Meet Our Lab
Lab Director
Alin Coman
Alin is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs, with a joint appointment between the Psychology Department and the School of Public and International Affairs. A native of Romania, Alin obtained his B.A. from Babes-Bolyai University, where he majored in experimental psychology. Defying the odds, and being completely uninformed about the grad school application process in the United States, he applied to only one department, the New School for Social Research (The New School), from which he graduated in 2010 with a Ph.D. in social, cognitive, & developmental psychology. It’s where he learned to overcome disciplinary boundaries in answering research questions. After a brief stint as a postdoc at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie-Mellon University’s Robotics Institute, he joined the Psychology Department at Princeton University, where he currently directs the Collectives in Cognition Lab. Here, he advocates for a similarly interdisciplinary approach to answering research questions with his students and collaborators.
Postdocs
Diego Reinero
Diego is a Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Psychology Department at Princeton University. He is also a Synergy Scholar with the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding at UNC Chapel Hill. His interdisciplinary research investigates how people's moral and political views change through conversations and social networks, and why such changes can be so difficult. He employs a wide range of methods including group-based behavioral experiments and big data analytics. Diego holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from New York University and a B.S. in both psychology and business from Skidmore College. When not doing science, Diego continues his dreams of playing professional soccer and plays in competitive leagues around NYC.
Graduate Students
Primary Advisees
Kara Enz
Kara is a Ph.D. Candidate in the psychology and social policy joint degree program as well as a 2021-2022 Cognitive Science Graduate Fellow. Her research focuses on the links between people's personally experienced memories and their identities, both at the individual and the group level. She uses network analysis to map individuals' memory-identity connections and to study how social interactions among community members contribute to the strengthening of group identity. She holds a B.S. in Psychology and A.B. in music from Lafayette College, as well as an M.A. in psychology from the University of New Hampshire. Kara’s favorite pastimes are making sound waves and riding ocean waves. She works closely with Sunny, a post-dog in the lab who specializes in anxiety.
Travis Frederick
Travis is a Ph.D. Candidate in Security Studies at Princeton University. He received his B.A. in international studies from The Ohio State University in 2014 and his M.S. in international affairs from Georgia Tech in 2017. His research examines the impact of strategic narratives on collective memory and national security in Russia. Travis has worked at the US Embassy in Moscow, the NASA HQ History Office, and completed fieldwork in Russia, Estonia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Argentina. Travis is a graduate fellow in the Princeton Cognitive Science Program and a visiting researcher at the Center for East European and International Studies in Berlin.
Ari Dyckovsky
Ari is a Ph.D. Candidate in psychology at Princeton University and a Centennial Fellow in the Natural Sciences and Engineering. His research focuses on collective psychological processes in large-scale social networks. He uses a psychologically grounded, technologically advanced approach to study the emergence of identity, value, and resilience in online communities (e.g., blockchains and social media). He started his undergraduate studies in mathematics & computer science at Stanford University before spending several years building enterprise software companies as an entrepreneur. Ari holds a B.A. in psychology from the University of Denver, where he co-founded the ongoing Application Statement Feedback Program. Outside of his scientific endeavors, Ari likes to watch hockey, play classical guitar, and cook extravagant meals for friends.
Graduate Students
Secondary Advisees
Roh Majumdar
Roh is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Joint Degree Program in psychology and social policy at Princeton University, where she is advised by Professors Elke U. Weber and Alin Coman. Across both labs, she currently is working on applying the psychology of social norms to promote sustainable behaviors and curb environmentally damaging trends. Roh is also largely interested in studying social networks, misinformation and disinformation, and closing attitude-behavior gaps in various contexts. Prior to joining Princeton, Roh received her B.S. degree in 2019 from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she double-majored in cognitive science and economics. Outside of research, Roh likes to listen to music, read crime fiction, pretend she’s a food critic, and play drums.
Jordana Composto
Jordana is a Ph.D. Candidate in psychology at Princeton University. Her research interests include pro-social decision-making, social norms, and organizational behavior. In the Coman lab, Jordana studies group processes that improve information spread and group decisions to break cultures of silence. Prior to joining Princeton, Jordana was a Business Consultant in the finance and consumer industries and a Research Coordinator and Data Scientist at Saint Joseph’s University, where she worked on a range of projects related to adult and baby sleep. She received her bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in quantitative social science and environmental studies.
Yeji Park
Yeji is a Ph.D. Candidate at Princeton University. Prior to joining Princeton, she received her B.A. in psychology from Columbia University in 2018 and worked as a research coordinator at Wharton’s Behavior Change for Good Initiative from 2018-2020. Broadly interested in intergroup relations and social networks, she studies how people become friends across group lines and how bias in the larger community shapes individual psychology. Outside of research, Yeji likes to read and watch cute cat videos.
Sana Khan
Sana is a Ph.D. Candidate in psychology and social policy at Princeton University. Her research interests include (i) the formation and functioning of norms and how they influence economic possibilities and opportunities; (ii) intergroup relations, focusing on refugee and host community populations; and, (iii) judgment and decision-making in contexts of poverty.
Sana has 10+ years’ experience of undertaking research in development and humanitarian contexts. She has worked at Innovations for Poverty Action, The World Bank, and the International Rescue Committee. Sana holds a Master’s degree in international relations, with a concentration in international development and economics, from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a Bachelors in economics and psychology from Trinity College, CT.
Naomi Vaida
A native of Ireland and Romania, Naomi is a Ph.D. Candidate at Princeton University, in the Joint Degree Program in psychology and social policy. She studies the cognitive science of storytelling: how people understand stories, how stories spread in social networks and how they shape stereotypes of marginalized groups. Current projects combine experimental design, social network analysis and behavioral economics.
Naomi earned her B.A. in psychology from Trinity College, the University of Dublin in Ireland, ranking top of her class. For this, she won the Gold Medal and the prize for Best Psychology Graduate upon graduation. She was also elected Foundation Scholar, Ireland’s top undergraduate scholarship and was named an Iveagh Fellow by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs for policy-relevant research. Prior to her Ph.D., Naomi completed research in a variety of labs, including as an Amgen Scholar at the University of Cambridge. Outside of research, she spends too much time daydreaming and enjoying chocolate.
Alumni
Madalina Vlasceanu was a graduate student from 2016-21. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at New York University.
Jeremy Yamashiro was a postdoc from 2019-21. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at University of California Santa Cruz.
Janet Pauketat was a postdoc from 2017-20. She is currently a Research Fellow at Sentience Institute.
Sherry Wu was a graduate student from 2013-19. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Management & Organizations at Anderson School of Management, University of California Los Angeles.
Joanna Sterling was a postdoc from 2017-18. She is currently a Senior Staff Research Lead at Meta.
Ajua Duker was a research specialist from 2015-17. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at New York University.
Andra Geana was a graduate student from 2010-15. She is currently a postdoc at Brown University.