Architecture of the Mind Lab
The Architecture of the Mind Lab investigates the structure and function of mental systems and how they generate behavior. We approach the mind as a set of functionally organized systems shaped by evolution, drawing on principles from evolutionary biology, cognitive science, and psychology to characterize how the mind works and why it works that way.
A central goal of the lab is to develop and test unified accounts of mental processes that are often studied in isolation. We examine emotion, cognition, personality, and belief as components of an integrated architecture, asking how these systems jointly produce both adaptive behavior and systematic error.
Our work combines theoretical development with empirical research, including extensive cross-cultural studies. We use cross-cultural data to examine both universal features of mental systems and variation across populations, testing hypotheses about the structure and function of the mind.
Across projects, we aim to explain how the mind's systems give rise to mental states, behavior, and social interaction.
Ratio propter rationem.
Research Areas
Join the Lab
Prospective graduate students and undergraduate researchers interested in the structure and function of mental systems are encouraged to get in touch.
People
The Architecture of the Mind Lab investigates the structure and function of mental systems and how they generate behavior. We approach the mind as a set of functionally organized systems shaped by evolution, drawing on principles from evolutionary biology, cognitive science, and psychology to characterize how the mind works and why it works that way.
A central goal of the lab is to develop and test unified accounts of mental processes that are often studied in isolation. We examine emotion, cognition, personality, and belief as components of an integrated architecture, asking how these systems jointly produce both adaptive behavior and systematic error.
Our work combines theoretical development with empirical research, including extensive cross-cultural studies. We use cross-cultural data to examine both universal features of mental systems and variation across populations, testing hypotheses about the structure and function of the mind.
Across projects, we aim to explain how the mind's systems give rise to mental states, behavior, and social interaction.
Ratio propter rationem.
Research Areas
- Emotion
- Cognition
- Personality and individual differences
- Belief and cognitive bias
- Close relationships (e.g., friendship, family, parenting, romantic love)
- Psychopathology
- Cross-cultural psychology
Join the Lab
Prospective graduate students and undergraduate researchers interested in the structure and function of mental systems are encouraged to get in touch.
People
Director
Laith Al-Shawaf, Ph.D.
Architecture of the Mind Lab
Research interests: the structure and function of mental systems, including emotion, cognition, personality, and belief, often informed by evolutionary theory.
Architecture of the Mind Lab
Research interests: the structure and function of mental systems, including emotion, cognition, personality, and belief, often informed by evolutionary theory.
Graduate Students
Omar Abu-Wishah
Research interests: disgust and memory, and severe mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia spectrum disorders, bipolar disorder), with an interest in improving therapeutic and psychiatric treatment. |
Olivia James
Research interests: relationships and individual differences, with an interest in how people engage in romantic and platonic relationships. |
Kaito M. Mumm
Research interests: emotion, executive function, social cognition, and metacognition, with an interest in how these processes influence well-being and resilience. |
Ashley Johnston
Research interests: emotion, social cognition, and interpersonal relationship processes, with an interest in how emotional processes influence attachment, cooperation, and relationship development. |
Undergraduate Researchers
Alex White
Research interests: perception, cognitive bias, and evolution |
Rosarita (Rita) Neal
Research interests: personality, victimization, moral judgment, and social cognition, with an interest in how personality shapes emotional and cognitive processes in victimization. |
Annabel Dorsz
Research interests: personality, relationships, and attraction, with an interest in how individual differences in attraction shape relationships |
Lab Alumni
Kaitlyn P. White
Senior Director of Scientific Affairs at Radicle Science Inc. |
Elias Acevedo
PhD student at University of California, Los Angeles |
Bernardo Seixas
PhD student at Arizona State University |
Caitlyn Seymour
Research Analyst at the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission |