Research Interests

What does art engagement look like in virtual environments? Digital tools promise to extend knowledge and culture beyond the physical walls of cultural institutions, but experiences in these spaces aren't well understood. I developed the Open Gallery for Arts Research platform to enable rigorous design and empirical study of virtual gallery visits. 

Why is art meaningful to us? The meanings we draw from art extend well past its immediate content, connecting our surface-level perceptual experiences to broader ideas about ourselves and the world. My work captures the nature and progression of this process. 

How can we build better tools for studying art and creativity? Good science starts with good tools. My work contributes to new and existing psychometric tooling to the psychology of art and creativity. I also generate frameworks to advance our conceptual understanding of art engagement and creativity.  

How can research capture complex emotional experiences? Real life often produces variegated emotional experiences. My research leverages diversity metrics borrowed from the field of ecology to better understand nuanced emotions.

When and why do people behave creatively? Creativity shapes how people interpret the world and generate new ideas. I study the processes and contexts that foster creative thought and behavior, with a particular focus on how engaging with art can expand people’s creative capacities.  

How do museums shape human thought and experience? Cultural institutions invite reflection, curiosity, and discovery. I partner with museums to study how encounters with objects influence visitors’ emotions, thinking, and creativity.