I’m pleased to introduce you to the newest Psychonomic Society Digital Associate Editor, Christie Chung (pictured below). Christie is a Professor at Mills College in Oakland, California where she investigates the impact of cultural differences and aging on emotional memory. 

As a memory researcher myself, I must say that I wholeheartedly agree with her response to my question, “What’s the most exciting concept in cognitive science?”

Without further ado, here’s Christie’s interview.

What’s your area of research?

My main area of research is in emotional memory and aging, with a specific interest in examining the age-related positivity effect in memory cross-culturally. I have conducted emotional memory studies with young and older adults in different countries (e.g., the U.S., Hong Kong, China, and Afghanistan). I have found emotional memory patterns to differ among cultures based on participants’ valence ratings for the experimental stimuli.

At Mills College, I direct the Mills Cognition Lab, where undergraduate students have the opportunity to conduct research studies that explore diverse factors that affect memory (see the picture of my lab group below). For example, we recently conducted a study that examined the effect of gender identity on facial recognition memory, using a task that included gender-nonconforming faces.

At the 2020 Psychonomic Society Conference, we presented a study on the effects of age and political engagement on COVID-19 pandemic metamemory. You can see our poster here. We are currently analyzing data from a follow-up study that assessed memory changes related to the pandemic in the past half a year.

I continue to collaborate with my Ph.D. advisor Leah Light on recognition memory and aging work. Our current project will extend the field’s understanding of the age-related changes in recognition memory based on the dual-process framework.

What’s the most exciting concept in cognitive science?

The most exciting concept in cognitive science is, of course, human memory!

I can talk all day about the memory. Memory does not just allow us to think about the past and imagine the future, but it is the core of our sense of self. Without our human memory abilities, we would not be able to recognize our own thoughts, behaviors, and desires. As a student, I was always fascinated by the studies that were conducted with amnesic patient H.M. Therefore, I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Suzanne Corkin as a Postdoctoral Associate and to get to know the research that significantly advanced cognitive neuroscience at an intimate level.

What’s the most critical unsolved challenge or unanswered question for cognitive scientists?

I think the most critical unanswered question for cognitive scientists lies in the area of diversity. It has become very apparent in recent years that factors such as ethnicity, sex, and gender could impact cognitive processes in ways that might not have been accounted for in the past.

My research has shown that people from different cultures show dissimilar memory patterns because they value the stimuli in divergent ways. This phenomenon suggests that it is extremely important that we intentionally examine the impact of diversity in cognition, and carefully investigate the bases of any differences that we may observe in the results.

What drew you to science communication? 

I enjoy writing articles based on my research findings too, but I realized that usually only experts in my field would read my articles. Therefore, I decided to combine my two favorite activities and serve as a Psychonomic Society’s Digital Associate Editor. I feel very honored and excited to bring new and relevant cognitive research to more people!

Is there anything else you want us to know about you?

I have a 5-year-old daughter (pictured below) who inspires me throughout the day as I try to come up with examples for classes and writing. Also, I am a mentor and advocate for international scholars in the US. Before settling in the US, I have lived in many other parts of the world, including Hong Kong, the U.K., and Canada.

I look forward to bringing an international perspective to the posts that I write for the Psychonomic Society this year!