Bryan Matlen, Psychology

Advisors Anna Fisher, David Klahr)

Bryan graduated summa cum laude from the University of California , Davis with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Human Development. For his undergraduate thesis, under the guidance of Dr. Silvia Bunge, he examined the role of perceptual similarity and relational complexity on young children's ability to reason by analogy. Over time, Bryan has become increasingly interested in the ways that analogical thought can influence how children learn new concepts and how cognitive science can be applied to effectively impact educational practice. Bryan's research aspirations for PIER are to investigate what drives analogical transfer in children and how to apply this research to facilitate children's learning and thinking in the classroom. Some may be surprised to learn that Bryan frequently enjoys writing poetry and short fiction stories on his free time.

Having grown up in California , Bryan hopes to apply his own analogical thinking in surviving Pittsburgh winters (sunny:t-shirt::snowy: coat ).