Psychology

Profile

Background

I received my B.S. in Wildlife Ecology/Psychology from University of Maine, USA where I focused independent research on deception in nonhuman animals as well as the detection of deception in humans. After graduation, I worked at Lemur Conservation Foundation in Florida, USA as an intern and then as the Animal Care Specialist. I had the opportunity to gain research experience as well, performing two studies investigating lemurs’ understanding of transparent barriers.  

Research Interests

My PhD research focuses on whether dogs are able to detect deception in humans. Assuming that they are capable of doing so, I will examine their performance relative to other lie detection methods, particularly the accuracy of humans without help from technology. I will also attempt to determine what cues to deception trained dogs are using. My supervisors are Prof. Aldert Vrij, Dr. Juliane Kaminski, and Dr. Samantha Mann.