Tori Peña is a second-year Ph.D. student at Stony Brook University studying social memory under Dr. Suparna Rajaram.
TORI PEÑA - STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY
How did you become interested in cognitive science/psychology?
Like most undergraduates studying psychology, I found cognitive psychology to be daunting. That changed rather quickly when I joined Ralph R. Miller's associative learning lab during my third year. He spent the first few weeks of the semester reviewing classic associative learning papers and I learned to appreciate the methodological precision in cognitive science.
What is the focus of your research?
My focus is on collaborative and collective memory. I want to understand how memory performance may be affected by social contexts.
What aspects of your work do people get really excited about?
People really get excited about how social memory research can impact educational settings!
Where do you see your research going over the next few years?
Social memory research is still a fairly new subfield, compared to other subfields of cognitive science, so I can see it going in several different directions. I'm also interested in culture and memory so that's another possibility.
Do you see yourself in industry or academics moving forward?
I would like to stay in academia because I love teaching. Working in the industry is not out of the question for me.
What has been your experience being a person of color in cognitive science?
It can be challenging at times. I've had my handful of uncomfortable experiences with colleagues. Honestly, I still haven't figured out how to navigate those kinds of situations. In addition, there were definitely times when I felt that I was just a diversity hire which exacerbated my imposter syndrome. What helped me was building a support system with other folks of color in my department. Once I found my support system, I was able to mitigate my imposter syndrome better and focus more on my research. They also helped me stay in touch with my identity which is extremely important.
What changes have you noticed in your field or the field more generally?
Cognitive science seems to be becoming more interdisciplinary which is exciting!
Any advice for early career researchers of color?
My best piece of advice is to find your support system. If you can't find people in your department, there are plenty of academics of color on social media who will help you navigate academia. You are competent and you belong.
How do you protect your time?
I set specific times to work on campus. So I'll try to leave by 5 or 6 pm every day so I have time to cook and go to the gym. On the weekends, I try to visit family and friends whenever possible. :)