left digit effect

Gina Gwiazda ’22 is a Psychology and Neuroscience & Behavior double major. She is interested in the cognitive biases and neural processes that underlie decision making in children and adults.

Charlie Bondhus ’22 is majoring in Neuroscience and Behavior and Psychology and is on the premed track. He is interested in the differences in learning between adults and children as well as conscious and unconscious thought in decision making. Outside the lab, he can be found cooking, swimming, and walking his dogs.

Leah Vaidya is the full-time Yellow Lab Coordinator. She graduated from Tulane University in 2020. She is interested in how children develop math skills. As an undergraduate, she studied the effects of selective attention on the relationship between socioeconomic status and science knowledge in preschool-age children. In the future, she plans to attend graduate school in developmental psychology.

Sierra Eisen is a postdoctoral fellow in the Yellow Lab. She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Virginia. She is broadly interested in how children learn STEM skills through physical and digital play and how adults can support children’s educational experiences. Her dissertation examined parent-child interactions during physical and digital spatial play and the impact of a spatial play intervention.

Lauren Barragan is a senior Psychology major at Wesleyan. She is interested in child development and how we form our belief systems, cultivate relationships with those around us and get to know our inner selves. In her free time, she enjoys water coloring, cooking sustainable meals, and upcycling clothing.

Selena Delgado is a junior double majoring in Psychology and Education Studies at Wesleyan. She is the head of Wesleyan Club Volleyball and is both a TESOL and writing tutor. In her free time, Selena enjoys listening to music, playing sports and watching Netflix.

Sarah Hammond is a junior at Wesleyan double majoring in Psychology and Hispanic Literatures and Cultures and minoring in Education Studies. Outside of classes, Sarah is a member of the Women’s Soccer team and is involved in clubs such as WesReads/WesMath and Wesleyan Food Rescue.

Courtney Litts is a junior Neuroscience and Behavior and Psychology double major on the pre-med track. She is a member of the Women’s Soccer Team at Wesleyan and is the lead choreographer of the tap-dancing group on campus, WeShuffle. Additionally, Courtney is a member of Wesleyan’s Hope Happens Here chapter which promotes mental health awareness and mental well-being on college campuses, particularly with student-athletes.

Carolina is a senior majoring in psychology and minoring in international relations. Originally from Miami, FL, she is proud to call Wesleyan her home for the last 4 years. She hopes to continue research after college, as well as working with children. Outside of the lab, you can find her delegating as the senior class secretary or finding the next vinyl record to add to her collection.

Emily Newman is a senior double majoring in Psychology and Education Studies at Wesleyan. Aside from lab she enjoys working with children as a tutor.

Sarah Aduke Ohiomah is a senior Psychology major at Wesleyan University. Currently, she is interested in the construction of thought processes in early childhood and how these cognitive abilities during youth lead to more advanced social and problem-solving skills during adulthood. In the future, she hopes to become a psychotherapist for young children and adolescents struggling with mental disorders. Outside of school, Sarah enjoys practicing yoga, running, and meditating.

Abby Wolk is a junior at Wesleyan double majoring in Psychology and Science in Society and minoring in Data Analysis. Outside of lab, she is a member of the Women’s Lacrosse team and the founder/leader of Students Demand Action.

Andrea L. Patalano is the RDM Lab director. She is a cognitive scientist and faculty member in the Department of Psychology and the Program in Neuroscience and Behavior. Her interests in high-level cognition include decision making, judgment, and reasoning.

Hilary Barth, Ph.D. is a psychological scientist working within the broad area of human cognition and development. Main areas of interest are mathematical cognition; thinking and learning about number, space, time, and probability; social cognition; and decision making. She is director of the Yellow Lab, one of the Cognitive Development Labs at Wesleyan.