Graduate Students
Dr. Bray received her PhD during spring 2023. Jessica is now an Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky. She has three lines of research. One examines the automaticity of first impressions and social factors that influence the likelihood of those impressions transferring into long-term memory storage. Dr. Bray's second line of research examines how perceptions of criticism and feedback differ depending on whether an ingroup or outgroup member delivers the message. Her third line of research examines perceptions of discrimination and how interacting with someone discriminatory influences psychological wellbeing and cognitive functioning.
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Dr. Lupo is currently a Lecturer at Texas State University. Her first line of research investigates person and group perception. Specifically, she is interested in the social-cognitive mechanisms by which social perceptions (stereotypes, prejudice, impressions) are formed, changed, and maintained over time. Her second line of research investigates the implicit effects of clothing color, and specifically police uniform color, on hostile behavior and perceptions. Her third line of research investigates the factors that lead to the dehumanization of outgroups.
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Dr. Smith is an Assistant Professor at Columbus State University. He continues his research investigating the effects of PTSD on learning and memory. Further, he is continuing his research into the effects of moral reasoning, religion, and charismatic leadership on people's support for and willingness to engage in violence against outgroups.
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Stephanie Reyes completed her M.A. in May 2016. Her research focused on the underlying cognitive mechanisms that influence social perceptions and behaviors, specifically emotions and memory processes. Her line of research examined how the content and valence of information learned about an individual can influence how we evaluate and generalize to others based on our group membership.
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Primarily, my research focuses on how gender stereotypes affect gender disparities in academic and occupational settings. I also conduct research on sexual victimization from an individual differences and moral foundations perspective. Finally, I conduct research on dramatic personality traits. Future research in this area will focus on how gender stereotypes of dramatic personalities differentially affect evaluations of men and women in organizational settings.
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Jessica M. Shenberger joined the Social Cognition Lab in 2010. As a graduate student, she developed a line of research focused on intergroup conflict related to religion and culture. She completed her doctorate in 2014 and is now a research psychologist for the U.S. Army Research Institute. Currently, Dr. Shenberger is collaborating on research focused on social attitudes and behavioral change as it relates to the training of soldiers.
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Dr. Moira Shaw Rivera is a Public Health Scientist for the Army Institute of Public Health within the U.S. Army Public Health Command. She earned her doctorate from the University of Texas at El Paso in Social Cognitive Neuroscience and began working with the Army through the Department of Defense Science Math and Research for Transformation Fellowship program. As part of the Health Promotion and Wellness Portfolio’s Public Health Assessment Program, her work focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Programs such as Army Wellness Centers and Community Health Promotion Councils and advocating for effective, evidence based public health practice.
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Dr. Clarissa J. Arms-Chavez is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Auburn University Montgomery. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at El Paso in Social Cognitive Neuroscience in 2009. In general, her research interests include the many various stigmas and prejudices involved within different social groups/categories (e.g., racial issues, colorism issues within the African-American community, sex/gender issues, and even individuals diagnosed with AIDS vs. those with cancer). She also researches how the cognitive enhancement of memories during sleep may influence inter-group attitudes and the impact that perceived economic benefits vs. losses may have on prejudicial attitudes towards different immigrant populations (i.e., Korean vs. Mexican).
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L. Omar Rivera, PhD, currently serves as the Quantitative Data Advisor in the Public Health Assessment Program within the US Army Public Health Command’s Health Promotion and Wellness Portfolio. He works as the technical lead for the evaluation of Army Wellness Centers, which provide primary prevention, health education services to Army community members worldwide to help increase their healthy behaviors and reduce their risk factors for disease.
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Undergraduate Students
My name is Cecilia Hinojosa, I am a recent UTEP graduate and I worked in Dr. Zarate's laboratory for two and a half years. The research I conducted in his laboratory sought to understand the symptomology of Posttraumatic Stress Diosrder (PTSD), Specifically the hypervigilant symptom cluster of the disorder. I worked under the guidance of Brandt Smith and Luke Enge. From this experience, I found my passion for studying PTSD. In Fall 2016 I will start my graduate work under the guidance of Dr. Lisa M. Shin at Tufts University.
Rafael completed his Bachelor of Science in Psychology the Spring of 2014 with honors at the University of Texas at El Paso. At UTEP, Rafael was a member of the social cognition lab for two years where he collaborated on several projects. In the Summer of 2012 Rafael participated in the Summer Research Opportunities Program at the University of Illinois Chicago where he engaged in research under the mentorship of Dr. Linda J Skitka. In addition, Rafael was funded by the National Science Foundation to conduct research from Fall 2012 to Spring 2014 through the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation program. In the Fall of 2014, Rafael will began the Ph.D. program in social and political psychology at the University of Minnesota.
Graduated Cum Laude from UTEP with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Women Studies. She was awarded the Outstanding Research Achievement by the Psychology Department after completing her undergraduate Honor's Thesis under the supervision of Dr. Michael Zarate, Ph.D. and Moira Shaw, Ph.D. She was accepted to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Social Psychology Ph.D. program. Her main focus is on social categorization, stereotyping, and discrimination in both gender and ethnicity. She is currently looking at the perceptions of skin color in Mexican Americans and Self-Esteem as well as intergroup relations.
Patricia is from Juárez, México. She received a B.A. degree from UTEP in December 1997. Paty had the honor of working with Dr. Zarate for 2 years. With Dr. Zarate's encouragement, she enrolled in a Clinical Psychology graduate program at the University of New Mexico (UNM) and completed her Master´s degree in 2001. This experience gave her the opportunity and honor of working with Dr. William Miller, one of the founders of Motivational Interviewing (an evidence-based intervention for addictive and health behaviors). As a result, Paty is a trainer in this interviewing method and belong to the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT). Paty also belongs to the Association of Contextual Behavioral Sciences, which promotes quality of practice of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), another evidence-based behavioral psychotherapy. She was trained in ACT by Dr. Kelly Wilson and Steven Hayes, the founders of this therapy. She is currently coordinating the Center of Psychological Servicies and Training (Centro de Atención Psicológica SURÉ), at the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez (UACJ), where she trains and supervises bachelor level psychology students in psychotherapy, and provides therapy. Paty is also part of the Psychology faculty, where she has been teaching "Psychological Interviewing" for 6 years and still loves it.
Cristal Martinez graduated from UTEP with Honors in Psychology as well as University Honors (cum laude). She completed her undergraduate Honor's Thesis under the supervision of Dr. Michael Zarate, Ph.D. and Clarissa Arms-Chavez, Ph.D. Cristal has been accepted to New Mexico State University and is participating in a Counseling and Guidance Master's program where her GPA has been sustained at 4.0. She plans on giving back to the borderland community as a future mental health/school counselor.
David Biagas graduated with a B.A. Degree in Psychology and Sociology at UTEP in May of 2008 and recently completed an M.A. in Sociology at the University of Iowa. He will be beginning his third year of doctoral studies this August. David became interested in graduate school after attending an information session hosted by the department. He describes attending this information session as one of the best decisions he ever made. David worked in Dr. Zarate's lab for two years and gained valuable research experience by assisting graduate students with their research and developing a Senior Honors Thesis Project. With the strong encouragement from members of the lab, he was also able to participate in the Research Experience for Undergraduates Program in Sociology at Texas A&M. Combined, these experiences provided him with the skills necessary to succeed in graduate school. David would encourage all students with an interest in social psychology and a desire to pursue graduate studies to get involved in research in the Social Cognition Laboratory.
Zayra is an Extension Associate in the Department of Extension Home Economics/Family and Consumer Science at New Mexico State University. She works as a facilitator for the Family Wellness Program through NMSU’s Strengthening Families Initiative (SFI). She is primarily responsible for teaching the Spanish language Family Wellness classes. Zayra earned her Ph.D. in May 2010 in Social Psychology from Purdue University. She also has a Master’s degree in Social Psychology from Purdue University (2007) and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Texas at El Paso (2003).
Zayra has several years of experience working with Hispanic families and other diverse groups. Before joining SFI in January 2010, Zayra worked as the project manager for a research-based Spanish language parenting program at Purdue University called “Criando a Nuestros Niños hacia el Éxito” (Parenting our Children to Excellence – PACE). She also worked as a graduate student mentor for the Purdue Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP), a research program aimed at enhancing diversity in academic, government, and industry positions that require graduate degrees by providing research training to talented undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds. To contact Zayra please email [email protected] or call 575-646-7459.
Zayra has several years of experience working with Hispanic families and other diverse groups. Before joining SFI in January 2010, Zayra worked as the project manager for a research-based Spanish language parenting program at Purdue University called “Criando a Nuestros Niños hacia el Éxito” (Parenting our Children to Excellence – PACE). She also worked as a graduate student mentor for the Purdue Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP), a research program aimed at enhancing diversity in academic, government, and industry positions that require graduate degrees by providing research training to talented undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds. To contact Zayra please email [email protected] or call 575-646-7459.
Corrine was first introduced to social psychology as an undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Zarate's lab. After completing her BS in psychology at UTEP, she earned her MS and PhD in social psychology from the University of Kentucky, where she studied stereotyping and prejudice with Dr. Margo Monteith. Dr. Voils completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in health services research at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Subsequently, she received a career development award from the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop an independent research program in patient treatment adherence. Dr. Voils currently holds dual appointments as a research scientist at the Durham VA and as an Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center. Her research focuses on three areas: 1. identifying the psychosocial variables associated with patient treatment adherence, 2. developing theoretically informed self-management interventions to increase adherence, and 3. evaluating methods for synthesizing qualitative and quantitative research findings. Dr. Voils recently completed a VA-funded randomized, controlled trial to evaluate a spousal support intervention to increase patient adherence to cholesterol-lowering behaviors. She is currently PI on a VA-funded trial to evaluate the impact of genetic testing for type 2 diabetes on adherence to health behaviors and the PI of an NIA-funded R21 to develop a self-report measure of medication adherence. Dr. Voils is also a Co-Investigator on multiple VA-funded and NIH-funded studies and is the editor-in-chief of Comparative Effectiveness Research.