Vincent A. Medina, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Experimental Psychology
University of Central Arkansas
Professional
I am a cognitive scientist investigating how humans reason about existential risks (i.e., events that can seriously reduce humanity's potential), mortality, and artificial intelligence (AI). My teaching emphasis is in statistics and I'm the author of a textbook titled Psychological Statistics Simplified.
I recently earned a Cognitive and Brain Sciences Ph.D. from Louisiana State University in 2023 under Emily Elliott. Previously, I earned an Aging Sciences B.S. from University of South Florida in 2017 and an Experimental Psychology M.S. from Seton Hall University in 2019. During my graduate training, I also held government research positions with Army Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground and Naval Research Laboratory at NASA Stennis Space Center.
CV
Personal
I'm from South Florida. Apart from being an academic, I am also a real person with real interests.
Music: Spotify Wrapped told me that last year, I listened to 63,000 minutes of music. Some random favorite artists in those minutes: The Smiths, Her's, Paramore, Black Marble, The Cure, Kate Bush, Modern Baseball, Title Fight, Alex G, Slow Pulp, King Krule, The Radio Dept., Phoebe Bridgers, Kero Kero Bonito, American Football, etc.
Films: Current favorites are Twilight, Coraline, Arrival, and Godzilla Minus One
Games: Currently playing Marvel Rivals and sometimes! Magic: The Gathering
Books: Currently reading "How Not to Die" by Michael Greger
Feel free to visit me in Mashburn 215 to chat about any of the above (or about academia, I guess).