Other Research
My work as a user researcher is influenced by my previous experience in experimental and observational research primarily in cognitive psychology and gerontology, with some additional experience in policy analysis research and quantitative empirical legal studies. I used a variety of statistical methods, constructed and validated cognitive and behavioral metrics, and learned the ins and outs of rigorous semi-structured interviewing. These methods have helped illuminate how cognitive biases and message framing influence perception and behavior; which, in turn, inform how I design and interpret data from different types of studies to inform product design.
Here are the universities where I’ve previously worked.
I worked in multiple research labs while at USC, including Dr. Mara Mather’s Emotion and Cognition lab.
Publications included:
Barber, S. & Mather, M. (2012). Forgetting in context: The effects of age, emotion, and social factors on retrieval-induced forgetting. Memory and Cognition, 40:874–888.
Kellough, J. & Knight, B. (2011). Positivity Effects in Older Adults’ Perception of Facial Emotion: The Role of Future Time Perspective. Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 67B(2):150-158.
I won a USC research fellowship to spend a summer at Stanford University in Dr. Laura Carstensen’s Lifespan Development lab, which investigates the social, emotional, and cognitive processes that people use to adapt to life circumstances as they age.
Publications included:
Notthoff, N., & Carstensen, L. L. (2014). Positive messaging promotes walking in older adults. Psychology and aging, 29(2), 329.
I worked as a research assistant for Dr. Dan Ho at Stanford Law School, working on various projects in quantitative empirical legal studies examining the real world impact of legislation and regulation.
I helped with supporting research on how health grades displayed in restaurants rarely help customers, as cited in Dr. Ho’s Seattle Times op-ed: