The social, health, AND risk perception lab
Meet the team
Primary Investigator
Graduate Students
Nicolle Simonovic, MA
Jeremy Foust, BS
Abigail O'Brien, BA
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Kaitlyn Warakomski
Jennifer M. Taber, PhD
Jennifer Taber (she/her/hers) is an Assistant Professor at Kent State University in the Department of Psychological Sciences. She received her BA in Psychology at American University and her MS and PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Utah. Dr. Taber was a postdoctoral cancer research training award (CRTA) fellow for 2 years in the Behavioral Research Program of the National Cancer Institute. Her research lies at the intersection of social and health psychology and centers on promoting health behavior change across multiple domains. One of her major research interests is understanding when and why risk perceptions predict behavior and how to intervene to increase the likelihood that providing risk information will lead to behavior change, particularly in the domain of providing genetic risk feedback.
Contact Info:
Email: jtaber1@kent.edu
Office: Kent Hall Annex 309
Phone: (330) 672-3783
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Courses Taught:
Health Psychology (41581)
Psychology of Risk Communication (Seminar, 41495/81591)
Social Psychology (61580/71580)
Nicolle Simonovic, MA
Nicolle is a fifth year PhD student in the Psychological Sciences program at Kent State University. She is interested in the intersection of social psychology and health psychology. In her line of research, she uses social psychological theory and methods to understand engagement in health behaviors, particularly how perceptions of risk and ambiguity as well as defensiveness influence psychological responses to health information. Other areas of focus include the use of self-affirmations and construal tasks as intervention strategies for health promotion. Nicolle received her Bachelor's degree in Psychological Science from John Carroll University. In her free time she enjoys running, cooking, and taking adventures with family, friends, and her adorable dog Eddie.
Contact Info:
Office: Kent Hall 390
Phone: (330) 672-2319
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Courses Taught:
Psychology of Everyday Life
Health Psychology
Career Pathways In Psychology
Research Methods
Jeremy Foust, BS
Jeremy is a third year PhD student in the Psychological Sciences program at Kent State University. He is interested in social psychology, specifically in the self-concept and self-affirmation. His undergraduate research investigated adaptive decision making as a mediator between self-complexity and stress. He is also interested in how self-affirmation influences health-related behavior and in how math anxiety can impact our perception of health risks. Jeremy received his Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Baldwin Wallace University. In his free time, Jeremy likes to play, watch, and read about soccer. He also enjoys reading, working out, and playing Overwatch.
Contact Info:
Office: Kent Hall 390
Phone: (440) 554-8045
Pronouns: He/him/his
Courses Taught:
Abigail O'Brien, BA
Abigail is a second year PhD student in the Psychological Sciences program at Kent State University. She is interested in utilizing social psychological theory to understand how people think about their health. Particularly, Abigail is interested in defensive responses to health information and how that subsequently influences risk perception and engagement in health behaviors. Abigail received her Bachelor's degree from Kent State University. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, listening to podcasts, and spending time with her friends and family.
Contact Info:
Office: Kent Hall 390
Phone: (330) 410-4497
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Kaitlyn Warakomski
Kaitlyn is currently a senior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Anthropology. After graduating, she plans on attending graduate school and getting her Master’s in either industrial psychology or counseling. Kaitlyn is especially interested in social and cognitive psychology, archaeology and cultural anthropology. In her free time, she likes to make art, read, travel and spend time with her friends and family.