Social Psychology and Daily Experience Lab Team
Abe Rutchick, Principal Investigator
Abe received his Ph.D. from UC Santa Barbara in 2005, then spent three years as a visiting assistant professor at Syracuse University. He’s been at CSUN since then. In his free time - what’s left of it after chasing his kids around - he likes to travel (when there’s not a pandemic going on), cook food and mix drinks, and play poker.
Abigaile Ehrlinspiel graduated CSUN with honors in 2021 and remains active in the SPADE lab with a specialty in copy editing. She holds a BA in Psychology and a minor in Gerontology.
Abigaile’s interest in end-of-life and near-death experiences, fueled by her own NDE some years ago, joins her lifelong enthusiasm for the experiences of older adulthood in defining her research and career interests. She has presented posters at the SPSP and WPA annual conventions, and was the recipient of the 2019 SAGE/CSUN Learning in Retirement Scholarship in Gerontology. In her free time, she hikes for cold plunges and reads sci-fi. She aspires to a career combining research psychology with the concerns of later life and human mortality.
Anthony Nuccitelli is an undergraduate student majoring in Psychology with a minor in Religious Studies. His research interests are in the psychology of religion. Anthony's future is directed towards working with students at schools in the area of School Psychology. In his free time, Anthony trains for marathons, watches silly movies, and reads religious theology.
Britney Martinez is an undergraduate student pursuing her B.A. in Psychology. She is actively applying to MSW programs with the intention of becoming a social worker for an LAUSD school. She is currently working on a study that assesses how medical clothing influences decision-making, sense of power, and vulnerability. She is an NIH-funded BUILD PODER research scholar. In her free time, Britney enjoys going to live music shows, hanging out with friends and family, and drinking peppermint tea.
Ivan Alatorre is a first-year graduate student in the Psychological Science program, actively participating in the NIH-funded Bridges to the Ph.D. program. His research pursuits are centered around the intersection of decision-making and health behaviors, and he's developed a keen fascination for unraveling the influence of future-oriented thinking on behaviors such as physical activity. With an unwavering dedication to his academic journey, Ivan's ultimate aspiration is to attain a Ph.D. in the realm of health psychology. Outside of his academic pursuits, Ivan embraces his love for exploration, often embarking on adventures by bicycle to discover the world around him.
Jasper Ying is a first year graduate student in the CSUN Psychological Science MA program.
Jasper’s current research interests include exploring lonely individuals’ attitudes and perceptions (i.e., social environment threat perception), the differentiation of subjective loneliness and objective social isolation as distinct and overlapping experiences, and the role of meaningful social connection in improving psychopathology and client/patient outcomes (e.g., depressive, anxiety disorders).
Adopting a holistic bio-psycho-techno-social approach to his research ideas and endeavors, Jasper hopes to engage in novel research, with relation to emerging technology such as AI when appropriate, in the pursuit of developing and refining accessible interventions/treatments for psychopathology, psychological distress, and maladaptive behaviors.
Ultimately, Jasper plans to apply to Clinical Psychology PhD programs and aspires to become a dual clinician-researcher as a Clinical Psychologist.
In his spare time, Jasper enjoys cooking, singing, and learning about other cultures.
Maya Moyal is a graduating senior with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She is applying to graduate school for Marriage & Family Therapy and is hoping to further her career into owning her own practice. Although her primary focus lies in therapy and counseling, she has an interest in research. Her interests include the impact of technology on relationships and mental health, the intersection of mental health and addiction, and the effect of mindfulness on cognition, sleep, and overall well-being. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, maintaining an active lifestyle, and writing poetry.
Sydney Lopez is an undergraduate student pursuing her B.A. in Psychology. She is working toward a career in research and is interested in studying how online interactions influence the way people consume and understand different types of media. She wants to continue her studies through to graduate school and obtain her Ph.D. in Social Psychology. In her free time, she enjoys dancing and studying the world of dance, and she is completing a minor in Dance at CSUN as well.
Jared Bosch is in his first semester as a graduate student in CSUN's Clinical Psychology MA program. His research interests are in the psychological phenomena which emerge from human interaction on the internet. In his free time, Jared enjoys listening to new music, playing tabletop games, and trying new food. His goal is to attain a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.