at The University of Utah
Welcome to Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in psychology.
You are eligible to join Psi Chi if you are a psychology major, minor, or pursuing a degree in a related field.
Psi Chi holds social events for students, networking events with professionals, and educational opportunities to further the study of psychology at the U.
The purpose of Psi Chi is to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship of the individual members in all fields, particularly in psychology, and to advance the science of psychology.
Our goal is to create an active and engaging community for Psi Chi members by hosting intellectually stimulating events, and presenting members with meaningful ways to give back to their community.
Community service is an essential aspect of the Psi Chi experience. We hold service events to encourage our members to find meaningful ways to give back to their community. We also encourage active learning by presenting students with professional networking opportunities.
Psi Chi was founded in 1929 for the purposes of encouraging, stimulating, and maintaining excellence in scholarship, and advancing the science of psychology. Psi Chi is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies and is an affiliate of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Association for Psychological Science (APS).
Students of all social science fields are encouraged to join, and must meet eligibility requirements for official membership. In order to join, some academic requirements must be met.
Undergraduate students must:
Transfer students or students that are new to the university can still join and participate as members, but they can only become full-fledged members if they meet the eligibility requirements by the end of the semester. If you participate we can backtrack your membership, so you will receive acknowledgment for everything you do.
Graduate students must:
Dr. Merenstein is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department. She is currently developing the Utah Cognition, Lifespan, and Multimodal Brain Imaging (U-CLIMB) Lab. The U-CLIMB lab studies how age-related cognitive decline can be attributed to age-related differences in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of brain structure and function in healthy individuals across the adult lifespan. A new direction of the lab is to identify moderating factors that may contribute to cognitive and brain aging, such as environmental exposures (e.g., air pollutants, extreme heat) and cardiovascular health. The vision of the lab is that identifying targetable differences in brain structure and function will ultimately help inform future interventions aimed at delaying cognitive decline. More information about Dr. Merenstein and the U-CLIMB lab is provided on the U-CLIMB Lab website . If you remain interested in their current projects, the lab is inviting applications for undergraduate research assistants. Applications will be reviewed once per semester.
Dr. Payne runs the Language and Memory Aging (LaMA) lab is housed in the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah. His research is focused on understanding the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying human language and memory systems across the adult lifespan. We adopt an interdisciplinary and multi-method approach to this work. We draw on theories and methods in cognitive science, gerontology, neuroscience, linguistics, and quantitative and experimental psychology. We use a combination of techniques, including the study of human brain functioning (e.g., event-related brain potentials, transcranial magnetic stimulation), eye tracking, human performance, and peripheral physiology (e.g., pupillometry, heart-rate variability). Current projects in the lab include: 1. characterizing the neural mechanisms of "listening effort” in speech comprehension among older adults with hearing loss, 2. studying naturalistic reading via simultaneous eye tracking and electroencephalography (EEG), and 3. using non-invasive brain stimulation to probe the human language network and enhance verbal memory. You can learn more about the lab, our research, and possible opportunities to participate by visiting lama-lab.com.
Hello everyone, my name is Daren Riddle, and I am honored to serve as Psi Chi President for 2025–2026. I was born in Chicago, raised in Tucson, Arizona, and transferred to the University of Utah from Middlesex University Dubai in 2023. I am currently a junior majoring in Psychology on the pre-med track. After graduation, I plan to work as an EMT before pursuing either medical school with a focus on neurology or an M.D./Ph.D. joint program to combine clinical training with my research interests in the brain. I joined Psi Chi in 2023 to connect with like-minded peers and become more engaged with psychology and health care at the U. Being part of Psi CHi has given me the opportunity to collaborate with peers and faculty, and grow both personally and professionally. Research has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my undergraduate career. I began as a research assistant in the TORCH Lab, where I presented on post-traumatic epilepsy, and I am currently writing my thesis on how social support and self-esteem affect substance use disorder in transgender and non-binary populations. I am also newly involved with the Utah Cognition Lifespan & Multimodal Brain Imaging (U-CLIMB) lab. These opportunities have allowed me to present at conferences, create posters, and strengthen my skills as a researcher. Outside of academics, I enjoy fishing, camping, skiing, playing darts, working out, cooking, and watching sports and TV with my roommates. I look forward to serving Psi Chi and getting to know our new members.
Hello everyone! My name is Becca and I'm so excited to be serving as Vice President of the U of U chapter of Psi Chi this year. I am most excited to meet new people who love this field as much as I do! I am majoring in Psychology and Sociology with a certificate in Quantitative Research Analytics. I am a research assistant in the Social Cognition and Intergroup Perception lab, and my dream is to get a PhD in social psych and hopefully have a career in research and teaching. In my free time, I love to mountain bike, hike, and rock climb.
Hey everyone, My name is Kyle and I am a senior here at the U. I am majoring in psychology and minoring in human development and family studies. My goal is to get either a Psy.D or masters in social work so I can eventually become a therapist. I am a California boy but chose to come to Utah due to my love of the mountains. I look forward to meeting and connecting with you all!
I’m Tristan Leerhoff, a fifth-year student in Psychology and Mechanical Engineering at the U. I conduct research in two psychology labs on campus: U-TTEC and Dynamical Systems. In U-TTEC, I have been working to discover the links between rural youth firearm injury (primarily suicide by firearm) and gun culture, to help Sandy Hook Promise promote policy initiatives to counteract the devastating effects it has in those regions. In Dynamical Systems, I am working to apply advanced mathematical concepts I have learned in engineering to temporal psychological data to help understand the causes and treatment of PTSD. In my future career, I would like to be a therapist specializing in the use of psychedelic medicines, which are showing promise of legalization soon. Additionally, I would like to get a PhD in either Social or Clinical psychology, so I can do research and contribute more to the future of the field, as well as teach psychology courses. I enjoy hiking, travelling, working out, learning philosophy, and video games.
Hello! My name is Maddie Colombo, and I am very happy to be the social event coordinator for our chapter this year! I am a sophomore Psychology major with a minor in Sociology and a certificate in Quantitative Analysis. I am from New Orleans, Louisiana, and I came here for research and skiing. After undergrad, I aim to get a PhD in Clinical or Social Psychology and research the Dark Triad. Other than my academic interests, I love to draw, ski, and play video games.
Hello! My name is Bre, I’m a sophomore honors psych major here at the U! I’m an RA in the Executive Lab studying autistic camouflaging and executive function, and my goal is to one day obtain a graduate degree in clinical psychology and become a practicing clinical psychologist. My favorite part of psychology is the people aspect- I love talking to people and getting to know their stories, and I can’t wait to get to know and work with all current and future members of Psi Chi!
Hello! My name is Reagan and I am the social media chair for this year. I am a senior and this is my last semester here at the U! I am double majored in Psychology and Human Development and Family Studies. After graduation I would like to take a year off and, in the fall, apply for the School Psychology PhD. In my free time I enjoy reading, camping, crafting, and going on hikes with my dog, Cowboy.
Send us an email: PsiChiMembers@utah.edu
FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @Uofu.psichi
