Doctoral Candidate (ABD) of Psychological Science
BIOGRAPHY
Emily Slonecker is a 6th year doctoral candidate in the department of Psychological Science at the University of California, Irvine. She uses an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural framework to explore how cognitive development and autobiographical memory are related to health and well-being across diverse populations and contexts. Previously, Emily earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Maryland and a Master of Arts in Social Ecology from UC Irvine. She was also awarded a Post-Baccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award from The National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development and spent two years serving as a research fellow for the Laboratory of Comparative Ethology. Her research is broadly focused on the intersection between culture, cognition, and health.
KEY RESEARCH INTERESTS
The overall goal of my ongoing and future research program is to identify sociocultural variations in autobiographical memory across the lifespan and use this information to improve health and well-being, particularly in disadvantage groups. Autobiographical memory requires consideration of numerous periods of development, agents of socialization, and biological processes. As a result, my work is interdisciplinary and pulls from multiple theoretical approaches such as the biopsychosocial perspective of health, life course theory, and functionalist perspectives of memory.
My current work is heavily influenced by my training within UC Irvine’s School of Social Ecology and emphasizes my commitment to research that is interdisciplinary, context-oriented, and centered on application. By combining developmental theory and basic cognitive research with applied ecological questions, my past and current research portfolio aims to develop a more nuanced understanding of diversity in autobiographical memory development and introduce equity and inclusivity across multiple levels (e.g., individual, community, culture) and domains (e.g., public health, clinical treatment, legal system) of the ecological system.
The specific themes of my research program include:
1. Using a dynamic lifespan perspective to explore how racial identity, cultural ideology, and caregiver interactions influence the socialization of autobiographical memory and self-concept
2. Identifying pathways between autobiographical memory and well-being that can be utilized to develop memory-based health interventions for minority groups
3. Understanding biopsychosocial mechanisms that improve and inhibit children’s cognitive performance, particularly within applied settings like the legal system
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Ph.D. Psychological Science, expected 2022
University of California, Irvine
Specialization: developmental psychology, quantitative data analysis
Advisor: Dr. J. Zoe Klemfuss
M. A. Social Ecology, 2018
University of California, Irvine
Thesis: Who Really Chopped Down the Cherry Tree? Accuracy Demands and Child Gender in Parent-Child Reminiscing
Committee: Profs. J. Zoe Klemfuss (Chair), Jessica Borelli, & Jodi Quas
Post-Baccalaureate Intramural Research Training Fellowship, 2014-2016
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Principal Investigator: Dr. Stephen J. Suomi
B. A. Psychology, 2014
University of Maryland, College Park
CURRENT RESEARCH AFFILIATIONS
Child Narratives Lab
University of California, Irvine
Principal Investigator: Dr. J. Zoe Klemfuss
CONTACT INFORMATION
esloneck@uci.edu