Graduate Students

Tom Macko
Doctoral Student

Tom is a third-year doctoral student in the Experimental Psychology program at the University of Montana. He received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Akron in 2018 and spent the intervening years working in Applied Behavior Analysis, delivering therapeutic services to children who have been diagnosed, typically, with Autism Spectrum Disorder through evidence-based practices. With respect to research, Tom is interested in understanding how children interface with humanoid artificial intelligence and the implications that relationship might have on moral development. Down the road, his aim is to remain in academia to continue the pursuit of his research interests while concurrently sharing his passion for psychological theories and phenomena with other like-minded individuals.

In his free time, Tom enjoys seeking out new adventures through either a book or the woods. Being a native Ohioan, he is taking advantage of his time in Montana as an excellent opportunity to do the latter.

Sarah Sweezy, M.A.
Doctoral Student

Sarah is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Experimental Psychology program at the University of Montana studying developmental psychology. She obtained a B.S. in Psychology from Tennessee Technological University in the fall of 2019 and an M.A. in Psychology from UM in 2023. Her research examines children’s interactions with embodied or personified technologies and explores how children attribute internal states or perceive technologies, such as robots, to be alive. Sarah's long-term career goals consist of remaining in academia as a researcher or teacher.

Sarah enjoys being outside with her dog, drinking coffee, reading books, and crocheting.

Staff

Lydia Owings
Living Lab Manager

Lydia is a first-year graduate student in the Counselor Education Masters program at University of Montana. She completed her BA  in Psychology from UM in 2022.

Lydia grew up in Missoula and loves the beautiful mountains. In her free time, she likes to spend time with her family, drink tea and coffee, and play games with friends.

Undergraduate Research Assistants

Kylin Spangler

Major: Psychology
Year: Junior

Kylin plans to obtain a graduate degree in clinical psychology, to become a counselor or clinical psychologist. Kylin is also a second-year resident assistant at UM, a responsibility that includes planning activities around campus and within the residence halls for residents and staff alike. 

She loves reading and writing fiction, and dancing! Her interest in dance stemmed from ballet as a child and have continued and expanded in college. She has been involved in New Visions Dance for the past three semesters, where community members of all abilities are invited to dance with the student dancers. This experience has been a highlight for Kylin! 

Charles Evans

Majors: Psychology and Business Management

Year: Junior

Lab Alumni

Graduate Student Alumni

Kaetlyn Cordingley, Ph.D., Assistant Dean, UM Davidson Honors College

Shailee Woodard, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Keene State College

Phoebe Bean, M.A., Ph.D. Candidate, Clinical Psychology

Cali Caughie, Ph.D., Neuropsychology Fellow

Jessica Hudson, SSP

Lee Curran, M.S., Computer Science

Undergraduate Student Alumni

Alexys Anderson

Lauren Baeten

Rachele Barker

Jenny Barnhill

Allie Beall

Lorri Bethel

Kennedi Bouchee

Julia Brink

Angelina Bruno

Sarah Carbis

Ben Cikutovich

Stephen Cooke

Meg Denny

Jasmine Doremus

Sydney Faul

Seely Garrett

Damaris Gemmer

Caitlin Gillespie

Kelsey Halvorson

Sarah Harrell

Lyndsay Hutton

Jennifer Johnson

Rita Lang

Keeza Leavens

Bethany Lindner

Madeline Matia

Somer Messerly

Maryam Norton

Shaina Ore

Brandon Overdorff

Laurel Palmer

Sydney Parr

Jamie Pauley

Noah Paulson

Shelby Rosston

Caitlin Ryan

Emily Schindeldecker

Dennis Schuster

Grace Sievert

Casey Simons

Daniel Sims

Kit Smith

Kali Taylor

Jenna Truax

Pyper Trumble

Teresa Vick

Hannah Woods

William ("Rob") Wyckoff

Eleasha Zitzelberger