People | Social Identity and Morality Lab (2024)

Lab photo 2022; Lab photo 2020; Lab photos 2019; Lab photos 2018

ANNI STERNISKO : Research Affiliate

Anni obtained her Ph.D. in social psychology from New York University and her B.A. from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich. She is interested in the social dynamics of conspiracy theory beliefs, polarization, and ideology. Anni has used her expertise to advise organizations on information campaigns, depolarization programs, and non-violent communication training. She also serves as an Expert Affiliate with the United Nations Team of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, which holds permanent consultative status at the U.N. In this role, she has worked on issues such as environmental injustice, data-driven policy making, and sustainable development.

STEVE RATHJE : NYU Social Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow

Steve Rathje is a postdoctoral researcher with the Social Identity and Morality Lab, funded by grants from the Russel Sage Foundation, the AE foundation, and a Synergy Scholar Grant with the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. He will be receiving his PhD from the University of Cambridge (Trinity College) as a Gates Cambridge Scholar, and he received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Stanford University. Steve studies polarization and inter-group conflict on social media using field experiments, lab experiments, and computational social science methods.

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RAUNAK PILLAI : NYU Social Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow

Raunak Pillai is an incoming postdoctoral researcher. He received his BA in Neuroscience in 2019 from Vanderbilt University and will receive his PhD in Psychological Sciences from Vanderbilt in 2024, working with Dr. Lisa Fazio. His research aims to understand why people believe and share misinformation and identify optimal ways to deliver corrections. In grad school, he focused on the cognitive processes (i.e., memory, decision-making, language processing) involved in these issues. At the Social Identity and Morality Lab, he will continue examining these questions by integrating perspectives from cognitive and social psychology. Outside the lab, he enjoys cooking, tennis, and playing the guitar.

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LAURA K. GLOBIG : NYU Social Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow

Laura is a postdoctoral researcher with the Social Identity and Morality Lab. She received her PhD from University College London and was a visiting scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research examines the neural and computational basis of motivated cognition, with the goal of applying the insights obtained from this work to design interventions that reduce biased information-processing and thus aid in reducing the spread of misinformation online. At the Social Identity and Morality Lab, she continues to adopt a multi-modal approach to help address real world issues, such as the spread of misinformation, polarization, and climate change.

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CLAIRE ROBERTSON : NYU Social Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow

Claire is an incoming postdoctoral researcher, appointed jointly in the Social Identity and Morality Lab at NYU and at the Rotman School of Business at University of Toronto. She completed her Ph.D. in Social Psychology at NYU in 2024. Her research focuses on intergroup conflict, in particular on political polarization. She has examined how people’s evolved predisposition towards negativity and moral threats leads to overexposure of intergroup hostility online, contributing to pluralistic ignorance and false polarization between groups. She has also examined misinformation and conspiracy theory belief. She uses a wide array of methods in her research, including natural language processing, big data analysis, global mega-study collaborations, and computational cognitive modeling. When she’s not in the lab, you can find her wandering through the amazing farmers markets in NYC, trying new restaurants with her friends, or reading anything she can get her hands on.

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TOBIA SPAMPATTI : NYU Social Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow

Tobia Spampatti is an incoming a postdoctoral researcher, funded by the Mobility Postdoc grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation. He will be receiving his PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Geneva, and he received his Master of Science in Social Cognition from University College, London. Tobia studies the cognitive, social and affective psychological factors that influence how people process information and disinformation, and how they subsequently shape beliefs, emotions, and decisions. At the Social Identity and Morality Lab, he will focus on how online climate (dis)information affect climate-relevant psychological and behavioral outcomes, which psychological factors explain their online spread, and how this knowledge can improve interventions against disinformation​.

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SARAH MUGHAL: Lab Manager

Sarah is a Junior Laboratory Associate in the Social Identity and Morality Lab and the Collective Cognition Lab at NYU. She received her BA and MA in Psychology at NYU, so she often finds herself accidentally walking into Bobst library instead of lab if she hasn’t had her coffee yet. Her research interests include how in-group norms form on social media, discrimination and bias in AI/ML methods, and how psychiatric disorders like ADHD or anxiety affect social interactions and experiences online. Outside of lab, Sarah can be found writing in museums, marathoning video games, or meticulously crocheting tiny socks for plushies.

DANIELLE GOLDWERT: NYU Social Psychology Ph.D. Student

Danielle received her B.A. in Psychology and Studio Art from the University of Miami in 2021 and then worked part-time as a research specialist in the Princeton University Behavioral Science for Policy Lab for two years. She began her Ph.D. in Social Psychology at NYU in 2022, where she conducts research at the intersection of social psychology and global climate change. Her primary advisor is Madalina Vlasceanu, and she collaborates with the Social Identity and Morality Lab to investigate how psychological, sociopolitical, and cultural factors influence public perception and behavior towards climate change, and how this understanding can drive more effective climate action. Outside of the lab, Danielle is passionate about painting, rock climbing, backpacking, and stop motion animation.

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KE FANG : Social Psychology Ph.D. Student

Kay is a graduate Master’s student in Individualized Study at the NYU Gallatin School, and an incoming Ph.D student with Robert Hawkins. His research focuses on the polarization and synchronization of group-level memories, emotions, and attitudes that lead to collective action. He is especially interested in using novel ways to expand traditional social psychology research by bringing in theories and methods from macro-level sociology and communication studies as well as neuroscience. Before joining NYU, Kay received his Bachelor of Management from Lanzhou University in China, where he studied accounting and researched organizational psychology. He also writes popular science articles in Chinese to promote the wise use of scientific research. Outside of research, he enjoys pour-over coffee, going to museums, and drawing.

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KAREENA DEL ROSARIO: NYU Social Psychology Ph.D. Student

Kareena received her B.A. from San Francisco State University and worked at UCSF as the lab manager for Wendy Berry Mendes prior to beginning her Ph.D. in Social Psychology at NYU. Kareena is broadly interested in studying the effects of emotion and moral judgment on dyadic and group interactions. Her primary advisor is Tessa West and she collaborates with the Social Identity & Morality Lab to explore the physiological underpinnings of moral emotion. In her free time, Kareena enjoys reading magical realism and trying out new restaurants.

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ALEXANDRA WORMLEY : Postdoctoral Scholar

Alexandra Wormley is a PhD candidate at Arizona State University and an incoming post-doctoral fellow at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on the intersection of ecology, culture, and religion. When not in the lab, Alexandra builds miniature dollhouses and fosters rescue dogs.