KRISTIN PAUKER, PH.D. [EMAIL] [CV]

Kristin Pauker is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Hawaii and director of the ISP lab. She received her A.B. from Dartmouth College (2002), Ph.D. from Tufts University (2009), and completed postdoctoral study at Stanford University. Originally born and raised in Hawaii, she became fascinated with exploring how a person’s immediate environment and culturally-shaped theories about race impact basic social perception, social interactions, and stereotyping in childhood and throughout development. Her research spans both Social and Developmental Psychology and has been featured in journals including Science, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Developmental Psychology. She has been the recipient of several awards, including a Jacob K. Javits Fellowship, a Dissertation Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, a Board of Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Research, and a Board of Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching. Her work has been supported by a R00 Pathway to Independence Award from NICHD and multiple NSF grants. Dr. Pauker enjoys hiking, surfing, and exploring Oahu with her husband Jeff, son Sebastian, and her dog, Miso.

NICOLE ALARCON [EMAIL]

Nicole Alarcon received her B.A. in Psychology from Barnard College. She will be pursuing her Ph.D. in Social Psychology at UH Mānoa under Dr. Kristin Pauker’s mentorship. Nicole is interested in exploring how dual-minority multiracial children navigate identity development, belonging, and social perception. She is also passionate about researching how early social experiences shape racial/ethnic attitudes and biases. In her free time, Nicole enjoys painting and trying new baking recipes.

SHAN GAO [EMAIL]

Shan Gao received her B.A. in Psychology and Chinese Literature from The Ohio State University and her M.A. in Psychology from New York University. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Social Psychology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Under the guidance of Dr. Kristin Pauker, Shan is exploring the impact of media on the development of implicit biases in young children. Additionally, she is interested in studying how various cues trigger stereotypes associated with different social groups. Outside the lab, Shan loves hiking, reading, and hopes to learn diving.

SNOW (YANRAN) LIN [EMAIL]

Snow Lin received her B.S. in Cognitive Psychology from University of California, San Diego, and completed a Post-Bac program at UC Berkeley. Currently working with Dr. Kristin Pauker and Dr. Joni Sasaki, she is a graduate student in Social Psychology at UH, Mānoa. Snow is broadly interested in the interactions between culture, language, emotion and the self. More specifically, Snow is passionate about exploring how multicultural and multi-/bi-lingual backgrounds and experiences impact individuals’ sense of self and emotion well-being. Additionally, she is interested in how media representation of different gender, racial/ethnic groups impacts empathy

DAKOTA BOW

Dakota was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. She is currently pursuing a BA in Psychology major with a minor in English. After undergrad, she plans to attend a school with a Psy program to receive her professional doctoral degree for clinical practice purposes. In her down time, she instructs Barre classes, loves to run, and enjoys hanging out with her friends and family.

EMMA BURNKRANT

Emma was raised in Littleton, Colorado. She is currently pursuing a BA in Sociology and Psychology. After graduating, she is considering working towards a masters degree in Criminology. She is interested in social cognition, but is still exploring other fields of psychology. In her free time, Emma enjoys going to the gym, practicing taekwondo, and watching TV.

RYLIE GOTO

Rylie was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. She is currently pursuing a BA in Psychology with a minor in Dance. After graduating, she plans to earn her PhD in clinical or child psychology, with the goal of supporting children’s mental health and development. In her free time, Rylie likes dancing, going to the beach, and spending time with her friends and family.

KACIE KATO

Kacie was born and raised in Mililani, Hawaii and is currently a Psychology BA major with a minor in Sociology. After graduating, she plans to obtain her graduate degree and pursue a career in the mental health field. Her current interests include the racial socialization of children, mental health in oppressed groups in society, social advocacy, and marriage and family counseling. In her free time, Kacie enjoys shopping, singing, spending time with family and friends, and hanging out with her dog!

RYLEE IMADA

Rylee was born and raised in Kailua, Hawaii. She is currently pursuing a BA in Psychology and a minor in Psychology and Law at the University of Southern California. After graduation she hopes to continue exploring the field or return to school to further her education in clinical psychology. Rylee hopes to return to Hawaii post-grad where she can continue to enjoy the beach, family time, and an active lifestyle.

ANYA LATHAM

Anya has lived all over the U.S. but has spent her last six years living in Honolulu. She is starting her third year at Smith College in Massachusetts, pursuing a BA in Psychology and Spanish Studies. She is interested in social and developmental psychology, especially gender perception and expression in children and adolescents. Outside the lab, Anya enjoys bead embroidery, body surfing, hiking, and spending time with her family, friends, and cats.

MY QUE LY

My Que was born in Vietnam and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii since 2006. She is a junior currently pursing a B.A. in psychology and political science. Outside the lab, she works as a Digital Learning Assistant for the College of Social Sciences and Outreach Worker for the Hawaii Undergraduate Initiative. She is interested in social perception of different groups. After fulfilling her undergraduate degree, she plan to either go to law school or pursue a PhD in political psychology. During her free time, she likes to hang out with her friends, shop, eat, scrapbook, and listen to music.

SYLVAINE OU

Sylvaine was born in Taiwan and raised in Hong Kong. She is currently a junior pursuing a B.A. in psychology. As an international student, Sylvaine is very interested in understanding more about the connections between culture and emotion. In the future, she plans to continue her education, specializing in clinical psychology. In her spare time, Sylvaine likes shopping and hanging out with her friends.

BELLA PRADO

Bella graduated this Spring ’25 as a student of Psychology at University of Hawai’i at Manoa. She loves doing research and intends on continuing her path onto higher education for psychological research. She is currently working on the next step of her career, which is applying for graduate schools. Bella enjoys working with children and animals. She has three little siblings as well as a cat named Juice Box and a Saint Bernard dog named Thor, who she spends all of her time with when visiting her family in the state of Washington. She is looking forward to this upcoming fall semester and extremely excited to continue doing research with the ISP lab!

SALENA DIAZ [EMAIL]

Salena Diaz received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from UH Mānoa in 2024. Prior to her Ph.D., she received her B.A. in Psychology from Wilkes University and her M.A. in Experimental Psychology from Radford University. She is generally interested in studying diversity and intersectionality, but more specifically seeks to study the experiences of multiracial individuals, including those within Latino/a/x populations. Additionally, she is interested in how media and popular culture influence racial identity and the perceptions of various gender, racial, and ethnic groups. Salena is currently a postdoc at Dartmouth College in the Social Identity in Dialogue Lab with Dr. Kiara Sanchez.

SHAHANA ANSARI, PH.D.

Shahana Ansari received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from UH Mānoa in 2022. She has a B.A. in psychology from the University of Tampa and an M.A. in Children, Youth and International Development from Brunel University. Shahana’s research interests include examining the effect of social contexts on the development of race conceptions and categorizations, racial stereotyping, and racial prejudice. Shahana has a particular interest in examining these questions in academic settings to identify effective strategies that mitigate students’ psychological barriers to academic success. Shahana is currently a post-doc at Indiana University in the Social Roles Laboratory with Dr. Amanda Diekman.

CHRISTINE TAI, PH.D.

Christine Tai received her Ph.D. in Developmental and Social Psychology from UH Mānoa in 2022. She received a B.A. in Psychology from New York University. She is interested in the development of stereotypes and attitudes toward stigmatized forms of speech (e.g., accents & dialects). She also hopes to apply her research cross-culturally, in observing the role the environment plays in shaping stereotyping and prejudice. Christine now works for META.

VICTORIA NARINE, PH.D.

Victoria Narine received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from UH Mānoa in 2021. She has a B.A. from the College of William and Mary and a M.A. from the New School for Social Research. Victoria’s research interests include implicit gender bias and stereotype threat associated with gender. She’s especially interested in women’s experiences in male-dominated occupations and environments, such as S.T.E.M. and athletics. Victoria is now a Research Statistician at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

ELIZABETH BREY, PH.D.

Elizabeth Brey was a postdoctoral fellow in lab from 2016-2020. She received a PhD in psychology from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focused on the causes and consequences of children’s group-level biases. How do young children learn stereotypes about different groups despite living in egalitarian communities? How do children’s group-level stereotypes affect negatively stereotyped children? As a postdoc, she was funded by a postdoctoral NSF grant and a NRSA from NIH, where she examined how children use nonverbal information to make group level judgments about other children. Elizabeth is now working as a Senior Researcher in Applied Research & Equitable Evaluation at Education Northwest.

CHANEL MEYERS, PH.D. [EMAIL] [WEBSITE]

Chanel Meyers received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from UH Mānoa in 2018. She graduated from Western Oregon University and was born and raised in Hawaii. Her research examines how increasing diversity in society shapes intergroup processes across contexts and groups. Using a social-cognitive approach, Chanel examines how contexts and social norms influence cognition, behaviors and social interactions, with a focus on racial diversity, race-related norms and social perception. Chanel completed a postdoc at York University working with Dr. Kerry Kawakami and is now an Assistant Professor at University of Oregon.

ASHLEY MORRIS BIDDLE, PH.D. [WEBSITE]

Ashley Morris received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from UH Mānoa in 2017. She has a B.A. from Wellesley College and an M.A. from UH Mānoa. Her research focuses on social-cognitive development of preschool-aged children. Specifically, she is interested in how children learn to seek information from the world around them (e.g., parents, peers, media). She has worked on projects about parent-child conversations about autobiographical memory, early development of infants at risk for developing autism, and Native Hawaiian parental beliefs about young children’s learning. Her future research plans include looking at how parent-child conversations may work together with media to encourage children to engage in science topics. Ashley is currently a faculty member at Leeward Community College.

CARA BELLWOOD RAY, PH.D. [WEBSITE]

Cara Bellwood Ray received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from UH Mānoa in 2017. She received a B.A. in Psychology from Whitworth University and M.S. in Psychology from the University of Oregon. Generally, she is interested in how attending college affects the developmental stage of emerging adulthood. Cara is currently an Assistant Professor at Linfield University.

HEATHER ZEZECK, M.A.

Heather Zezeck received her M.A. from UH Mānoa in 2017. Heather examines social influences on educational achievement with two specific interests: the relationship between sense of belonging and college retention and the impact of psychological stressors on the predictive validity of standardized tests.

MEGAN CARPENTER, PH.D. [WEBSITE]

Megan Carpenter graduated with her Ph.D. from the UH Mānoa Social Psychology Program in 2015, and served as a research coordinator with the ISP Lab from 2014-15. Megan’s research interests center around interpersonal relationships, attraction, and perceptions of gender norms. Megan is currently an Associate Professor at St. Lawrence University.

COLLEEN CARPINELLA, PH.D.

Colleen M. Carpinella was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Intergroup Social Perception Lab from 2014-15. Broadly, she is interested in how intersecting social identities (e.g. race and gender, gender and partisanship) bias person perception.  Colleen is now an Insights Expert at Spherix Global Insights.

AMANDA WILLIAMS, PH.D.

Amanda Williams was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the ISP Lab from 2013-14. To date her research has focused on (1) the development of (implicit) social cognition and (2) visual attention during person perception. Amanda was a Senior Lecturer in Psychology in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Bristol and now is a Manager in Strategic Services at the Waterloo Regional Police.

TAEJA MASON

Taeja was a RA in the ISP lab from 2022-23. She is currently pursuing a M.S. In Counseling at Chaminade University.

JESSICA DELOS REYES

Jessica was a RA in the ISP lab from 2020-21. She is currently pursuing a Psy.D. at Biola University.

MAILE GRIFFIN

Maile was a RA and honors student in the ISP lab from 2019-21. Maile won an honors prize for her honors thesis and is currently pursuing a MSW at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

MICHELLE LAC

Michelle was a RA in the ISP lab from 2019-2020. She is currently in the Ed.S. program at Lewis and Clark College.

LEAH MORSE

Leah was a RA in the ISP lab from 2017-2019. She is currently pursuing a M.S. in Counseling Psychology at Chaminade University.

ANGELICA LEON

Angelica was a RA in the ISP lab from 2017-2018. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. program in social-organizational psychology at teacher’s college, Columbia University.

DEJA THOMAS

Deja was a RA in the ISP lab from 2017-2018. She is currently working as a survey analyst at Public Policy Institute of California.

MARIA GARAY

Maria was a RA in the ISP lab from 2016-2018. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology in 2024 from Tufts University.

MARINA MATSUI

Marina was a RA in the ISP lab from 2016-2018. She is currently a clinical psychology graduate student at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa.

KAYLA UYEDA

Kayla was a RA in the ISP lab from 2016-2017. Kayla received her Masters of Science in Mental Health Counseling at Chaminade University in 2020.

SAKARIA “SAI” AUELUA-TOOMEY

Sai was an honors student in the ISP lab from 2015-16. Sai was selected as a 2017 Luce Scholar and received his Ph.D. in Psychology in 2024 from Stanford University. He will be starting as an Assistant Professor at UH Manoa this Fall!

NICOLYN CHARLOT

Nicolyn was an honors student in the ISP lab from 2014-15, and won an Honors Thesis Prize. Nicolyn received her Ph.D. in 2022 from the University of Western Ontario.

ADRIENNE CHONG

Adrienne Chong was the lab manager for the ISP lab from 2014-15. Adrienne received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 2022 from the University of Nevada, Reno.

KESHA UNCIANO

Kesha was a RA in the ISP lab from 2014-15. Kesha received her M.A. in Communicology in 2017 from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

JAMIE TAGOMORI

Jamie was a RA in the ISP lab from 2013-15. Jamie received her Ed.S. in 2018 from Chapman University.

VICTORIA FLOERKE

Victoria Floerke was the lab manager for the ISP lab from 2012-13. She received her Ph.D. in 2020 from Tufts University.