Current Students

Matthew Barrett

Year Entered: Spring 2010

Email: Matthew.Barrett.73@my.csun.edu

Primary Advisor: Dr. Abraham Rutchick

Interests: My primary research interests include automaticity, mood congruence, embodied cognition, and priming effects. I also love social psychology, sports psychology, statistics, and research design in general. 

Additional Information: I would love to teach statistics and do applied research in cognition in the future.

Aida Mahmud

Year Entered: Spring 2010

Email: aida.mahmud.22@my.csun.edu

Primary Advisor: Dr. Gabriela Chavira

Interests: I’m interested on the topic of identity (ethnic identity, identity formation, religious identity, …); acculturation as well as factors and variables that  play a significant roles  in different cultures (specifically Iranian and Latino population).

Alexander Swan

Year Entered: Fall 2009

Email: alexander.swan.85@my.csun.edu

Primary Advisor: Dr. Abraham Rutchick

Interests: Reasoning, News Media biases, embodied cognition, social cognition and cognitive psychology in general. My thesis is how news media biases relate to syllogistic reasoning evaluation and production.

Additional Information: I watch a lot of movies and news, so I get a lot of my ideas in psychology from these two places. This is what makes my interests so varied.

Steve Lee

Year Entered: Fall 2009

Email: steve.lee.869@my.csun.edu

Primary Advisor: Dr. Michele Wittig

Interests: I am a first-year graduate student looking at East and West differences in cognition, categorization, cause, and intent, and so on. I hope that my research will serve as a bridge between East and West by promoting better understanding of each other.

Additional Information: I was born in S. Korea and came to the US nine years ago. I like the sun and diversity in California.

Mirranda Quinata

Year Entered: Fall 2009

Email: mirrandamonique.quinata.887@my.csun.edu

Primary Advisor: Drs. Michele Wittig and Abraham Rutchick

Interests: I am interested in the area of social psychology, especially research related to cross-cultural issues, intergroup relations, and social support.

Blanca Montoya

Year Entered: Fall 2009

Email: Blanca.Montoya.79@my.csun.edu

Primary Advisor: Dr. Holli Tonyan

Interests: My research interests are focused in developmental psychology. In particular I am interested in language acquisition and cognitive and emotional development during early childhood. 

Additional Information: Affiliated in Holli Tonyan's lab. Currently working on comparing center-based and family-based child day care settings. 

Diamond Bravo

Year Entered: Fall 2009

Email: diamond.bravo.543@my.csun.edu

Primary Advisor: Drs. Michele Wittig and Gabriela Chavira

Interests:  I am interested in studying methods of social support that serve to provide motivation, incentive, and perseverance for academic and health success.

Additional Information: Currently involved in projects working with adolescent population entailing interventions aimed to reduce health disparities through the enhancement of cultural wealth, identity, and academic aspirations. Independently investigating generational trends in social support related to the transfer of information concerning healthy living amongst underrepresented populations.

Jared Ramsburg

Year Entered: Fall 2009

Email: jared.ramsburg.65@my.csun.edu

Primary Advisor: Dr. Robert Youmans

Interests: My primary interest is in the effects of active cognitive training on self-regulatory mechanisms. Specifically, what types of cognitive training might bring about the greatest improvement in self-regulation? Additionally, I am interested in decision-making, problem solving, meditation, empathy, and memory.

Additional Information: My interests are influenced by over nine years of training in meditation, yoga, and combative arts. Additionally, I love learning, cooking, traveling, and outdoor treks. 

Laura Ratsch

Year Entered: Fall 2009

Email: laura.ratsch.20@my.csun.edu

Primary Advisor: Drs. Mark Otten and Jill Quilici

Interests:  My research interests include mood disorders, emphasis in bipolar disorder, sport psychology, sport psychology as it relates to basketball free throw shooting as it relates to attention as measured by the EEG and sensory motor task and schizotypi personality disorder

Additional Information: During my "time off," I enjoy going to the beach, watching movies and rocking out to Guitar Hero. I also love, love horseback riding. Why, because I have a need for speed. I also love to come up with new dance choreography to rock out to Britney Spears!!

Nicholas Inchausti

Year Entered: Fall 2009

Email: ninchaus@gmail.com

Primary Advisor: Dr. Andrew Ainsworth

Interests: I am interested in many different aspects of social psychology. Currently I am researching misattribution of arousal and social issues related to people who stutter.

Additional Information: My other interests include writing and composing music for use in student films, podcasts, and other commercial outlets. 

Chaya Greisman

Year Entered: Fall 2008

Email: chaya.greisman.62@my.csun.edu

Primary Advisor: Dr. Scott Plunkett

Interests:   I am interested in studying self-esteem and self-efficacy and how it relates to resiliency and coping mechanisms in children and adolescents.

Additional Information:I have been a part of the Teacher Intern Program (TIP) for the Fall 09-Spring 10 academic year.

Cindy Fierros

Year Entered: Fall 2008

Email: cindyfierros24@gmail.com

Primary Advisor: Dr. Gabriela Chavira 

Interests: Critical Race Theory, Latino Critical Theory, culture and education, educational equity

Krystle McNeil

Year Entered: Fall 2008

Email: krystle.mcneil.185@my.csun.edu

Primary Advisor: Dr. Andrew Ainsworth

Interests:  My current research interest is in attitudes, prejudice, racism, and discrimination towards feminine and masculine (heterosexual or homosexual) individuals (male or female) who either exhibit gender conformity or gender non-conformity; in addition to how these issues relate to ethnicity.. I am also interested in the effects sexual orientation (heterosexuals, homosexuals, and transgenders) has on mental health, such as anxiety, depression, mood disorders, and gender identity.

Additional Information: CSUN is honestly one of the best California State University institutions to prepare someone for a Ph.D program. The psychology program is advised for the students who want to pursue a Ph.D. in an area of psychology in which research and methodology are required. Most importantly, more graduates in the psychology department completed Ph.D. programs than graduates from any other non Ph.D. granting university in the country.  Ohh did I mention that the faculty are amazing!!!