The Memory & Decision Processes (MAD) Lab is housed in the Department of Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University in downtown Toronto, and is directed by Dr. Julia Spaniol. Research in the MAD Lab uses behavioural and neuroscience techniques to study how motivation and emotion affect cognitive processes in younger and older adults.
Welcome to the Memory and Decision Processes Lab!
About Us
Recent News
January 2025: Julia and collaborators receive $75K in research funding from Bridging Divides for a 2-year project entitled, “Advanced Digital Technologies in Newcomer Employment Programs: Understanding the Role of Metacognitive Skills and other Individual Differences.”
January 2025: New MAD Lab study, on social presence effects in online learning, accepted at PLOS ONE. Congrats Lindsay and coauthors!
November 2024: Lindsay Santacroce presents MAD Lab research at Psychonomics in NYC.
October 2024: New MAD Lab study, on hindsight bias in the context of the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, in press at Cognition and Emotion. Congrats Mane!!
October 2024: New collaborative study in press at Displays! Congrats Brandy!
September 2024: New MAD Lab study, on affect and decision making, in press at Cognition and Emotion. Congrats Aalim!
September 2024: Congratulations to Brandy Murovec on her successful dissertation defense! Way to go Brandy!
September 2024: Congratulations to Aalim Makani and Polina Andrievskaia on their new NSERC CGS-D scholarships!
September 2024: The MAD Lab welcomes new postdoc Dr. Pelin Tanberg (PhD ’24, U Waterloo)!
July/August 2024: The MAD lab says goodbye to Maša Iskra, visiting PhD student from the Sports University Cologne, and to Kieryn Carlse, post-bacc research assistant, who will begin her graduate studies at Brock University this fall.
July 2024: New MAD Lab study in press at Psychology and Aging. Congrats Liyana!
June 2024: Mane Kara-Yakoubian, Megan Vaziri, and Julia Spaniol present research on aging and motivation at the 50+ Festival at TMU.
June 2024: Liyana Swirsky (PhD ’23) receives the Canadian Psychological Association Certificate of Academic Excellence.
June 2024: Julia Spaniol receives the 2024 Women in Cognitive Science Canada+ Mentorship Award.
June 2024: Santhiya Purohit and Lindsay Santacroce present at CSBBCS in Edmonton AB.
May 2024: Shadini Dematagoda presents MAD Lab research at the Toronto Area Memory Group Meeting.
April 2024: Megan Vaziri presents MAD lab research at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society Meeting in Toronto.
February 2024: Lindsay Santacroce is the 2024 winner of the McCall MacBain 10min Research Talk competition at McMaster University. Congratulations Lindsay!
February 2024: Julia Spaniol is named an APS Fellow.