Colby Psychology | Social Motivation Laboratory

Thane Pittman

Lab Director
Chair, Department of Psychology

I am a Social Psychologist, newly arrived at Colby in the fall of 2004. Born in San Antonio, Texas, I grew up in Youngstown, Ohio. I discovered social psychology in my senior year in college when I read the book A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance for a Sociology course in Public Opinion. I asked my Professor (Jerry Lewis) what people who did that kind of work called themselves, and he said "Oh, that's social psychology." I decided I would be a social psychologist, and it's the best decision I have ever made.

I taught at Gettysburg College for many years (let's not count how many), but took the opportunity to work at other institutions (Princeton University, the University of Toronto, UC Santa Barbara, the University of Maryland), and spent the last three years before coming to Colby at Princeton, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Psychology and the course on Negotiation in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy and International Affairs. I decided to come to Colby because the opportunity to help to build a new psychology department, and to live in Maine, was too attractive to resist. And as you can see by learning about the rest of my research team, I have the chance to work with some amazing Colby students. The chance to keep my sailboat, Salience, in Belfast Harbor on western Penobscot Bay was kind of nice too.

People are interesting, and although it is fashionable to use computer analogies to understand some aspects of human information processing, people are nothing like computers. Our desires, hopes, fears, and needs have pervasive influences on everything that we think, feel, and do. Our lab team is dedicated to the pursuit of new knowledge about these fascinating and fundamentally important aspects of human nature.

Zoe Ray

I am a senior from Wilmette, IL. I am majoring in psychology with a concentration in neuroscienc, and I am particularly interested in social and abnormal psychology. I'll be graduating in January and hope to join the Peace Corps after graduation. In addition to psychology, I also love running. I participated in track and cross country in high school and have since run two marathons (including Boston) and am currently training for my third. I also enjoy photography, yoga, biking, and swimming.. I am also interested in medicine and spent last summer working as an EMT for a private ambulance company and volunteering at a local hospital. Last year I spent the spring semester in Australia at the University of Melbourne after spending January interning in Switzerland, where my Mom is from.

Alex Wesnousky

Lab Coordinator

I am a junior at Colby majoring in Psychology and Classics. I am interested in nearly all areas of psychology, and am excited to be exploring social motivation and learning what makes people do what they do. I'm looking forward to spending my spring semester in New Zealand. I grew up in Davis, California, and in high school was involved in Key Club, National Honors Society, and was co-president of the environmental club. I have been involved in gymnastics since I was about 4 years old and have been both a competitive gymnast and a coach. Here at Colby I am a member of the Colby Gymnastics Club and Colby Cares About Kids, and in my free time enjoy reading, traveling, running, and doodling.

Michele Chu

Although I can hardly believe that I’m not an undeclared, first-year anymore, I’m a sennior, now, majoring in both Psychology and Economics. The first time I encountered psychology, I was a senior at Sharon High School taking A.P. Psychology. For my AP psych project, I replicated the misinformation effect on 12 year old children. When I was able to convince middle school aged children that they had seen a hippopotamus in a pink tutu, when, in fact, they had not, I realized that psychology might just be something I would be interested in pursuing (I kid.. but not really).

This semester, I’ll be conducting research in three areas, one in human movement, one in social psychology, and the other in econometrics. I am working on an Honors Thesis in psychology this year. And, although I love economics, when I want to understand an individual’s possible motivation past ‘maximizing their marginal utility,’ I turn to psychological concepts.

When I’m not researching the social sciences, I like to go running, play tennis, and watch ridiculous TV shows on Vh1, like ‘Flavor of Love.’ After all, there might be an interesting social psychological phenomenon to be studied there.

In the future, I would like to combine my interest in psychology and economics and go to graduate school for behavioral economics or organizational behavior. I have also not ruled out pursuing a PhD in social psychology.

Kelsey Stratton

I am a sophomore psychology major from Maine and I am particularly interested in social and developmental psychology. As of right now I am considering going to graduate school for a degree in clinical psychology.

I grew up on Mount Desert Island and I attended MDI High School. My senior year of high school was the first time I took a psychology course and I knew immediately that it was something I wanted to pursue. In high school I participated in the Big Sister’s Program, Peer Mediation, and played basketball and golf. Sports are my biggest hobby and I try to be active as much as possible. In the summers I work at a golf course on the island and enjoy hiking in Acadia National Park.

Social Motivation Lab >> Colby > Psychology > Labs > Social Motivation
Thane Pittman	Zoe Ray	Alex Wesnousky	Michele Chu	Kelsey Stratton
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Thane Pittman Lab Director Chair, Department of Psychology I am a Social Psychologist, newly arrived at Colby in the fall of 2004. Born in San Antonio, Texas, I grew up in Youngstown, Ohio. I discovered social psychology in my senior year in college when I read the book A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance for a Sociology course in Public Opinion. I asked my Professor (Jerry Lewis) what people who did that kind of work called themselves, and he said "Oh, that's social psychology." I decided I would be a social psychologist, and it's the best decision I have ever made. I taught at Gettysburg College for many years (let's not count how many), but took the opportunity to work at other institutions (Princeton University, the University of Toronto, UC Santa Barbara, the University of Maryland), and spent the last three years before coming to Colby at Princeton, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Psychology and the course on Negotiation in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy and International Affairs. I decided to come to Colby because the opportunity to help to build a new psychology department, and to live in Maine, was too attractive to resist. And as you can see by learning about the rest of my research team, I have the chance to work with some amazing Colby students. The chance to keep my sailboat, Salience, in Belfast Harbor on western Penobscot Bay was kind of nice too. People are interesting, and although it is fashionable to use computer analogies to understand some aspects of human information processing, people are nothing like computers. Our desires, hopes, fears, and needs have pervasive influences on everything that we think, feel, and do. Our lab team is dedicated to the pursuit of new knowledge about these fascinating and fundamentally important aspects of human nature. Zoe Ray I am a senior from Wilmette, IL. I am majoring in psychology with a concentration in neuroscienc, and I am particularly interested in social and abnormal psychology. I'll be graduating in January and hope to join the Peace Corps after graduation. In addition to psychology, I also love running. I participated in track and cross country in high school and have since run two marathons (including Boston) and am currently training for my third. I also enjoy photography, yoga, biking, and swimming.. I am also interested in medicine and spent last summer working as an EMT for a private ambulance company and volunteering at a local hospital. Last year I spent the spring semester in Australia at the University of Melbourne after spending January interning in Switzerland, where my Mom is from. Alex Wesnousky Lab Coordinator I am a junior at Colby majoring in Psychology and Classics. I am interested in nearly all areas of psychology, and am excited to be exploring social motivation and learning what makes people do what they do. I'm looking forward to spending my spring semester in New Zealand. I grew up in Davis, California, and in high school was involved in Key Club, National Honors Society, and was co-president of the environmental club. I have been involved in gymnastics since I was about 4 years old and have been both a competitive gymnast and a coach. Here at Colby I am a member of the Colby Gymnastics Club and Colby Cares About Kids, and in my free time enjoy reading, traveling, running, and doodling. Michele Chu Although I can hardly believe that I’m not an undeclared, first-year anymore, I’m a sennior, now, majoring in both Psychology and Economics. The first time I encountered psychology, I was a senior at Sharon High School taking A.P. Psychology. For my AP psych project, I replicated the misinformation effect on 12 year old children. When I was able to convince middle school aged children that they had seen a hippopotamus in a pink tutu, when, in fact, they had not, I realized that psychology might just be something I would be interested in pursuing (I kid.. but not really). This semester, I’ll be conducting research in three areas, one in human movement, one in social psychology, and the other in econometrics. I am working on an Honors Thesis in psychology this year. And, although I love economics, when I want to understand an individual’s possible motivation past ‘maximizing their marginal utility,’ I turn to psychological concepts. When I’m not researching the social sciences, I like to go running, play tennis, and watch ridiculous TV shows on Vh1, like ‘Flavor of Love.’ After all, there might be an interesting social psychological phenomenon to be studied there. In the future, I would like to combine my interest in psychology and economics and go to graduate school for behavioral economics or organizational behavior. I have also not ruled out pursuing a PhD in social psychology. Kelsey Stratton I am a sophomore psychology major from Maine and I am particularly interested in social and developmental psychology. As of right now I am considering going to graduate school for a degree in clinical psychology. I grew up on Mount Desert Island and I attended MDI High School. My senior year of high school was the first time I took a psychology course and I knew immediately that it was something I wanted to pursue. In high school I participated in the Big Sister’s Program, Peer Mediation, and played basketball and golf. Sports are my biggest hobby and I try to be active as much as possible. In the summers I work at a golf course on the island and enjoy hiking in Acadia National Park. Colby College \| Psychology Department \|\| Mayflower Hill Drive Waterville, Maine 04901-8855 phone: 207-859-5550 fax: 207-859-5555 Free Hit Counter

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