Madalina V
- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at Princeton University

Expertise

social psychology, cognitive psychology, experimental psychology, research methods in social sciences, behavioral science, cognitive science

Bio

Hi, I am Madalina! I am currently a fifth-year graduate student at Princeton University studying Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience. I received a BA in Psychology and Economics from the University of Rochester in 2016 and an MA in Cognitive Psychology from Princeton University in 2018. My research investigates the cognitive and social processes that shape individuals’ and collectives’ memories and beliefs, the building blocks of collective behavior, with direct applications for policy. Guided by a theoretical framework of investigation, I employ a large array of canonical and innovative methods from behavioral experiments to brain imaging, and social network analysis, to uncover avenues in which science can be applied for social welfare. Beyond research, I am very passionate about teaching. I believe in stimulating, interactive, and inclusive teaching. In my experience as both student and teacher, I found that conveying complex, challenging concepts in an approachable, engaging light encourages students to participate in the learning process as active allies in the process of education, as opposed to passive recipients of information. I also found that learning is most successful when teaching is dynamic, and when teachers are constantly calibrating their teaching to their students’ needs and perspectives.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Beliefs and Behavior Change

When do our beliefs dictate our behaviors? Prior research on this topic has rendered conflicting results - in some studies, beliefs were a predictor of behavior, whereas in others beliefs were an unreliable predictor of behavior. In this project, we will investigate the moderators of the relationship between beliefs and behavior, and solve this gap in the scientific literature. The importance of such a project goes beyond the theoretical contribution to the literature however, as it has immediate applications to policy, especially as it relates to addressing the misinformation epidemic we are currently facing at a global scale.

Coding skills

Python, R

Languages I know

Spanish, Romanian

Teaching experience

Teaching has always been an important process in my own learning, which is why, ever since being an undergraduate student at the University of Rochester, I have sought teaching opportunities, and I was thrilled when I was selected as a teaching assistant for Economics and Social Psychology classes. I enjoyed teaching so much that as a Masters student and PhD candidate at Princeton University, I took on as many teaching assignments as possible in both Psychology and Public and International Affairs. Across six classes amounting to over 200 students and almost 300 classroom hours, I have led supplementary lectures and discussion sessions as well as hands-on lab sessions and methods workshops. Beyond the classroom, I directly supervised the independent research projects of 11 students (junior and senior thesis). In this role, I guided students in designing their experiments, taught them how to analyze, visualize, and present their data, and provided ample feedback on their written research reports and manuscripts, many of which were accepted at conferences and published in conference proceedings.