Tom and Cy join SoCoSci!

Building a lab is impossible alone. I’m thrilled to announce that SoCoSci is no longer operated solely by myself and a few imaginary creatures! Welcome Cy Butler and Tomas Vanderkam to the Social-Cognitive Science Lab as we kick off our very first year!

🦉🦉🦉🎉🎉🎉🥳🥳🥳

Cy Butler (they/he) joins us as a first-year master’s student, bringing a sharp intellect, radical ideas, a love of theory, and a deep commitment to intersectional inquiry. Cy is fascinated by how race and gender (non-)conformity shape perceptions of ambiguously gendered targets. Their broader interests include the lived experiences and social perception of trans and gender non-conforming folks, and they draw from queer, feminist, and disability studies to enrich the science of social cognition. When not theorizing, Cy is usually immersed in music (they play the cello!), tabletop games, digital art, or long conversations about how to understand and connect our own and others’ life stories.

Tomas Vanderkam (he/him) is our first lab manager and research specialist (aka LAB WIZARD). Tomas is passionate about understanding how people construct meaning from morally complex and transformative life experiences. His research interests span narrative identity, moral decision-making, trauma, resilience, and identity complexity. Before moving into psychology, Tomas trained in physics, and he brings with him a keen interest in cross-disciplinary methods—drawing on tools and ideas from both the natural and social sciences to tackle complex questions. When he’s not keeping the lab afloat, you might find him performing with his progressive metal band, HAWKING, or debating evolutionary psychology over coffee and/or Dutch/Ukrainian beer.

We are so lucky to have them. Welcome to the SoCoSci Lab, Cy and Tomas!