Dr. Ji Son, Lab Director

Dr. Son is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology. Her research focuses on how people learn and generalize their learning to new situations. The central idea behind her work is that learning changes the way we SEE the world! Many of the studies in the Learning Lab examine the role of perception in how students and young children learn abstract ideas, such as math and science. Area: Cognitive development, category learning, perceptual learning, learning and transfer.

Caylor Davis, Post-Graduate Researcher

I am a graduate of the CSULA Psychology MA program, and received my BA in Linguistics and Psychology from UCLA. I am also a previous lecturer here at CSULA, and particularly enjoyed teaching statistics (Psych 3020). My main research interests involve investigating instructional methods that can improve student learning outcomes in statistics and data science. Some recent projects have included gauging the effectiveness of pairing instruction with guided notes, emphasizing concepts over calculations in instruction, and how to help students read for math. I approach questions related to these ideas through the framework of the Practicing Connections hypothesis, in hopes of helping students gain robust, transferable knowledge, and develop meaningful learning experiences.

Nataly Castro, Graduate Student

I am in my second year pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Psychology at Cal State LA. I acquired my BA in Psychology from UCLA in 2018. I am interested in studying how people learn. I am currently focusing my research on examining the effects of note-taking and anxiety on academic performance.

Asia Mullins, Research Assistant

I’m a first year graduate student in the Master of Arts program at Cal State LA. I’m interested in context-dependent learning, specifically how teaching strategies and teacher qualities affect students in the classroom. I want to focus on schools in low-income communities, and how the classroom environment influences the learning of difficult subjects. My goal is to provide more resources to support students who come from low income backgrounds. 

Ashley Liu, Research Assistant

I’m a senior at Temple City High School. I hope to major in psychology and I am currently working to learn more about the field of psychology. Because I am so new and inexperienced in psychology, I want to focus more on the research side of the field and gain a better understanding of the field I want to major in, as well as explore the kind of impact I can make. 

Mildred Bernabe, Research Assistant

I am currently in my senior year at Cal State LA. I am majoring in Psychology and minoring in Management. I acquired my associate degree in Psychology from LACC. I am interested in pursuing a career in I/O (Industrial/Organizational) psychology. I hope to gain skills and experience that I can utilize in my career. 

Lou Rabahi Seaton, Research Assistant

I earned an Associate of Arts Degree in Psychology as well as in Social and Behavioral Sciences at Los Angeles Community College. I transferred to Cal State LA to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. I am interested in the relationship between anxiety, self-esteem, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, and academic performance.