I am a PhD student in cognitive psychology interested in how personal affective histories (e.g. for events, objects, etc.) inform our current experiences, preferences, and how we direct our attention. Specifically, I am interested in how we make sense of other people’s experiences even in their absence. I am currently exploring this in food preparation (i.e. cooking) using qualitative methods. By emphasizing the importance and use of lived experiences in a field that has predominantly been guided by quantitative traditions, my hope is to leverage the way we interact and perceive our own experiences and others’ to address issues that segment our community.