You matched with
Claire Perkins
Claire Perkins
Institution
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign: PhD in Cognitive Psychology
Introduction
Hi! I’m Claire. I’m a PhD student in cognitive psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where I study memory, working memory, and how people learn and think when they use tools like generative AI. I’m especially interested in how AI changes what people remember, what they forget, and how they keep track of where information came from. Before grad school, I taught middle school math through Teach for America, which really shaped how I think about learning, motivation, and equity in education. I still love teaching and curriculum design, and I spend part of my time working on education-focused projects and research that connect cognitive science with real classroom practice. Outside of research, I play ultimate frisbee and love staying active. I also really enjoy baking and experimenting with new recipes, especially when I have people to share them with. In my free time, I like attending music festivals and live shows, which is one of my favorite ways to unplug and recharge. I’m happiest when I’m balancing intellectually challenging work with creative, social, and active pursuits.
Top Fields
Psychology & Cognitive Science, Social Sciences & Humanities, Computer Science
Research Areas
This mentor can support projects in cognitive psychology, human memory, source monitoring, cognitive offloading, and the impact of generative AI on learning. They are also comfortable mentoring work in experimental design, behavioral methods, AI in education, learning sciences, and student use of generative AI.
They can also support statistical analysis and data visualization in R, including approaches such as regression and ANOVA.
Background
I am currently a PhD student in Cognitive Psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where I study how generative AI tools affect memory, learning, and source monitoring. My current research examines how using AI (e.g., Gemini) versus relying on memory influences recall accuracy, confidence, and source errors, as well as how these effects interact with working memory capacity.
As an undergraduate at The University of Texas at Austin, I worked in the Woolley Imagination and Cognition Lab, where I designed and received funding for an independent study on children’s bias toward narratives over statistical information. I also contributed to multiple developmental psychology studies involving children ages 4–10, including data collection, IRB protocol management, and project coordination.
I also worked as a Research Analyst at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology, where I conducted interviews and literature reviews on AI education and workforce development. This work contributed to published reports on AI education pathways and policy recommendations.
Across my work, I have experience with experimental design, survey development (Qualtrics), and statistical analysis in R and Python, and I regularly mentor undergraduate research assistants in data collection, coding, and research methods.