People

PI: Dr. Sean Laurent

I graduated from the University of Massachusetts and Commonwealth Honors College in 2004. At UMass, while making furniture, doing construction, and operating a kung fu school (now run by a former student!), I worked as a research assistant in Dr. Linda Isbell’s lab, then spent a year after graduation working under the supervision of Dr. Paula Pietromonaco. In 2005, I moved on to the University of Oregon, earning my PhD under the kind and patient guidance of Dr. Sara Hodges, studying topics related to empathy and perspective taking.

I received my PhD in social psychology from UO in 2010 and then worked for three years as an Assistant Lecturer in the Psychology Department at the University of Wyoming. After returning to the University of Oregon as a pro-tem instructor from 2013-2016, I joined the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was in that position from 2016-2021. Most recently (as of fall 2021), I accepted a new position within the Department of Psychology at Pennsylvania State University. In 2022, I was named a fellow of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology and an Editorial Fellow at the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Attitudes and Social Cognition. I study a variety of topics related to social cognition and morality, while also struggling to play disc golf badly and poorly maintaining this humble and far-less-than-excellent WordPress website.

Google Scholar
ResearchGate

ORCID

Current PhD Students

Iris Chung (MA) joined the MASC lab at PSU in 2023. She received her BA in psychology from the University of British Columbia and has an MA in cognitive psychology at Yonsei University. After pursuing a career in the skies as a cabin crew of Qatar Airways, Iris is now interested in prusuing questions related to moral psychology. Her current interests are focused on the dynamics of blame, praise, and free will. She is also interested in applying these concepts to artificial intelligence, especially in terms of the moral consciousness of AI as well as its human-likeness.

Sarah Mowrey joined the MASC lab at PSU in 2021 after receiving a BS in from Ohio State University in Psychology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Sarah is currently pursuing a PhD in social psychology and Social Data Analytics at Penn State University. They are interested in the way moral judgments affect interpersonal relationships, the connection between moral reasoning and values, and overall, the use of research to achieve social good. Sarah is currently involved in developing research regarding hypocrisy, person perception, and microaggressions.

Wiktoria M. Pedryc joined the MASC lab in Fall 2024. After spending most of her life in Poland and attending an international United World College high school in Germany, she received her BA in psychology and philosophy from Lake Forest College in Illinois, also completing a semester in the MSc in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Human Sciences program at Università degli Studi di Pavia in Italy during college. Her research interests orient around moral psychology and legal decision-making incorporating methods and approaches from social cognitive psychology, experimental philosophy, and law.

Becca Ruger-Smith joined the MASC lab at PSU in 2022 after graduating with a BS in both Psychology and Philosophy at Bradley University. Becca has a wide range of research interests, but she is particularly interested in the factors people use when forming moral judgements of others, specifically which ones we tend to care about more than others, and how we deal with particularly complex moral conundrums. Becca’s current research is on praise, blame, and moral or immoral judgements of inactions.

Current MASC Lab Affiliates, Contributors, and Collaborators

Ronnie Riley joined the PSU social program in 2023 and is working with Reginald Adams. She received her undergraduate degree in biology at the University of Puget Sound, where she conducted research on the mirror neuron system. After graduating, Ronnie spent several years working a diverse array of jobs from wolf ecology research technician to middle school science teacher. During this time, she tangentially worked with Dr. Paige Lloyd at the Social Detection Lab at University of Denver, studying perceptions of pain expressions across target races. She is currently interested in studying the mechanisms and contexts for evaluating authenticity and moral judgements in social situations through the MASC and SVIP labs.

Josh Wenger joined PSU’s Psychology PhD program in 2023 after graduating from Eastern Mennonite University with a BS in Psychology and minor in Neuroscience. He works primarily with Daryl Cameron in the Empathy and Moral Psychology Lab where he is broadly interested in the intersection of psychology and philosophy. His past work involves judgments of moral responsibility, free will, and partisanship. Josh currently holds broader interests in what psychology can contribute to the discussion of virtue and the Good Life.

Faruk Yalcin is a social psychology PhD student at Penn State, working under the supervision of Dr. Daryl Cameron starting in 2023. He is interested in how empathy and moral judgments interact. Currently, he is especially interested in studying how people evaluate the morality of revenge, and the relationship between moral character and empathy.

Shuai Weber Wang joined the PSU Social Psychology program in 2025, working with Dr. Adams. He received his undergraduate degree in Applied Psychology from Hangzhou Normal University. He then pursued a master’s degree in social psychology at the University of Edinburgh. His past and current research interests center on face perception, particularly how people evaluate facial features such as attractiveness and trustworthiness in different social contexts. One of Weber’s current research interests, in collaboration with MASC and SVIP Labs, is exploring how people perceive the morality of faces under varying group contexts.

Undergraduate Research Assistants

The MASC lab is always interested in recruiting new undergraduate research assistants at Penn State University, particularly if they are considering social psychology as a career! If interested in applying, please see the Join Us! page.

Brianna Brozo joined the MASC lab in 2024 as a third-year psychology major. Brianna enjoys cooking, hanging out with her friends, and playing volleyball. She is do tuning her passion for volleyball as a member of the PSU women’s club volleyball team. Brianna plans to attend law school after graduating with a focus in sports law

Samantha (Sam) Cappello joined the MASC lab in 2023 as a first-year PSU student studying psychology and criminology. Sam plans to study forensic or social psychology in graduate school. In her free time, she enjoys baking (yum!) and exploring nature. Right there with you!

Joe Freeston joined the MASC lab in 2023 as a second-year psychology major. He plans to attend graduate school and is considering social psychology as a career. Joe likes traveling, exploring, and hanging out in low-key areas with friends. He hopes to gain insight into social psychology during his time in the MASC lab.

Orin Fullem joined the MASC lab as a third-year majoring in psychology. They plan to attend graduate school and intend on pursuing a career in social psychology. Outside of class, Orin enjoys hiking, gardening, sewing and embroidery, spending time with friends, and attending concerts. They are currently the secretary of the Asylum Music Club—a punk and alternative music club that hosts concerts benefitting local charities.

Julianne Guerin joined the MASC lab as a first-year majoring in psychology. Julianne enjoys being a member of the Pride of the Lions Pep Band and spending time with her friends. Julianne intends to pursue a graduate degree in psychology after graduating.

Josh McQuilken joined the MASC Lab as a third-year science major, with a minor in health policy administration. He plans on attending medical school after he graduates and is currently interested in a range of medicine, including psychiatry. Outside of being a student, Josh works as an EMT and is a volunteer firefighter. He also enjoys a wide range of music and loves a good movie or tv series. Josh is interested in learning more about social psychology through working in the MASC lab, particularly how social psychology may impact patient care.

Allie Milburn joined the MASC Lab as a second-year psychology major. She is especially interested in cultural differences in moral norms and the impact of social media/conformity on moral behavior. Outside of academics, Allie enjoys running, spending time outdoors, and participating in Penn State’s Mindfulness and the Science of Happiness Club. She looks forward to exploring her research interest further and hopes to pursue a thesis during her time in the MASC Lab.

Rishabh Narayan joined the MASC Lab as a first-year student with a double major in advertising and psychology. After attending graduate school in psychology, he ultimately wants to do market research. Rishabh likes making music, writing, and photography. He hopes to take what he learns in the MASC lab to better understand the relationship between social mobility and advertising.

Jenna Odotte is interested in how social psychology plays a part within the legal system. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree she plans to attend law school with the goal of becoming an immigration attorney. Outside of academics Jenna enjoys traveling, listening to music, and drawing.

Past MASC Lab Students

Dr. Da Eun Han graduated from UIUC with her PhD in 2025. At present, she is continuing with her research and considering different types of employment opportunities, including academic positions.

Dr. Liz Lozano was one of the first students who joined my lab in 2016. Liz is currently in a faculty position at California Northstate University.

Jieming (Lois) Li joined the MASC lab while completing a master’s degree in psychological science at UIUC. Currently, Lois is pursuing a second master’s degree in speech-language pathology at Dalhousie University.

Dr. Chas Monge joined the MASC lab while completing a master’s degree in psychological science at UIUC. Recently, he completed his PhD in communications from The Ohio State University and has now started a tenure track position at Texas Tech University.

Dr. Fernando Sánchez Hernández recently received his PhD in developmental psychology at UIUC, working under the supervision of Dr. Dan Hyde. Currently, Fernando is on the job market.

Dr. Minjae Seo graduated from UIUC in 2024 and is currently in a postdoctoral position at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Shoko Watanabe (Webpage) was the second of my first two students at UIUC, having joined the same year as Dr. Lozano. Currently, Shoko is wrapping up a postdoctoral position at the University of Birmingham and is about to enter the academic job market.

Drew Weiner joined the MASC Lab in 2017 at UIUC, earning a masters degree in the (then) new Master’s in Psychological Science program. He was admitted to the PhD program in Fall 2019, but in 2021, Drew decided to leave academia to pursue other interests. We all wish him well as he continues on in the next chapter of his life!

Past MASC Lab Affiliates, Collaborators, and Contributors

Clara Civiero was the MASC Lab manager from 2023-2024. She is currently a PhD student at Rutgers University.

Dr. Jun-Yeob Kim studied Industrial/Organizational psychology under the supervision of Dr. Daniel Newman. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Management at the University of Central Florida.

Dr. Brandon Reich (PhD) (Webpage) earned his doctorate in Marketing at the University of Oregon, where he focused on consumer psychology. Originally, I met Brandon while he was a graduate student, and we worked together to develop a number of ideas. Brandon is currently on the faculty at Portland State University.

Dr. Shiyu Yang graduated from the Gies College of Business at UIUC, where she earned her PhD in organizational behavior. Currently, Shiyu is a faculty member at San Francisco State University. You can read about her interestng research here.

Former Undergraduate Research Assistants

My deepest thanks to all of the undergraduate students who have done so much amazing work for all of us in the MASC lab, but have now moved on to bigger and better things, such as internships, teaching jobs, and of course, graduate school. We appreciate everything you did when you were with us, and wish you all the best in your bright futures!

Grace Bai, Olivia Benge, Kiley Breen, Alyssa Castronovo, Ariana Daneshbodi, Austin Eichhorn, Katie Evans, Natalia Fic, Hailey Gaba, Zoe Greggs, Suryaa Gupta, Colin Hardman, Ava Hofmann, Sean Kirchman, Koh Kobayashi, Giovana Mete, Claudia Musser, Aron Navarrete-Jiminez, Alejandro Olper, Lucy Park, Pranav Pamidighantam, Leslie Pardo, Priyanka Patel, Isabella Portelli, Emma Pullkowski, Stephanie Radin, Duoduo Qi, Jessica Resnick, Matt Saxsma, Emma Schwartz, Aboorva Sivasankaran, Saheli Sheth, Jessica Vega, and Carol (Yi) Zhou.

Lab Pizza Party Photos

Pizza party 2025 at Spring Creek Park. Too bad so many had already left town for the summer, but way better than 2024 when it was cold and raining and I forgot to get a picture anyway. 🙂

We planned to be at a park, but the weather held us back. So we had our first official PSU post-year pizza party in the psychology building, in 2023. Good times. : D

May, 2021: Our smaller, ourdoor, post-worst-part of COVID-19 (but not really) in the US before Delta, then Omnicron pizza party, right before my eastward move to PSU.

The pizza party we never had in 2020. Rough year. Damn COVID-19!