Adrienne Wood

Principal Investigator

I am an Assistant Professor of Social Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Virginia. I earned my PhD in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, where I studied the perception, social functions, and cultural shapers of nonverbal signals with my advisor, Paula Niedenthal. I did my postdoctoral work on social networks and collective behavior in Thalia Wheatley’s Social Systems Lab at Dartmouth College. My research is currently supported by an NSF CAREER Award and a Templeton Foundation grant. I am a proud Kansas Citian and lover of dogs, drawing and oil painting, and piano. 

Contact me at adrienne.wood@virginia.edu.

Kyle barrentine

graduate student

Kyle Barrentine is a fourth-year PhD student in the Social Psychology program. He earned a B.A. in Psychology from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he worked as a R.I.S.E Scholar under Adrienne Aiken Morgan studying depression within older African Americans. He was also a peer mentor for Notre Dame’s Computational Social Science REU, where he worked for David Hachen studying social networks, personality and depression. Kyle’s main research goals are understanding the limitations of social networks given a person’s race, gender, mental health, socioeconomic status, or personality. When he isn’t researching, Kyle enjoys watching anime, listening to vinyl records, writing in his journal, and drinking coffee or tea.

Sareena Chadha

Graduate student

Sareena is a third-year PhD student in the Social Psychology program. She graduated in 2021 with a B.A. in Psychology and Cognitive Science, with a concentration in linguistics. Outside of class, you could find her playing in the UVA marching band, going to indie rock concerts, or sitting in a comfy chair at Grit Coffee.

Shelly Tsang

Graduate student

Shelly is a fifth-year PhD student in the Social Psychology Program. She double majored in Psychology and Economics at Cornell University and did her honors thesis on time perception and tracking. Currently, she’s interested in self-other differences in social judgment & perception and how people connect over conversations. Her favorite social activities are playing cards, volleyball, and talking with others. Her favorite non-social activities are playing guitar, learning Smash, and biking; but overall she prefers social activities over nonsocial ones.

Saga Balla

Research assistant

Hi, I’m a third-year undergraduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences planning to graduate in 2025 with a B.A. in Global Public Health and a minor in Psychology. I am the Director of Community Outreach for UVA Mutual Aid, a member of the University Programs Council and involved with OAS, EESA and DHW. In my free time I love to paint, spend time with friends, read a book, or cook a good meal.

Joe Bondi

Research assistant

Joe is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Virginia. He is double majoring in Cognitive Science, with a concentration in Psychology, along with Economics. At UVA, he is a volunteer YoungLife leader, the president of the Spikeball club, and an RA with the concussion lab. In his free time, Joe loves to play any sport with a ball, read, or do pretty much anything with his close friends.

Chen (Kaitlyn) Chi

Research Assistant

Chen (Kaitlyn) Chi is a third-year international undergraduate student in the college of arts and sciences. She will graduate in 2025 with a B.A in statistics and psychology and a minor (undetermined). She is involved in HoosTalk, LingXi Chinese Theater, CSSS and KSA and is planning to explore more clubs! In her spare time, she listens to music ranging from R&B to classic musicals, dances, sings, watches films and series, runs, and is taking on reading as well.

Mingye (Shirley) Li

Research assistant

Mingye (Shirley) Li is a third-year international student in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia and plans to graduate in 2025 with a B.A. in Psychology and Computer Science and a minor in Art History. Around UVA, she is a member of Madison House, Unicef at UVA, and Mainland Student Network. Aside from studying, Shirley loves playing PC games (Celeste!), drawing, horse riding, working out, and developing recipes.

Isabelle Maule

Research assistant

Isabelle is a fourth-year undergraduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is majoring in English and psychology. Outside of the lab, she spends her time as a member of the Cavalier Marching Band, a facilitator for Hoos Connected, and a tutor for Literacy Volunteers of Charlottesville/Albemarle. In her free time, she enjoys reading, crocheting, and trying to pet every dog she comes across in Charlottesville!

Sally Park

Research assistant

Sally is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Virginia. She is planning to double major in Psychology and Public Policy and is hoping to pursue a career related to both social psychology and policy. At UVA, she is the Co-Advocacy Chair for NAMI on Grounds, a volunteer for Madison House, and is part of the Public Service Pathways Team. In her free time, Sally enjoys reading, watching movies, taking walks, and playing her ukulele.

Yanwei Shen

Research assistant

Yanwei Shen is a fourth-year international undergraduate student international student in the College of Arts and Sciences. She will graduate in 2024 with a B.A in Psychology and Statistics. She is involved in Madison House, HoosTalk, LingXi Chinese Theater around UVA. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies, playing tennis, doing film photography, and traveling.

Danae Thomas

Research assistant

Danae is a third-year undergraduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences. She plans to graduate in 2025 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Spanish. When she is not studying hard for her classes, you can find her at Night Owl Yoga classes at the AFC, as a co-director of Intersectionality and Outreach for NAMI, or working with the marketing committee for CRAVE! Or, maybe even laying on the Lawn while listening to music, searching for puppies to play with, and hanging with her friends.

Avery Tyrrell

Research assistant

Avery is a third-year undergraduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences and hopes to study Commerce and Psychology with a minor in Business Spanish. She aspires to find a career with an international focus where she can combine these three interests. Around UVA, she is involved in Madison House, Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity, Alpha Phi, the Cavalier Daily, Hablemos Club, and CHAARG. In her free time, Avery enjoys traveling, exercising, creating playlists on Spotify, spending time with friends and family, and sipping a good coffee.

Lola

Marmot supervisor

Lola graduated from Basic Obedience school in 2016 and is currently project manager on a longitudinal field study of large rodent movement patterns. When she’s not doing marmot research, she enjoys lying down in the middle of walks and eating broccoli.

Keebler

Derp Manager

Keebler oversees a lab-wide initiative to advance the science of derp. He loves reading about cars and why they are so scary. In his free time he can be found playing peek-a-boo with his humans and escaping out of the yard.

Mochi

nap coordinator

Mochi joined the team with the goal of teaching String Theory to the other non-human lab members. While his passion for string has not caught on, he has led several successful workshops on how to find sunny spots for naps.