She holds her Ph.D. from the University of Denver in Social Psychology with an emphasis in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. Her research interests include the mechanisms of the effects of religion on thinking, behaving, and feeling, factors that influence prosociality, vectors of religion in culture, and the positive and negative relationships between religion and stress. In her teaching, she emphasizes critical thinking and “real world” applications of classroom concepts. She has a particular passion for engaging students in discussion about controversial topics as a way of encouraging civic-mindedness.