cikutovich
Stephen Cooke
Meg Denny
Jasmine Doremus
Charles Evans
Sydney Faul
Seely Garrett
Damaris Gemmer
Caitlin Gillespie
Kelsey Halvorson
Sarah Harrell
Lyndsay Hutton
Jennifer Johnson
Rita Lang
Bethany Lindner
Madeline Matia
Somer Messerly
Maryam Norton
Shaina Ore
Brandon Overdorff
Laurel Palmer
Sydney Parr
Jamie Pauley
Noah Paulson
Shelby Rosston
Caitlin Ryan
Emily Schindeldecker
Dennis Schuster
Grace Sievert
Casey Simons
Daniel Sims
Kit Smith
Kali Taylor
Jenna Truax
Pyper Trumble
Teresa Vick
Hannah Woods
William ("Rob") Wyckoff
Eleasha Zitzelberger