My name is Mantou Lou. I am from Macao. I am a graduate student specialized in social and cultural psychology. My general interest is in understanding how culture influence individuals' mental processes such as self, emotion and cognition. My research now is focus on implicit beliefs and the consequences of holding different implicit beliefs across different cultures.

Hello! My name is Seoyeon Cho and I’m currently in my 3rd year of BSc Psychology. I was born and raised in Korea until my 6th grade and I am studying in Canada since then. I’ve become so much interested in participating in this Culture and Cognition lab after taking Taka’s culture psychology course. It was so fascinating to see how the culture significantly plays in development of one’s identity and perception. I’m looking forward to learning and exploring on different aspects of cultures from the researches in depth and I am so excited to work with the people with similar interests!

Hello! My name is Seoyeon Cho and I’m currently in my 3rd year of BSc Psychology. I was born and raised in Korea until my 6th grade and I am studying in Canada since then. I’ve become so much interested in participating in this Culture and Cognition lab after taking Taka’s culture psychology course. It was so fascinating to see how the culture significantly plays in development of one’s identity and perception. I’m looking forward to learning and exploring on different aspects of cultures from the researches in depth and I am so excited to work with the people with similar interests!

Hi! My name is Jamie Nisbet, and I am entering my final year of undergraduate studies, double majoring in Psychology and Linguistics. I was born in Edmonton, but have a huge passion for travelling! I love exploring the diversity of cultures, and this passion drew me to Dr. Masuda’s Culture and Cognition Lab. I volunteered as a research assistant last semester, and now I am delighted to be taking a directed research course under his supervision this year! My research interests mostly focus around language and speech, as my ultimate goal is to become a Speech Language Pathologist.

Email: smay@ualberta.ca

Volunteer Research Assistant

Hi! I'm Shirley May and I'm currently in my final year of my undergraduate degree, double majoring in Psychology and Biology. I was born in Edmonton and raised in Calgary but I am of Taiwanese heritage. This is my now second year as a member of this lab. My exposure to different cultures and languages has cultivated my interest in how culture shapes our cognition, perception, and learning processes. This past summer I had the opportunity to travel to Japan with this lab as a research assistant, the experience was absolutely amazing. I'm very grateful to be part of this team. I look forward to contributing to its growth and to continually learn from all the brillant minds around me.

I'm a 4th year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology and minoring in East Asian Studies. I was born in Edmonton, but being surrounded by east Asian culture and context throughout my life has led to a deep interest in the cognitive and behavioural divide between different parts of the world. I'm thankful for the opportunity to study in this lab, as the knowledge I gain here will surely be invaluable going forward.

My name is Sonya Pittalwala and I am in my 4th year of my psychology major. I am hoping to do my masters in counselling psychology with a specialization in child rehabilitation and family therapy. In my spare time I am usually making music of all kinds! I am so excited to be a member of the culture and cognition lab this year and to learn lots from my other colleagues and the research that we do.

Hey! I'm Zach Muncaster, a fourth year student majoring in both psychology and linguistics. I've got a huge interest in all things to do with language and speech, as well as cultural differences across the world. I'm looking forward to being a part of this lab because it seems to be geared toward everything I want to study. Outside of psych, I pretty much just spend my time writing or playing tabletop games.

Hi! My name is Jicelle and I'm doing my undergraduate studies with a Major in Psychology and Minor in Sociology. I was born and raised in Edmonton and through attending school and being raised by Filipino parents, I had developed an interest towards how other cultures approach similar situations. I became intrigued at different cultural practices and I especially pondered about the struggles that a person may have when faced with the interaction of being exposed to two or more cultural pressures. I am enamoured at learning about different cultural contexts and the extent of influence that one's behaviour and thoughts (implicit and explicit) that a culture brings upon an individual. It is a pleasure to be part of this lab and I look forward to gaining experience and knowledge that I believe will be integral in both everyday life and applicable to various situations!

I'm a 3rd-year Psychology major and Creative Writing minor at the University of Alberta. Growing up in a multicultural household, I always had a passion for languages and cultures, and, after moving to Edmonton from a rural area, I discovered how truly multicultural Canada is and the fascinating interactions between Canadian culture and other cultures. After taking Dr. Masuda's cultural psychology class, I realized the exciting research happening in the field and was elated to have the opportunity to get hands-on research experience and help the lab however possible.

Hi, my name is Bryce. I recently completed a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Psychology at the University of Alberta in 2018. Over the past two years the Culture and Cognition Lab has provided me with invaluable experiences, relationships and opportunities.  I have been fortunate enough to work with diverse people and to have formed relationships with both friends and colleagues. I am currently working at the University of Alberta as lab coordinator for the Gesture and Language Development Lab. 

Hello, I'm Dhriti and I am a fourth year BSc Psychology student at the UofA. My research interests include, but are not limited to, the influence of culture on self expression and in the processes of forming and maintaining intimate relationships. I'm excited to be a part of the C&C lab and to learn how to apply the theories I've learned in a practical setting! When I'm not in the lab, you can find me doing art, watching TV or reading fanfiction!

Hi! My name is Narimane and I’m a fourth year student majoring in psychology and minoring in sociology. I was born in Algeria, North Africa and I moved to Montréal when I was nine years old where I stayed for three years until I moved to Edmonton. I've had cultural influences from very different regions, and this piqued my interest on how culture influences multiple facets of our lives. One of my research interests is how facial expression and recognition is influenced by the cultures of the world, and I believe this lab will allow me to further my knowledge. I usually spend my free time listening to all kinds of music and trying to learn new languages. I’m very interested in old and Scandinavian languages and I’m hoping to spend a semester abroad in Sweden next year!

Email: kojimiwa4@gmail.com & Email: kojimiwa@nagoya-u.jp

He succeded in publishing his dissertation on Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, a prestegious jounrnal in the area of social and cultural psychology (Wang, Masuda, Ito, & Rashid, 2012). We are still working on finanizing research programs on culture and language.

Dr. Huaitang Wang received PhD degree from U of A Psychology in 2009.

Her research interest focused on the child rearing practice of Chinese immigrants and its relationship with some factors such as cultural values and language. We are working on a project titled "Culture and Sleeping Arrangement" in collaboration with Dr. Kim Noels.

Dr. Jianhui Song received PhD degree from U of A Psychology in 2010.

My research examines the role of socio-ecological factors (e.g., mobility and economic development) and cultural meaning systems (e.g., holism and collectivism) in influencing people’s social relationships, decision making and mental health across cultures.

Dr. Liman Li received PhD degree from U of A Psychology in 2015.

I received my BA from the University of Alberta. My research interests lie in cultural differences in perception and aesthetics, generational differences and cultural change, cultural variations in child rearing, and identity in bicultural children. Currently, I am doing international public relations work at the University of Tokyo in Japan.

Kristina Nand received her Masters Degree from U of A psychology in 2014.

I have my BSc specialization in psychology. I have always been fascinated with cultures around the world and love learning about them, which probably explains how I have been to over 22 countries. I participated in a semester abroad in England and it was exciting to see how a country so similar to ours also has a vastly different culture. Being a part of the culture and cognition lab allows me to further develop my understandings of the impact culture has on the individual. I am hoping to get my masters in clinical psychology and ultimately work with at risk youth who have substance abuse issues. I am extremely interested in this topic and from my abroad experiences I also find it fascinating how culture is extremely related to the onset and treatment of those with this illness.

Natasha received her BSc Degree from U of A in 2017