 | Colin
is interested in the development of explanatory models of personality
traits as psychological and biological parameters within an evolved
adaptive system. Personality is conceived broadly as encompassing all
reasonably stable individual differences in emotion, motivation,
cognition, and behavior. He is currently attempting to develop a grand
unifying theory for personality psychology and personality neuroscience. |
If you are interested in
joining the lab, as a graduate student,
undergraduate, or postdoc, please contact me about the possiblity. |
Postdoctoral Fellows
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| Claudia Civai |
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 | Claudia
is mainly
interested in social decision making and its neural basis; in
particular, she has been obsessively trying to understand how people
perceive fairness and equality concepts. To pursue her aim, she uses
paradigms
borrowed from Game Theory, such as the Ultimatum and Dictator Games,
and
neuroscientific techniques, including fMRI, skin conductance
response, and transcranical direct current stimulation (tDCS). She
wants to be
young forever, so she spends most of her spare time going to rock
concerts. |
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Graduate Students |
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| Rachel Clark (Biological Psychopathology) |
 | Rachel
is interested in the biological etiology of psychopathology,
particularly mood disorders and externalizing disorders. Presently,
she’s investigating genetic influences on ADHD and antisocial behavior,
as well as personality and genetic risk factors for PTSD. Rachel has an
extremely powerful memory. Her trainer stands at left in the photo. |
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| Rachael Grazioplene (Personality, Individual Differences, and Behavior Genetics) |
 | Rachael
is interested in understanding the genetic and biological factors that
contribute to human individual differences. She is using neuroimaging
and molecular genetics to investigate the neural basis of creativity
and other personality traits. Of particular interest is how
normal variations in personality,
neurobiology, and genetics relate to the etiology of common brain
disorders, including what kinds of interactions between genome and
environment facilitate risk, resilience, and plasticity. In her spare
time, Rachael is working on a prototype to replace Wonder Woman's
indestructable bracelets with more sustainable materials. |
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| Sooyeon Sung (Personality, Individual Differences, and Behavior Genetics) |
 | “Why
are people the way they are? This is one big question in my mind,
which expands into various related topics that interest me; how do
people develop their personality? What kind of roles do relationships
with other people play in personality development? How do genes and
environment interact? What would be the ultimate function of
personality variation? How do biological systems such as brain function
and the endocrine systems produce individual differences in
personality? Currently, I am working on a project that investigates
whether human life history traits can be captured in two dimensions
rather than in a uni-dimensional continuum and how other personality
traits and characteristic adaptations might be related to those two
dimensions.” |
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Steven Ludeke (Personality, Individual Differences, and Behavior Genetics)
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Steven
is interested in the use of twin studies to disentangle classic
questions in psychology and is currently exploring the intersection of
political attitudes with intelligence and other personality traits.
Recent projects have concerned the influence of genetic factors on the
relationship between parents and children, sources of bias in
personality assessment, the interconnection between different measures
of political and social attitudes, and the role of education and
intelligence in these attitudes. When not occupied by teaching or
research, he can often be found honing his tire-pushing skills in local
elementary schools. Though not a rock-climber himself, Steven
greatly enjoys sitting suspended from long stretches of rope.
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| Alex Rautu (Personality, Individual Differences, and Behavior Genetics) |
 | Alex
is interested broadly in the underlying nature of personality traits,
such as the Big Five, with a particular focus on Openness and
Conscientiousness, including conceptually-related traits like curiosity
and cognitive flexibility. Much of his research will make use of
behavioral and cognitive tasks to assess the correlates of personality
traits in cognition, affect and behavior. He intends to post a more
imaginitive photo of himself once he gets his hands on a camera… but
don't expect anything crazy. |
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| Daniel Hawes (Applied Economics) |
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Daniel's research is in Neuroeconomics.
It combines Classical Decision Theory and Personality Neuroscience. He
is particularly interested in the role of personality for learning
in strategic
games, and how individual differences in cognition and decision making
manifest
themselves at the neurological level. In addition to his Neuroeconomics
research, he pursues academic interests in Science Journalism
(e.g. here)
and has a general fascination for the Philosophy of Science;
particularly relating to Causal
Inference, and also the concept of Scientific
Pluralism.
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| Tim Allen (Child Development) |
|
 | Tim’s
interests reside in two main areas: formation and development of
personality across the life span, and the role of individual
differences in cognitive and affective regulatory tendencies that may
contribute to various forms of psychopathology. Tim is currently
investigating how two lower level aspects of Neuroticism—namely
Volatility and Withdrawal—relate to differences in inhibitory control
and affective reactivity, and how these differences may manifest
themselves in neurobiological functioning. |
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| Research Assistants |
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| Matt Paffel (Lab Manager) |
|
 | Matt
graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BS in Psychology in
June, 2011, and now ensures that the lab runs smoothly. Most of the
time he is able to keep the lab trout-free. |
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Natalie Bradt
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| Natalie is completing a BA in Psychology with a minor
in Political Science at the University of Minnesota.
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Amanda Folberg
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| Amanda graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2012
with a BS in Psychology.
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Jacob Gray
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| Jake is completing a BS in Psychology at the University of Minnesota.
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| Lab Alumnae |
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| Yanna Weisberg |
|
 | Yanna
is an Assistant Professor in Psychology at Linfield College
in Oregon. She
researches personality in the context of interpersonal relationships
and plans to take over the world by manipulating people's endogenous
opiates. |
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| Irene Liveris |
|
 | Irene graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BA in Psychology
in 2011 and is currently working toward a Master's in Clinical Psychology at CSU Fullerton. |
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| Kirsten Johnson |
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 |
Kirsten graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BA in Psychology
and a minor in Global Studies in 2012 and is currently working as a
research assistant at the Center for Health, Intervention, and
Prevention at the University of Connecticut. |
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| Amanda Rezutek |
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Amanda
graduated from the University of Minnesota with a double major in
Psychology and Art in 2012 and is currently working as a research
assistant at the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center at
Northwestern University. |
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| Chloe Miron |
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Chloe is completing a BA in Psychology at the
University of Minnesota. |
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| Jo Lackner |
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Jo graduated from the University of Minnesota
with a BS in Psychology in 2012 and is working toward a Master's in
Occupational Therapy at the Washington University School of Medicine. |
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