Affect, Cognition, & Computation Lab
Caitlin Mills, PhD
Caitlin Mills joined UNH in 2018 as an assistant professor of psychology. She earned a B.A. in psychology from Christian Brothers University (2010), followed by a M.S. (2014) and Ph.D. (2016) from the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Mills then completed a two-year postdoc in the Psychology Department at the University of British Columbia. Her research mainly focuses on constructs related to mind wandering and engagement – in that, their neural correlates, relationship to affect, and impact on learning. Dr. Mills’ interdisciplinary research program incorporates theoretical and methodological approaches from cognitive psychology, computer science, cognitive neuroscience, and education. She is currently pursuing three main lines of research: 1) Using educationally relevant paradigms to characterize when mind wandering occurs and how it influences learning; 2) Building machine learning detectors that can predict and respond when someone goes off-task in real-time; and 3) Conducting studies to uncover the dynamic brain network interactions that give rise to spontaneous thought. Other ongoing research interests include how emotions and other affective states impact comprehension in educational contexts, such as complex problem solving and reading.
Lab members
Post-Doctoral Research Assistant
Aaron Wong
1st Year Post-Doctoral Research Assistant
Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from Mississippi State University ‘20
B.S. in Psychology from University of California San Diego ‘09
B.A. in Mathematics from University of California San Diego ‘09
Grad Students
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Shelby Smith
3rd Year PhD Student
M.A. in Cognitive Processes from Ball State University '18
B.A. in Psychology/Statistics from UNC Wilmington '16
M. Cati Poulos
1st Year PhD Student
B.S. in Psychology from Mississippi State University '20
Alex Colby
2nd Year PhD Student
B.A. in Psychology from Siena College '18
Undergrad Students
Tyler Stetson
Research Assistant
B.S. Candidate in Neuroscience & Behavior '21
A.S. in Health Science from NHTI '19
Ian Gliser
Research Assistant
B.S. Candidate in Neuroscience & Behavior '21
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Lexi Loyed
Research Assistant
B.A. Candidate in Psychology '21
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Lab VIPs (Very Important Pets)
Millie Mills
Lab VIP
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Thea Creer
Lab VIP
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Josie 'JoJo' Allen
Lab VIP
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Foley O'Brien
Lab VIP
Lab Alumni
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Travis Horan
Research Assistant
B.S. in Neuroscience & Behavior from University of New Hampshire '19
Laura Tilton
Research Assistant
B.A. in Psychology from University of New Hampshire '19
Maddie Abeels
Research Assistant
B.A. in Psychology/Business from University of New Hampshire '19
Sydney Eldridge
Research Assistant
B.A. in Psychology from University of New Hampshire '19
Benton Edwards
Research Assistant
B.A. in Psychology from University of New Hampshire '19
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Jay Forgey-Carpenter
Research Assistant
B.A. in Neuroscience & Behavior from University of New Hampshire '20
Heidi Martin
Post-bac Research Assistant
B.A. in Psychology from University of New Hampshire '19
Catherine McGrath
Research Assistant
B.A. in Psychology from University of New Hampshire '20
Jake Gagne
Post-bac Research Assistant
B.A. in Psychology from University of New Hampshire '19
Lauren Flynn
Research Assistant
B.A. in Psychology/Human Development & Family Studies from University of New Hampshire '20