Position: Ph.D., M.A. Student
Start Year: 2011
End Year: 2017
Postdoctoral Researcher, Mather Lab
Davis School of Gerontology
University of Southern California
Email: sgallant@usc.edu
Degrees:
PhD, Psychology, Ryerson University, 2017
MA, Psychology, Ryerson University, 2013
Honours B.A., Psychology with Thesis, University of Windsor, 2011
PhD candidate, Cognitive Aging Lab (CAL), 2013-2017
MA student, CAL, 2011-2013
Sara’s research in the CAL sought to understand how older adults’ goal-oriented bias for positive information influences memory performance. For her dissertation, she investigated age differences in selective memory for emotional information and the metacognitive and neural correlates underlying these processes. On the side, Sara also examined implicit binding of emotional information in young and older adults.
Sara is now a postdoctoral research fellow in Mara Mather’s lab at the University of Southern California (USC). Her research at USC examines the impact of emotional arousal on memory selectivity in young and older adults as well as how these processes are mediated by activity in the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system.
Research Experience
PhD Dissertation: Age differences in cognitive control of emotional memory: Metacognitive aspects and neural correlates
PhD Practicum: Effects of stimulus arousal on brain responses during episodic memory retrieval over time: An fMRI pilot study. Supervisor: Dr. Cheryl Grady, Rotman Research Institute, 2015.
Comprehensive Requirement: Mindfulness meditation practice and executive functioning: Breaking down the benefit. Ryerson University, 2014.
MA Thesis: Effects of aging and emotional valence on item directed forgetting and source attributions. Ryerson University, 2013.
MA Practicum: Aging, emotion, and intentional forgetting: An event-related potential (ERP) study. Supervisor: Dr. Ben Dyson, HEAR Lab, Ryerson University, 2012.
Recent Publications
Armstrong, B. A., Gallant, S. N., Li, L., Patel, K. & Wong, B. (2017). A meta-analysis of age-based stereotype threat effects on older adults’ episodic and working memory performance. The Gerontologist, 57, S193–S205.
Judges, R. A., Gallant, S. N., Yang, L, & Lee, K. (2017). The role of cognition, personality, and trust in fraud victimization in older adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, Article ID: 588.
Gallant, S. N., Dyson, B. J., & Yang, L. (2016). Local context effects during emotional directed forgetting in young and older adults. Memory, 25, 1129-1138.
Gallant, S. N., & Dyson, B. J. (2016). Neural modulation of directed forgetting by valence and arousal: An event-related potential study. Brain Research, 1648, 306-316.
Gallant, S. N. (2016). Mindfulness meditation and executive functioning: Breaking down the benefit. Consciousness and Cognition, 40, 116-130.
Alvaro, C., Wilkinson, A., Gallant, S.N., Kostovski, D., & Gardner, P. (2016). Evaluating intention and effect. The impact of healthcare facility design on patient and staff well-being. Health Environments Research & Design, 9, 82-104.
Gallant, S. N., & Yang, L. (2015). Directed forgetting. In S. K. Whitbourne (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Adulthood and Aging. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
Gallant, S. N., & Yang, L. (2014). Positivity effect in source attributions of emotional and non-emotional information during item-based directed forgetting. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, Article ID: 1334, 10 pages.
Allen, J. C., McDonald, K., Dosso, J., Gallant, S., & Wong, B. (2012). A factor analysis of evolutionary theories of altruism. In M. G. Luther, J. C. Allen, J. Gerber, & J. Luther (Eds.), Meeting the Human Challenge (pp. 151-160). Concord, Ontario: Captus Press.
Recent Presentations
Li, L., Patel, K. Armstrong, B. A., Gallant, S. N., Patel., K., & Wong, B. (2017). A meta-analysis of age-based stereotype threat effects on older adults’ episodic and working memory performance. Invited symposium presented at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics, July 23-27, 2017, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Gallant, S. N., Pun, C., & Yang, L. (2017). Age differences in the neural correlates of selective memory for emotion: an event-related potential study. Poster presented at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society annual meeting, March 25-28, 2017. San Francisco, CA, USA.
Gallant, S. N., & Yang, L. (2016). Metacognitive predictions of forgetting: The influence of aging and emotion. Presented the annual meeting of the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour, and Cognitive Science, June 24-25, 2016, Ottawa, ON.
Gallant, S. N., Dyson, B. J., Yang, L. (2016). Local context effects during item directed forgetting in young and older adults. Poster presented at the Cognitive Aging Conference, April 14-17, 2016, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Wilkinson, A., Gallant, S. N., & Alvaro, C. (2015). Age differences in the impact of healthcare facility design on patient psychosocial well-being: Subsidiary findings from the post occupancy evaluation of Bridgepoint Active Healthcare. Presented at the meeting of the Canadian Association on Gerontology, October 23-25, 2015, Calgary, AB.
Gallant, S. N., & Yang, L. (2015). Effects of goal manipulation on older adults’ positivity bias during source attributions of relevant and irrelevant stimuli. Poster presented at the meeting of the Psychonomic Society, November 19-22, 2015, Chicago, IL.
Truong, L., Gallant, S. N., Wilkinson, A., Wong, B. (2014). Encouraging older adults to “get psyched!” about research on aging. Invited symposium presented at the meeting of the Canadian Association on Gerontology, October 16-18, 2014, Niagara Falls, ON.
Gallant, S. N., & Dyson, B. J. (2014). Neural correlates of emotional directed forgetting: The role of valence and arousal. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Psychonomic Society, November 20-23, 2014, Long Beach, CA, USA.
Gallant, S. N., Yang, L., Wilkinson, A. J., Wilkins, L., & Patel, K. (2014). Plasticity of executive functions in aging: Effects of self-guided Lumosity training. Poster presented at the Cognitive Aging Conference, April 3-6, 2014, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Gallant, S. N., & Yang, L. (2014). Reduced intentional forgetting of positive information in older adults. Poster presented at the Cognitive Aging Conference, April 3-6, 2014, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Gallant, S. N., & Yang, L. (2013). Effects of age and emotional valence on item-directed forgetting and source attributions. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour, and Cognitive Science, June 7-9, Calgary, AB.
Recent Awards
Student Research Grant ($1000), Psychology Foundation of Canada, 2016
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, Postgraduate Doctoral Scholarship, 2014-2017
Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Certificate of Academic Excellence for M.A. Thesis, June 2014
Donald O. Hebb Graduate Student Award for Best Poster Presentation, Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour, and Cognitive Science (CSBBCS), June 2013