Kenneth DeMarree
Ken earned his Bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Rochester and his M.A. and Ph.D. in social psychology from Ohio State University, working with Richard Petty. After 5 years at Texas Tech University, he joined the psychology department at the University at Buffalo, where he is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology. His research examines attitudes and attitude change, with a particular emphasis on metacognitive, motivational, and interpersonal processes. In his spare time, Ken enjoys yoga, hiking, travel, cooking, and brewing beer and 술. For his full cv, see here.
Duncan Alvarez
Duncan is a second-year PhD student who received his B.S. in psychology from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2023. His research interests lie in the cognitive processes underlying attitude change and the self. Specifically, he's interested in the cognition at play during persuasion, the impact of listening techniques on persuasion and attitudes, and the role of metacognitive processes in self-regulation.
Taylor Lee
Taylor earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Criminology in 2023 from the University at Buffalo, after working as a research assistant for two years and completing his Senior Honors Thesis through the lab. His research interests center around the different methods by which people’s attitudes and behaviors change during conversations. He currently serves as the project manager on our international research study focused on utilizing learning goals and high-quality listening to reduce attitudinal and social polarization during disagreements.
Keefe Suen
Keefe is an undergraduate pursuing a B.S. in Psychology and Neuroscience. He has been in the lab for 2 years and is currently working on his senior honors thesis. He plans to further his education and learn more about the brain after he graduates.
Guillermo Freeburg Rojas
Guillermo is a senior pursuing a BS in Psychology and a BA in Cultural Anthropology. He is currently working on an Honors Thesis on cross-cultural attitudes across relationships and is also interested in other cross-cultural work. Additionally, he is interested in acculturation, particularly from Latin America, identity, and belongingness.
Ji Xia
Ji is originally from China, and received his B.S. (in 2013) and M.S. (in 2016) degrees from the University of Iowa, and received his Ph.D. from UB in 2025. Ji's research primarily focuses on attitude change and persuasion. Specifically, he's interested in motivational factors that hold the potential to influence how people react to persuasive information as well as how they perceive their own thought reactions (metacognition) and subsequently, how those processes could affect the ways people form/change their attitudes .
Yahui Chang
Yahui received her Bachelor’s degree in Public Finance from the National Chengchi University, and her Master’s degrees in Psychology from NYU and in Marketing from the University of Kansas, and received her Ph.D. from UB in 2024. Yahui’s research interests revolve around attitudes and the self. More specifically, she focuses on the motivational and cognitive mechanisms of how people process persuasive messages and how the self and identity play their roles here.
Former Lab Members
Bradley Castiglia, Honors Thesis (2023), M.A. (2025), Currently at University of California, San Diego
Angelia Venezia, Honors Thesis (2024), Currently at University of North Carolina Greensboro
Emily Sutton, Honors Thesis (2023), Currently at University at Buffalo
Jennifer Weng, Ph.D. (2021), currently at American Psychological Association
Abby Giancola, M.A. (2020), currently at Research Narrative
David Khaydatov, Honors Thesis (2018), Currently at SuperDial
Miranda Bobrowski, M.A.
Cory Clark, Ph.D. (2014-2016 postdoc), Adversarial Collaboration Project, University at Pennsylvania
Jonathan Statzer, Ph.D. (2015)
Miles Condon, M.A. (2013), currently at St. Norbert College
Cory Davenport, Ph.D. (2013), currently at DHS Science and Technology Directorate
Neil Hester, Honors Thesis (2012), curently at University of Waterloo
Frequent Collaborators
Guy Itzchakov, University of Haifa
Kristin Naragon-Gainey, University of Western Australia
Richard Petty, Ohio State University
Kimberly Rios, Ohio University
Christian Wheeler, Stanford University
