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The Social-Cognitive Science Lab is recruiting!

I am recruiting undergraduate research assistants to begin Summer/Fall 2025! -> See details on how to get involved.
I am reviewing graduate student applications for the 2025-2026 application cycle! -> Read more for tips on how to apply.

Stunning views, when the sun's not on sabbatical.

	Director
	Sally Y. Xie, Ph.D (she/they) is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at Simon Fraser University. Previously, she was a Postdoctoral Scholar at Princeton University advised by Prof. Molly Crockett, and earned her PhD in experimental psychology as a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Doctoral Fellow at McGill University, advised by Prof. Eric Hehman. Professor Xie is fascinated by the flexibility of human thinking, reasoning, and feeling as we experience our dynamic social world. She uses methods such as in situ experience-sampling, “big data” archival analysis, narrative analysis, and computational modeling to study how people form mental models of others and themselves. Driven by the belief that understanding where our ideas come from can help us shape how they’re formed, her work aims to address collective problems and bridge ideological divides. Outside of the lab, she enjoys interactive narratives, racquet sports, games with (and versus) loved ones, piano, and trail running.

Director

Sally Y. Xie, Ph.D (she/they) is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at Simon Fraser University. Previously, she was a Postdoctoral Scholar at Princeton University advised by Prof. Molly Crockett, and earned her PhD in experimental psychology as a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Doctoral Fellow at McGill University, advised by Prof. Eric Hehman.

Professor Xie is fascinated by the flexibility of human thinking, reasoning, and feeling as we experience our dynamic social world. She uses methods such as in situ experience-sampling, “big data” archival analysis, narrative analysis, and computational modeling to study how people form mental models of others and themselves. Driven by the belief that understanding where our ideas come from can help us shape how they’re formed, her work aims to address collective problems and bridge ideological divides. Outside of the lab, she enjoys interactive narratives, racquet sports, games with (and versus) loved ones, piano, and trail running.

	Lab Manager
	Tomas Vanderkam (he/him) is the lab manager of the SoCoSci Lab at Simon Fraser University. He holds a BA (Hons) in psychology from the University of British Columbia and conducts research on resilience, moral decision-making, and narrative identity. Tomas’ honours thesis, completed under the supervision of Dr. Peter Suedfeld, examined psychological resilience in Ukrainian survivors of Soviet-era oppression. This work was supported by the Eli and Milica Syeklocha Memorial Scholarship and Quinn Research Travel Grant, and presented nationally at the annual conference of the Canadian Psychological Association. Tomas has also contributed to collaborative work on moral rationalization with Dr. Kristen Laurin and regional patterns of dark personality traits with Dr. Friedrich Götz. He is broadly interested in how people construct meaning from morally complex or high-stakes life experiences. Outside of research, Tomas performs in the progressive metal band HAWKING and enjoys discussing evolutionary psychology over coffee or Dutch/Ukrainian beer.

Lab Manager

Tomas Vanderkam (he/him) is the lab manager of the SoCoSci Lab at Simon Fraser University. He holds a BA (Hons) in psychology from the University of British Columbia and conducts research on resilience, moral decision-making, and narrative identity.

Tomas’ honours thesis, completed under the supervision of Dr. Peter Suedfeld, examined psychological resilience in Ukrainian survivors of Soviet-era oppression. This work was supported by the Eli and Milica Syeklocha Memorial Scholarship and Quinn Research Travel Grant, and presented nationally at the annual conference of the Canadian Psychological Association. Tomas has also contributed to collaborative work on moral rationalization with Dr. Kristen Laurin and regional patterns of dark personality traits with Dr. Friedrich Götz. He is broadly interested in how people construct meaning from morally complex or high-stakes life experiences.

Outside of research, Tomas performs in the progressive metal band HAWKING and enjoys discussing evolutionary psychology over coffee or Dutch/Ukrainian beer.

	Graduate Students
	Cy Butler (they/he) is a 1st year master’s student studying social psychology at Simon Fraser University, advised by Dr. Sally Xie. They received their BA in psychology with a double major in gender, sexuality, & women’s studies from William & Mary in 2025. While there, he completed an honor’s thesis under the supervision of Dr. Cheryl Dickter, where he investigated how race and gender (non-)conformity affect perceptions of ambiguously gendered targets. More broadly, he’s interested in investigating perceptions and experiences of trans and gender non-conforming folks, as well as integrating theory and practice from multiple fields to advance the study of social cognition. They have far too many hobbies and interests outside the lab, but some highlights include playing the cello (and music more generally), playing tabletop and videogames, and drawing!
	I’m looking to give a seal of approval to a graduate student interested in joining the lab in Fall 2026. Read more for tips on how to apply.
	This axolotl effortlessly detaches from negative emotions after experiencing failure or rejection, and can regenerate their enthusiasm for research in perpetuity. They support real people by relieving them of this responsibility.

	Undergraduate Research Assistants & Thesis Students
	Ella Hamamoto (she/her) is a 4th year undergraduate student and research assistant in both the SoCoSci Lab and the Helping and Happiness Lab. She aspires to complete an honours thesis exploring bicultural identity integration, with the broader goal of connecting her passion for social cognition to a future career as a registered counsellor. Alongside her major, she is pursuing a minor in Counselling and Human Development to strengthen her foundation for graduate studies. Outside of academics, Ella is involved in athletics, both as a player and coach in softball and volleyball. She also dedicates her free time to volunteering with Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, helping to provide peer support and contribute to fundraising initiatives.
	Suhavi Kaur (she/her) is a 4th year undergraduate student majoring in psychology at Simon Fraser University. She is currently a research assistant in the SoCoSci Lab, and is passionate about social psychology, with a particular interest in how social behaviours can be used as clinical interventions to promote wellbeing. She aims to graduate with an honours and continue research through graduate school. Outside of academics, Suhavi enjoys spending time with her standard poodle, Milo, who loves to cuddle and play fetch. In her downtime, she also loves singing and songwriting, often accompanied by the piano.
	Arushi Khanna (she/they) is a 3rd year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology at Simon Fraser University. She is working on a Directed Studies project under the supervision of Dr. Sally Xie, which investigates stigma toward individuals who practice kink, such as BDSM, and how disclosure shapes impression formation. Beyond this, Arushi is broadly interested in how social norms guide interactions and relationships, and how these dynamics shift across different cultural and social contexts. Outside of academics, they love exploring nature, playing video games, and are always involved in an art project or two!
	Vanessa Wong (she/her) is a research assistant in the SoCoSci Lab at Simon Fraser University. She recently graduated with a BA in psychology from the University of British Columbia and is interested in bicultural identity conflict and identity complexity. Previously, she co-authored an article on the effects of task interruptions on human performance along with Dr. Iring Koch’s group at RWTH Aachen Institute of Psychology. She conducted a Directed Studies project at the Happy Lab and the Environmental Sustainability Lab, under the supervision of Dr. Elizabeth Dunn and Dr. Jiaying Zhao, where she investigated whether happier people are more likely to decide to engage in pro-environmental behaviour. Additionally, Vanessa has explored the role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on self-control and emotion management with Dr. Elliot Berkman at the Social Affective Neuroscience Lab at the University of Oregon. Besides research, Vanessa enjoys travelling, listening to music, and running.
	Undergraduate students eager to leap into research are encouraged to fill out this application. I hope you apply if you’re passionate about the big ideas that drive our lab, and have questions of your own that require multidisciplinary methods and theories to answer.

	Alumni & Mentees from Other Institutions
Grace Porter 2024—2025 Princeton University (now a Case Planner at Forestdale)	Grace Porter is a former senior thesis student whose research I supervised. Her thesis explores how qualitative methods enrich research on individual experiences of mental health challenges. Using narrative analysis of life stories, her thesis examines how meaning-making changes the mental health impact of negative and disruptive life events, while evaluating the value of narrative analysis as a complement to quantitative measures typically used in psychology research.
Emmett Willford 2022—2024 Princeton University (now a graduate student at KU Leuven)	Emmett Willford, a former student whose senior thesis and junior research I supervised, used representational similarity analysis to study how self-representations and societal representations of binary gender categories (men, women) relate in gender-diverse adults. While self-representations in this group generally did not align with binary norms, individuals with higher alignment tended to have better mental health over time. Emmett’s findings suggest that misalignment with normative gender ideals correlates with worse mental health, even for those identifying outside the binary. Their research is in prep for publication, and they are now pursuing graduate studies in anthropology at KU Leuven.
Julia Cabri 2022—2024 Princeton University (now a Business Development Representative at Workato)	Julia Cabri, a former student whose senior thesis and junior research I supervised, explored gendered self-concepts (e.g., agency, communion) in personal narratives. She found that women spontaneously described themselves less agentically than men, in line with gender stereotypes. However, this gap was reduced for women who engaged in deeper reflection on societal gender norms: they described themselves as both agentic and communal, even when controlling for narrative length. Julia’s research suggests that narrative reflection can help challenge gender-stereotypical self-concepts.
Jeannine Alana C. Bertin 2018—2020 McGill University (now a graduate student at NYU)	Alana Bertin is a former student whose honours senior thesis I supervised. Her thesis empirically tested predictions about cognitive processes of stereotyping using computational analyses of mouse-trajectories to examine, in real-time, the effect of stereotypes on impression formation. She found that the trajectories of participants’ unconscious mouse movements gravitated toward impressions congruent with their stereotype knowledge. This work empirically demonstrated the effect of stereotypes on real-time categorization processes that drive evaluations, and has since been published. Alana is now pursuing a doctoral degree at New York University, advised by Prof. John Jost.

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