Clarissa A. Thompson, Ph. D.
LAB DIRECTOR
Dr. Thompson completed her Ph.D. in Developmental and Cognitive Psychology in 2008 at The Ohio State University. After spending two years as a postdoctoral research associate at Carnegie Mellon University, she became an Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma in 2010. While at OU, Dr. Thompson coordinated the Elements of Psychology Program and taught graduate students how to teach for the first time. She joined the Kent State Department of Psychological Sciences in the Fall semester of 2014. Dr. Thompson is currently a Professor in Cognitive Psychology, Chair of the KSU IRB, and Co-Director of the Science of Learning and Education Center.
Phone:
330-672-3948
Email: cthomp77@kent.edu
Office: 228 Kent Hall Addition
Department: Psychological Sciences
Graduate Studetns
Sam Snyder-Zaborowski
GRADUATE STUDENT
Sam graduated Cum Laude from Kent State University with a BS in Psychology, as well as a BS in Neuroscience. She successfully defended her Undergraduate Senior Honors Thesis, titled “The Real Math Mystery: The Effects of Book-Based Interventions on Math Anxiety and Fraction Competency”. Sam has continued their education in the PhD program here at Kent State University, with the intention of studying ADHD, executive functioning, math anxiety, and number magnitude. They are especially passionate about their teaching experiences, as she is a third-generation science educator. When she is not working on their Master’s Thesis project, Sam enjoys hiking, reading, playing games with friends, cooking, and playing with her cat, Winky.
E-mail:
szaboro1@kent.edu
Sharon Jaramillo
GRADUATE STUDENT
Sharon graduated Summa Cum Laude from SUNY Brockport in May 2023 with a BS in Psychology, with one minor in Biology, and another in Preprofessional Health. She completed an independent research project for her senior honors thesis entitled, “Dimensions of Eating Behaviors.” Sharon has completed two summer research experiences for undergraduates at University of Nebraska- Lincoln and Emory University. These selective programs provide students with an opportunity to have an in-depth research experience with scholars in the field. Sharon regularly tutored for several Psychology classes at SUNY Brockport’s Academic Success Center. She also served as an Equal Opportunity Program Developmental Instructor in which she supported EOP students enrolled in Biology and Math courses. Sharon is excited to continue her academic journey with Kent State University and is interested in investigating the various relationships among metacognition, impulsivity, and mind-wandering. In her spare time, Sharon enjoys playing one of her six instruments, downhill skiing, and volleyball.
E-mail:
sjarami1@kent.edu
Alissa McGill
GRADUATE STUDENT
Alissa graduated from The University of Akron in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering. After about 6 years in the computer software industry – working on projects diverse as screen mirroring technologies, medical device firmware, and mobile application development – she decided that her passion for helping others learn about computer science could be better utilized in academia. Alissa hopes to study the learning gaps between how computer science and computer engineering is taught in the classroom and how graduates of these programs are expected to perform in the workplace. Driven to discover the best ways to teach and learn programming, she is also interested in understanding and eliminating barriers that may hinder a student’s ability to succeed, such as programming anxiety and perfectionism. Another research interest that is very important to Alissa is understanding how women in STEM careers, especially programming and computer science, can be more successful, and she hopes to research ways to help women feel a sense of belongingness so that they can prosper in STEM majors and careers. In her spare time, Alissa likes to play card games, like Magic The Gathering and role-playing games, like Dungeons and Dragons. She also enjoys listening to podcasts and audiobooks, and loves attending concerts to listen to live music.
E-mail:
amcgill8@kent.edu
Melissa Mujicic
GRADUATE STUDENT
Melissa graduated Magna Cum Laude from SUNY Brockport in 2025 with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Pre-Professional Health. She completed an independent research project titled, “Childhood Trauma and Its Impact on Cognitive Emotion Regulation and Metacognition: A Comparative Study”. In addition to her research experience, Melissa served as a Writing Teaching Assistant for a psychology capstone course and tutored psychology classes at SUNY Brockport’s Academic Success Center. She also co-created an asynchronous undergraduate course titled “Stress and Coping”. Melissa is excited to continue her academic journey at Kent State University, where she is interested in exploring the complex intersections among metacognition, math anxiety, and numerical development, particularly as they relate to improving number learning in children within academic environments. In her free time, Melissa enjoys traveling, hiking, and spending quality time with family and friends.
E-mail:
mmuijicic@kent.edu
KSU COGDEVLAB JUNIOR SCIENTISTS
LABS OF THE LAB
CAT’S CATS
POSTDOC LAB ALUMNI
GRADUATE STUDENT LAB ALUMNI
UNDERGRADUATE LAB ALUMNI
Brianna Adjei
Ray Brennan
Shelby Brown
Morgan Buerke
Haley Caldwell
Holly Cole
Kyle Cousans
Catherine Cunningham
Nicole DeYear
Holly Donofrio
Emily Dubin
Faye Fahsbender
Emily Ferrell
Kayla Finuf
Sherry Geery
Jessica Gerbec
Rachel Hall
Veronica Hassink
Ben Henry
Hannah Herc
Kyleigh Huddleston
Rachel Iacano
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Alyssa Keller
Alexandra Kelly
Mallory Klein
Jessica Kotik
Jessica Kukura
Danielle LeGallee
Kaleigh Legler
Ashleah Levings
Stephen Lindstrom
David Martin
Alyvia Meanor
Jessica McKee
Audra Miller
Megan Moorman
Veronica Musser
Alyssa Myers
Carly Nelson
Drew Norberg
Xuan Nguyen
Rebecca Nkhata
Tisha Owusua
Chistopher Parker
Brian Pickens
Abby Prusha
Molly Rischard
Heather Smith
Mariah Stambaugh
Katelyn Swinford
Lisa Sukenaga
Jimmy Tran
Ashley Valentas
Jennifer Wagner
Melissa White
Sarah Wiatrek
Sara Wisenhunt
Lauren Woodbury
Lauren Wyatt
RECENT NEWS
- Sam Zaborowski successfully defended her Honors thesis and will start graduate school in Psychological Sciences at KSU!
- Alyvia Meanor successfully defended her Honors thesis!
- Dan Scheibe successfully defended his candidacy exam!
- Dr. Marta Mielicki began working at SRI International!
- Tisha Owusua won first place at the KSU Undergraduate Research Symposium and started graduate school at The Ohio State University!
- Dr. Charlie Fitzsimmons defended his Ph.D. and began a faculty position at the University of North Florida!
- Lauren Wyatt was awarded the KSU Psychological Sciences Outstanding Senior Award, and she started a Ph.D. program in Sociology at KSU!
- Dr. Lauren Schiller was awarded the AAUW Postdoctoral Research Leave Fellowship and the NSF SBE Postdoctoral Fellowship!
- Former lab members, Lauren Woodbury (The Ohio State University) and Rachel Iacano (University of Cincinnati) will begin graduate school this Fall!
- Check out the lab’s newest piece at The Conversation!
- Lauren Woodbury was awarded the KSU Psychological Sciences Outstanding Senior Award!
- Charlie Fitzsimmons was awarded the KSU David B. Smith award for research and teaching accomplishments as well as the Reuter Fellowship!
- Charlie Fitzsimmons successfully defended his candidacy exam!
- Read about Clarissa’s recent IES grant here and here!
- Check out this OpEd about COVID-19 and the whole number bias!
