

Lab Director
Kristi Costabile, Associate Professor, with a dual-appointment in the Department of Psychology and in the Communication Studies Program
Graduate Students
Abby Boytos (e-mail: asboytos@iastate.edu). Abby's research examines the social aspects of autobiographical memory and how the process of describing life experiences to others might change how we view those experiences, and in some cases, how we view ourselves.
Grace Wasinger (email: wasinger@iastate.edu). Grace's research examines how our current situations and current goals can affect the manner with which we describe our life experiences, with a particular focus on redemptive narratives (i.e., ending a description of a difficult experience with a positivity). She also has interests in social media and media narratives.
Undergraduate Student Members

Araceli Lopez-Valdivia, Raquel Serrano, Prateek Oberoi, Karly Swan, Elise Atha, Jacob Badger, Tessa Emmert, Kennedy Wall, Samantha Meyer, Payten Fenimore, Hannah Duckson, Hayleigh Olson, Mackenzie Schueler, Kyl Huebner-Lane, and Teagan Schnebly
Lab Alumni
Adrienne Austin. Adrienne's research focuses on the role of autobiographical memory on current self-conceptions. Dr. Austin graduated in summer 2019.
Kaylee Short. After two years as our undergraduate research coordinator, Kaylee received her bachelor's degree from Iowa State University in 2019 and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at Auburn University
Tessa Logan. After her work as an undergraduate research assistant in our lab, Tessa is currently pursuing her M.S. in Counseling at California State University, Fullerton.
Join our lab
Contact Grace (wasinger@iastate.edu) if you are interested in joining our lab as an undergraduate student.
Contact Kristi (costabil@iastate.edu) if you are interested in applying to ISU's graduate program.