Research Team

Culture and Cognition Group 2023

I am very fortunate to have a group of bright and dedicated students working with me. Currently three graduate students are working in my lab (and I’m looking for more!). In addition, there are many dedicated undergraduate students working in my lab as volunteer research assistants.

I plan to take on new graduate students in 2024.

Lab Director

Li-Jun Ji

Li-Jun Ji

Email: lijunji@queensu.ca

As a social and cultural psychologist, I investigate how culture shapes our cognition, judgment and decisions. See more details in my current research.

PhD Student

Samantha Shang

Samantha Shang

Email: shang.x@queensu.ca

Area of research: I am a 3rd year PhD student at the Queen's Culture and Cognition lab. I earned my B.S. in psychology from Jilin University in China and my master's in psychology from Wake Forest University in the USA. I'm interested in cultural differences and similarities in communication and perception. I am also enthusiastic about R, stats, and cross-cultural measurement. In my free time, I enjoy running, playing the piano, learning Spanish and dancing salsa. My last name is the same as the Marvel superhero "Shang-Chi", and I named myself "Samantha" after the AI from the movie "Her".

Claire Wei

Claire Wei

 

Email: 22mc62@queensu.ca

Area of research: I am a first-year MSc student at Queen’s. I recently earned my B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Gender & Feminist Studies from McGill University. I am excited to start a new research journey at the Culture and Cognition Lab. I am working on a project examining the cultural differences in luck perception. I am also interested in how parents apologize differently across cultures. Outside the lab, I enjoy dancing, drawing, hiking, watching movies, and playing the Gu Zheng (a Chinese string instrument).

Undergraduate Students

Claire Harries

Claire Harries

Area of research: I am a fourth year Queen’s arts student majoring in psychology and minoring in Employment Relations. I am especially interested in social psychology and hope to pursue a master’s in marriage and family therapy after completing my undergraduate education. Outside of school, I enjoy golfing and volunteering for various school clubs. I am looking forward to completing my thesis with the culture and cognition lab and gaining valuable experience in the social psychology field.

Michaela Garofalo

Michaela Garofalo

Area of research: I am a fourth-year undergraduate student at Queen’s pursuing a Psychology major and a Health Studies minor. This is my first year working in the Culture and Cognition Lab as an Honours Thesis student under the supervision of Dr. Ji. I am interested to learn more about the cross-cultural differences in our cognitions! I plan to pursue graduate school and continue my studies within the field of psychology. In my free time, I enjoy hanging out with my friends and going out to eat at different restaurants.

Jenn Fudge

Jenn Fudge

Area of research: My name is Jenn and this will be my first year working in the Culture and Cognition Lab in the position of Lab Coordinator. I earned my Hons. BA in psychology at the University of Ottawa, and graduated with my MSc in psychology at Queen’s in 2022. I am eager to learn about the ways in which culture influences cognitive development, and how these differences can lead to miscommunication between people from different backgrounds. My goal is to become a clinical psychologist and incorporate this knowledge into my research and clinical practice. In my spare time I enjoy going on walks, watching true crime documentaries and baking.

Angel Wong

Angel Wong

Area of research: My name is Angel and I am a fourth year Health Sciences student. I am the lab’s project leader and this will be my third year working at the Culture and Cognition lab. Culture has always been an interesting field to me and as an immigrant from Singapore, I have been exposed to two different cultures. I find it really interesting learning about how culture can influence cognitive processes, decision making and more. Additionally, I took Japanese and Russian classes in addition to Chinese when moving to Canada and was amazed by the similarities and differences cultures can share. I hope to pursue a career in healthcare or research after my time at Queen’s. In my free time, I watch shows and listen to music.

Grace Moffat

Grace Moffat

Area of research: I am in my fourth year of a Psychology BAH, and third year working with Dr. Ji. My research background lies both in cultural and developmental psychology, and I’m interested in how the two overlap and interact. I plan to purse graduate studies in Occupational Therapy.

Nathan Au

Nathan Au

Area of research: I'm Nathan Au and I'm in my fourth year of Health Sciences here at Queen's University! This is my second year in the lab and I’m excited to keep learning about how cognition, especially decision-making and appraisal, is impacted by cultural differences. In my free time, I like playing music, staying active, and just hanging out with friends!

Jasmine Xue

Jasmine Xue

Area of research: I am a third year Health Sciences student. This is my second year at the Culture and Cognition Lab and I'm excited to learn how culture can impact decision making. This is of personal interest as I'm personally exposed to two different cultures that often differ greatly. In the future, I would like to pursue a career in healthcare as an occupational therapist or a physician assistant. In my spare time, I enjoy knitting and listening to podcasts.

Kelly Huangfu

Kelly Huangfu

Area of research: My name is Kelly and I’m a second year Psychology major. This is my first year at the Culture and Cognition Lab and I’m excited to learn more about the effects culture has on our ways of thinking because it could promote better understanding and connections with people around the world. I plan to pursue a career in either clinical psychology of occupational therapy. In my free time, I like to listen to music and go to cafes.

Noor Ajel

Noor Ajel

Area of research: I am in my third year of my Health Sciences degree at Queen’s University. This year will be my second year working at the lab and I look forward to developing more of my skills in the research field. Culture has always been an interesting topic for me, especially when it comes to its influence on cognition and decision-making. I am also excited to explore more of its effect on child development. Outside of my studies, I enjoy cooking, exercising, and spending time with family and friends.

Caleb Park

Caleb Park

Area of research: I am a second-year Health Sciences student at Queen’s University. This is my first year working as a research assistant. I am excited to be able to expand my knowledge and understanding of the diversity of culture and how it impacts cognition. After completing PSYC 100, I became very interested in culture and how it impacts our development, emotions, and judgement. I also became very fascinated with learning how culture can impact one’s mental health. I am planning on pursuing a career in healthcare (possibly as a psychiatrist) or in psychology (as a psychologist or a researcher). I am a big fan of soccer and enjoy watching and playing it whenever I get the chance! I also love trying new recipes, meeting new people, and working out at the gym.

Raquelle Martinez

Raquelle Martinez

Area of research: I am a third-year psychology student completing my undergraduate degree at Queen’s University. Outside of school, I love to spend my hours in the gym and at local cafes. I am very interested in the field of social and clinical psychology, with the aspiration of becoming a forensic psychologist. I am specifically interested in how culture, alongside our personality dispositions, influence decision-making and information processing. I plan on continuing my studies in psychology in a graduate program and applying the knowledge gained from this lab in my future endeavors!

Kaiwen Tee

Kaiwen Tee

Area of research: I’m a second year Psychology (BScH) student! As an immigrant myself, I am really interested in studying how different cultures/upbringing affect one’s cognitive processes and cross-cultural interactions. I enjoy spending time with my friends and re-watching sitcoms in my spare time!

Shiqi Ni

Shiqi Ni

Area of research: Hi! My name Shiqi Ni and I am fifth-year Biology and Psychology student at Queen’s. I am an international student from Chengdu, China. This is my inaugural year as a Research Assistant in the Culture and Cognition Lab. I am primarily interested in researching how cultural backgrounds influence the perception and representation of time. I am also deeply interested in attentional control processes and am intrigued by the role they play in shaping our perceptions of the world. In my free time, I enjoy playing badminton and indulging in reading.

Former Students

If you don’t see your name here or would like to send me an update, I’ll be more than happy to hear from you

 

NAME

CURRENT ROLE

Suhui Yap, PhD (2021)

Research Psychologist, Ministry of Social and Family Development, Singapore

Emily Hong, PhD (2019)

Postdoc at Southampton University

Mark Khei, PhD (2019)

Defense Scientist, Ministry of Defense, Singapore

Faizan Imtiaz, PhD (2018)

Assistant Professor, Towson University, Maryland, USA

Ning Zhang, PhD (2016)

Assistant Professor, Zhejiang University, China

Albert Lee, PhD (2013)

Assistant Professor, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore

Roy Spina, PhD (2009)

Senior Lecturer (equivalent to associate professor), University of Chichester (U.K.)
Winner of Andrew McGhie Prize for the best PhD thesis, and CPA Certificate of Academic Excellence for best Doctoral theses

Tieyuan Guo, PhD (2008

Associate Professor, University of Macau (China)

Deanna Messervey, PhD (2008)

Research Scientist, Defense Research and Development Canada, Ottawa

NAME

CURRENT ROLE

Sieun An

Assistant Professor, Eastern New Mexico University

NAME

CURRENT ROLE

Ying Wu

Associate professor of sociology, Minzu University of China

Tengfei He

Associate professor of psychology, Datong University, China

Jie Li

Professor of Psychology, Inner Mongolian Normal University, China

Xiaoye Huang

Associate Professor, School of Marxism, Hohai University, China

Baoyu Bai

Assistant Professor, Dept of Psychology, Wuhan University, China

NAME

CURRENT ROLE

Mairi Cade-Hemphill (2021)

Teaching in Japan, JET

Jillian Herring (2020)

Masters of Public Health Program at Western University

Tania Kazi (2020)

Medical School at McMaster University

Alexa Bowie (2019)

Graduate student at Queen’s University (Public Health)

Milo Miao (2019)

Graduate student at U of T

Ioana Petrar-Silca (2017)

Winner of CPA’s certificate of Academic Excellence (one of the top 3 best theses

Ivy Fong (2017)

MPH in epidemiology at U of T

Melissa Kang (2016)

Child clinical graduate student at U of T

Siyan Jing (2015)

Master student at Queen’s Business School

Debra Torok (2015)

Graduate student at U of Victoria

Feiyang Pan (2015)

MD program at University of Sydney, Australia (starting in 2015)

Samantha Drover

PhD student in epidemiology at University of North Carolina (2015)

Kelly Huang (2014)

MD Program at UBC

Melissa Lucas (2014)

Graduate student in Biology at Western University

Marissa Walter (2014)

MBA student at Dalhousie University

Jennifer Zhang (2014)

Medical School at Western University

Carly Parsons (2013)

Graduate student in psychology at UBC

Kelsey Jacobson (2013)

Master student (in Theatre), University of London, UK

Sam Rosenbaum (2013)

Proctor and Gamble

Sam Yoon (2013)

MD program at Western (starting in 2015)

Gillian Harper (2012)

Graduate student at Adler School of Professional Psychology

Kayla McGeorge (2012)

Graduate student in counseling psychology, University of Toronto

Taryn Mototsune (2012)

Graduate student in counseling psychology, University of Western Ontario

Jovian Wat, B.S. (2011)

PhD in Biology at U of Toronto

Mike Best, B.S. (2011)

Graduate student in clinical psychology at Queen’s

Victoria Chen, B.S. (2011)

Graduate student at McGill University

Matt McAdam, B.S. (2010)

MD program at UBC

Mark Daubaras, B.S. (2010)

PhD student at McGill University

Michelle Tong, B.S. (2010)

PhD student at Cornell University

Chris Humphries, B.S. (2009)

MBA from Dalhousie University, on his way to being a successful entrepreneur

Claudia Tsui, B.S. (2009)

MA in psychology from Queen’s University, heading to Medical school

Chloe Lei, B.S. (2007)

Master of Information at U of T

Connie Fan, B.S. (2006)

MA in Journalism from Ryerson University

Robyn Saaltink, B.AH. (2005)

MA student in child and youth studies at Brock University

Kristy Holmes, B.S. (2003)

Received Master’s degree from Queen’s Business School, working at a consulting firm now

Esther Usborne, B.S. (2003)

PhD from McGill University