Tori Peña, Ph.D.

Research Interests:

social remembering, collaborative remembering, collective future thinking, remembering in the digital age, remembering with ai

Current Research:

We often reminisce about the past with friends and family as well as plan for the future with our loved ones as a means of social connection. Our social contexts can have profound influences on both our memories and future projections. The goal of my research program is to understand the multitude of ways in which we can influence each other’s memories and future projections. My research questions include how does collaborating in small groups may shape cognition as well as social contexts such as social media.

PUBLICATIONS: Journal Articles

Peña, T., DiMartino, S.,** Umanath, S. (2026). Older adults rely on the internet less than younger adults despite showing an internet fixation effect. Manuscript under revision after invitation from editor.
** post-baccalaureate mentee

Peña, T. & Soares, J. (2026). Anticipating the cognitive pitfalls of generative artificial intelligence use: Lessons from cognitive science. Manuscript under review.

Peña, T. & Rajaram, S. (2025). Do emotional and social primers change the pessimism in collective future thinking?: Testing the robustness of the collective negativity bias. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 33(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-025-02799-y

Peña, T., Pepe, N.W., Rajaram, S. (2025). How social is social memory?: Isolating the
influences of social versus nonsocial cues on recall. Advance online publication at Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition. https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0001557

Burchett, C.O., Peña, T., Monahan, C., Bermejo, R., Sarwana, M., London, B. (2025). The crucial role of campus representation and sense of belonging of undergraduates in science, technology, engineering, and math. Advance online publication in Journal for STEM Education Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41979-025-00148-1

Greeley, G.D., Peña, T., Pepe, N.W., Choi, H.-Y., Rajaram, S. (2025). Fluency tasks and collective memory: Leveraging network analysis for a richer understanding of collective cognition. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology / Revue Canadienne de Psychologie Expérimentale, 79(1), 61–73. https://doi.org/10.1037/cep0000353

Thorpe, D., Mirhashem, R., Peña, T., Smokoski, J., Bernard, K. (2024). Exposure to community violence and parenting behaviors: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 150(6), 666—693. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000435

Burnett, L.K.*, Peña, T.*, Rajaram, S., Richmond, L.L. (2023). Personal and national mental time travel across the adult lifespan during COVID-19. Psychology & Aging, 38(5), 374-–388. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pag0000758
* joint first authors

Peña, T.,* Maswood, R.*, Chen, M., Rajaram, S. (2023). Memory for tweets versus headlines: Does message consistency matter? Applied Cognitive Psychology, 37(4), 768- 784. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.4068
* joint first authors

Pepe, N.W., Moyer, A., Peña, T., Rajaram, S. (2023). Deceitful hints: A meta-analytic review of the part-list cuing impairment in recall. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 30(4), 1243- 1272. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-023-02263-9

Greeley, G.D.*, Peña, T.*, Rajaram, S. (2022). Social remembering in the digital age: Implications for virtual study, work, and social engagement. Memory, Mind & Media, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1017/mem.2022.3
* joint first authors

Jozefowiez, J., Berruti, A.S., Moshchenko, Y., Peña, T., Polack, C.W., Miller, R.R. (2020). Retroactive interference: Counterconditioning and extinction with and without biologically significant outcomes. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning & Cognition, 46(4), 443. https://doi.org/10.1037/xan0000272

PUBLICATIONS: Book Chapters

Rajaram, S., Greeley, G.D., Peña, T. (2024). Collaborative memory: A selective review. In: John H. Byrne (Ed.), Learning and Memory: A Comprehensive Reference (3rd edition). Oxford: Academic Press.

Rajaram, S., Peña, T., Greeley, G.D. (2022). How collective memories emerge: A cognitive psychological perspective. In H.L. Roediger & J. Wertsch (Eds.), Constructing National Identity: Conflicting Memories and Narratives. Oxford: Academic Press, pp. 409—433.