Research Psychology

I've been luck enough to work with the Langer Mindfulness Institute within Harvard's Psychology Department. Here are some of the projects I've worked on.

Virtual Reality with the Elderly

This study places elderly participants in a virtual reality environment in one of two conditions:

Participants use virtual reality to explore Boston
Participants use virtual reality to explore a place in the 1960's where they felt healthy and full of life while they reminisce about their positive life experiences

Participants physical strength, memory, cognition and mood are assessed in order to determine the impact of the intervention.

Possible Applications: Supplemental therapy for depression and dementia for the elderly

Hearing Dysfluency with Undergraduates

This study explores the effects of auditory dysfluency on comprehension and hearing ability. Participants listen to their chosen podcast in one of four conditions:

low volume
low volume X told to expect their hearing to improve
regular volume
regular volume X told to expect their hearing to improve

Participants comprehension, hearing, visual reflexes and auditory reflexes are assessed to determine the impact of the interventions

Possible Applications: learning and memory enhancement, supplemental therapy for mild to moderate hearing loss

Vision Dysfluency with the Elderly

This study explores the effects of visual dysfluency on comprehension and visual acuity. Participants read their chosen short story in one of four conditions:

small font size
small font size X told to expect their vision to improve
regular font size
regular font size X told to expect their vision to improve

Participants comprehension, vision, visual reflexes and auditory reflexes are assessed to determine the effect of the interventions

Possible Applications: learning and memory enhancement, supplemental therapy for mild to moderate vision loss