SCoNeLab

Damian A. Stanley is an associate professor of Psychology at Adelphi University and a visiting professor at the California Institute of Technology. After completing his Ph.D. investigating the neural mechanisms of mid-level vision at New York University in 2005, he turned his focus toward developing a computational account of the neurocognitive processes through which we learn about and represent other people and social groups. To accomplish this he uses computational models of behavior and model-based brain-imaging to characterize typical and atypical (e.g. in autism spectrum disorder) social learning and decision-making. In his spare (haha) time he enjoys making fresh pasta, cooking, hiking, camping, good food, live music, and general socializing.

Theo Andre B.S. (Psychology and Political Science; University of Houston). Theo's research interests center on understanding how individuals think, feel, and act in groups—how group identity shapes interpersonal interaction and, more broadly, fuels political behavior, intergroup conflict, and collective violence. Theo is especially interested in the psychological and neural mechanisms underlying how we represent other people, and how our opinions of others are modulated by appearance, social context, and identity. Theo is currently working on designing tasks that target trait inference and theory-of-mind reasoning to dissect the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying how people learn about others. His long term goals are to pursue a Ph.D. and research as a career. Theo enjoys mechanical reasoning and carpentry, and is making a documentary about pidgeons.