People

Dr. Minyu Chang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Trinity University since 2024 Fall. Before joining Trinity, Dr. Chang was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychology at McGill University from 2022 to 2024, working with Dr. Brendan Johns. Dr. Chang earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from Cornell University in 2022, under the supervision of Dr. Charles Brainerd. Before that, she completed her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at the University of Hong Kong in 2017. Dr. Chang's research focuses on using behavioral experiments, mathematical models, and computational models to investigate various topics in memory, metamemory, and cognitive aging. [Email] [CV] [Google Scholar] [ResearchGate]

Arial Baker (they/she) is a senior from Houston, Texas, majoring in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. They plan to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology, aiming to become a clinical psychologist, researcher, and professor. Currently, Arial is working with Dr. Chang on research that explores the effects of cross-context repetition on people's memory for and belief in factual statements, as well as false memory in paired associate learning. Through this research, Arial is gaining insights into mechanisms underlying memory distortions, which can be crucial when developing effective therapeutic strategies for people with cognitive impairment. Outside the lab, you can probably find them reading horror manga, discovering new music, or watching films to add to their Letterboxd Diary.

Elyssa Giries is a senior majoring in Psychology.  She is planning to pursue a career as an attorney, and she is particularly interested in litigation, focusing on family and criminal law.  Currently, Elyssa is working with Dr. Chang on a project that explores how different emotional contexts influence people's memory for vocabulary words. Elyssa finds this research particularly relevant to her legal interests, as it provides insights into how contextual variations can impact memory recall, which is crucial for understanding the reliability of testimony in court.