Research

Current Projects

  • The Narrative Architecture of Cognition

    Humans are natural storytellers. From ancient myths to modern blogs, we use stories to forge social bonds, regulate emotions, and share valuable lessons–including those we learn from our past experiences. This project asks the question: Do humans simply remember the past, or do we author it? 

  • Emotional Memory Consistency

    Memories are not perfect records of the past, but how does emotion inform the way our memories change over time?

    Check out our preliminary results!

The Fertility Study

We're exploring how challenging fertility experiences shape women's health and sense of self.

Learn more here!

Past Discoveries

Project ABC (Autobiographical Memory Consistency)

Memory mishaps unfailingly capturing the attention of mainstream media (e.g., Washington Post, New York Times), but what does it really mean for us to have changing and dynamic memories?

Read about our study here!

Wardell, V., Jameson, T.J., Bontkes, O., Le, M.L., Duan, T., St. Jacques, P. L., Madan, C. R., & Palombo, D.J. (2023). Fade in, fade out: The role of visual perspective in memory maintenance. Psychological Science. 43(8), 932-946.

The Pihu Study

Experiences unfold along a timeline and remembering the order of events helps us create a coherent memory. Do negative emotions alter how we remember the sequence of events? 

Read about our study here!

Dev*, D.K., Wardell*, V., Checknita, K.J., Te, A.A., Petrucci, A.S., Le, M.L., Madan, C.R., & Palombo, D.J. (2022). Negative emotion enhances memory for the sequential unfolding of a naturalistic experience. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 11(4), 510–521.

*Authors contributed equally

Project EAB (Emotional Autobiographical Memory)

Emotional experiences tend to be remembered very well, but what parts of a memory does emotion actually boost?

Read about our study here!

Wardell, V., Madan., C.R., Jameson, T.J., Cocquyt, C.M., Checknita, K.J., Liu, H., & Palombo, D.J. (2021). How emotion influences the details recalled in autobiographical memory. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 35(6), 1454-1465.

Collaborations


The Social Communication, Historical Exclusion, Memory and Affect (SCHEMA) Study

When we remember events, we remember contextual nuances, linking different items in our surroundings to form a coherent account of what happened.  

From Dr. Connor Kerns' ASAP Lab, the SCHEMA study showed that social and emotional content independently influence memory for context: while negative emotion hinders memory for context, social cues may boost it.  

Read about this study here! And to better understand clinical factors that might inform these findings, stay tuned for our work on the influence of autistic traits and histories of childhood adversity.

  • Stewardson, C.I., Hunsche, M.C., Wardell, V., Palombo, D.J., Kerns, C.M. (2022). Episodic memory through a social and emotional lens. Emotion. 23(4), 961–972.  

  • Wardell, V., Stewardson, C.I., Hunsche, M.C., Chen, F.S., Rights, J.D., Palombo, D.J., & Kerns, C.M. (2024). Are autistic traits associated with a social-emotional memory bias?. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 180, 104578.

  • Wardell, V., Rho, K.H., Stewardson, C.I., Hunsche, M.C., Rights, J.D., LeMoult, J., Palombo, D.J., & Kerns, C.M. (2024). Childhood adversity is not related to associative memory for emotional stimuli. Clinical Psychological Science.

  • Dudarev, V., Wardell, V., Enns, J.T., Kerns, C.M., Palombo, D.J. (2024). Social cues tip the scales in emotional processing of complex pictures. Psychological Research, 88, 2221-2233.

  • Rho, K.H., Bains, J.S., Wardell, V., Rights, J.D., Palombo, D.J., Kerns, C.M. (under revision). Examining the mediating role of adverse childhood experiences and social exclusion on the association of autistic traits and anxiety in young adults. Research in Autism.

The Memory After Concussion (MAC Study)

Following a concussion, many people go on to experience persistent memory impairment but with no clear cause. 

From Dr. Noah Silverberg's CNS Lab, the MAC study looked into memory dysfunction post-concussion. Read about how these symptoms manifest in memory for everyday experiences here and learn about the role psychological factors play in memory symptoms here.

  • Rioux M., Wardell, V., Palombo, D.J., Picon, E.L., Le, M.L., & Silverberg, N.D. (2022). Memory for forgetting in adults with persistent symptoms following concussion. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 44(1), 19-30.

  • Picon, E.L., Wardell, V., Palombo, D.J., Todd, R.M., Aziz, B., Bedi, S., & Silverberg, N.D. (2023). Factors Perpetuating Functional Cognitive Symptoms after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology. 45(10), 988-1002.

Methodological Advancements

AI-CONS

The AI-CONS offers researchers a way to quantify changes in narrative recollections of autobiographical memories over time. Wondering how it compares to Natural Language Processing Models?

Read more here the full, open-access AI-CONS manual and training program here.

Wardell, V., Jameson, T., St. Jacques, P. L., Madan, C. R., & Palombo, D.J. (2025). Assessing autobiographical memory consistency: Machine and human approaches. Behavior Research Methods, 57, 163.

ScoreAI

We often use narrative reports to study memories from our personal past. ScoreAI is a pipeline that semi-automates Levine and colleagues’ Autobiographical Interview, saving researchers time and money.

Read more here or check out my collaborator Dr. Christopher Madan's github for our open access code here!

Wardell, V., Esposito, C.L., Madan., C.R., & Palombo, D.J. (2021). Semi-automated transcription and scoring of autobiographical memory narratives. Behavior Research Methods, 53, 507–517.

Theoretical Contributions

Emotional Memory Malleability

Our memories are not static, but prone to changing over time. Does emotion inform the dynamic nature of our memories? 

Find out more here.

Wardell, V., & Palombo, D. (2024). Stability and malleability of emotional autobiographical memories. Nature Reviews Psychology, 3(6), 393-406.

Emotional Imagination

Memory and imagination overlap a lot—if emotion effects our memory, how might it influence how we imagine our future?

Find out more here.

Wardell, V., Grilli, M.D., & Palombo, D.J. (2022). Simulating the best and worst of times: The powers and perils of emotional simulation. Memory, 30(9), 1212-1225.